Carl Sagan is known as one of the most famous scientists of all time. He revolutionized how the world looked at space and the search for intelligent life beyond our planet. The author of many books, he is most known for Contact (which was adapted into a movie) and for the PBS documentary Cosmos. As one of America's most famous astronomers and science-fiction writers, Carl Sagan turned a life of science into one of the most critically successful scientific careers of the 20th century.
As a child, Sagan avidly read science-fiction novels from authors such as H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Sagan "used to scour the entire library looking for anything that had to do with science, he was addicted to the subject at an early age" (Byman 5). This penchant for the sciences helped Sagan to excel at math and science in school, which eventually led him to major in astronomy in college.
Sagan's first experiences with writing came at the University of Chicago, where he received both his master's and his doctorate's degrees. These first encounters came in the form of scientific writings for professional journals, such as Icarus. His first scientific paper (which would later be reproduced in a Time-Life book, Planets) dealt with the theory that the surface of the planet Venus was very hot and dry, something that was not known to scientists at that time. Sagan began to gain recognition in his field and eventually became a full professor at Cornell, where he continued to publish many more scientific papers.
Sagan's first published novel was 1973's The Cosmic Connection, which dealt with the theories of extraterrestrial life outside of our solar system. "The Cosmic Connection sold well because Carl knew how to write about science with poetry and passion" (Cohen 47). Sagan then spent the next several years working on the Voyager space probes and Apollo missions that eventually led to his famous appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He soon became a household name with his television appearances and repeated catchphrases, such as "billions and billions."
Adding to his popularity, Sagan wrote The Dragons of Eden in 1977, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize. That same year, Sagan's popularity reached an all-time high. He narrated co-wrote and co-produced the highly popular thirteen part PBS television series: Cosmos: Personal Voyage, which was modeled on Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.
Jules Verne heavily impacted science fiction and the technology of today through his novels. His science fiction novels grew popular and as a result made this genre well-known. More importantly, his novels predicted the moon landing, skyscrapers, submarines, planes, hot air balloons, and more. These works were read by scientists and explorers, like Simon Lake who designed the submarine, and these readers attempted and succeeded to create these inventions and explore to the places, like the moon, that are in his stories.
Robert Heinlein is often thought of as one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. His most popular book; A Stranger in a Strange Land; created a counter cultural revolution. Which resulted in many cults built around his fictitious culture that challenges every axiom of society. *Note that this book was written in the 1960's when "free love" was widely accepted by the younger generations. It arguably influenced the "free love" movement and the "sexual revolution "in general.
Sagan has said himself that he got his analytical urges to Rachel Molly Gruber Sagan, his mother. She was an oppressed intellectual who never met her full potential due to the bigotries against the poor, the Jewish, and women. There was not much known about Rachel’s family, though it was rumored that her father Leib Gruber was a murderer. When Rachel was eight, her father sent her to live with relatives in Austria, but when they were put up with her they sent Rachel to New York, back to her father. Rachel grew up poor in New York City, nearly homeless without much care from the likes of her family. Rachel spoiled Carl and later on lived through his intellectual success that she had never had the chance to achieve. Sagan’s father Sam Sagan has an even more obscure past. Sam was born on March 2nd of 1905 in Ukraine and came to America five years later. Unlike Rachel, Sam would have been happy with an average child, and though he admired his son’s intellect, he longed for a typical American family (Keay 1-6).
...nfident, curious, loving and imaginative, scientist. Who then wrote the novel, What Do You Care What Other People Think? To reach out to those who are not only looking for the answers to the Challenger Disaster, but also reading along to discover who the real Roger P. Feynman is and acknowledge of how he played his role as a scientist. After reading this novel, it is known that, Feynman had not only won the heart of Arlene, but also won the hearts of many individuals after he found the cause to the ‘Space Shuttle Disaster’. The way he thinks and solves puzzles, no other scientist can because Feynman not only thinks logically but also with his heart and does what he believes is morally right.
Aldiss, Brian W., and David Wingrove. Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction. New York: Avon Books, 1986.
Bradbury's 1980 collection, 'The Stories of Ray Bradbury', covers a wide range of topics, none of which is truly science fiction. His novels included 'Fahrenheit 451', Dandelion Wine, and 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. 'Fahrenheit 451' was made into a motion picture in 1966, and 'The Martian Chronicles' later appeared both as a motion picture and a television miniseries.
detail, but still excellent for someone of his age.” Later, he combined science fiction and
History has brought many influential scientists. Sir Isaac Newton is perhaps the most influential scientist of all time. Without his works and discoveries, mankind might have been set back many decades or even scores in scientific and technological advancement. Therefore, because of his tremendous impact on mankind, it is important to study Sir Isaac Newton's life and acheivements.
the idea for his book, how his book became a movie and finally, how he became a NASA
Asimov's Foundation can be seen as an archetype demonstrating the validity of science fiction and refuting these criticisms. It is argued that the writings of Asimov are the foundation upon which much of science fiction is built upon. From the outset Asimov maintained a strong faith in the genre, believing that its status will be enhanced with time. "If enough people read science fiction or are, at least, sufficiently influenced by people who read science fiction" he wrote, "enough of the population may come to accept change…."(Asimov 4)
Richard Feynman was born on May 11, 1918 in Brooklyn to Lucille and Melville Feynman. Feynman's childhood home was in the community of Far Rockaway, in the outskirts if Manhattan.
He has significantly altered our view of the world with his Theory of Relativity. The other one is not so well known, his works are commonly associated with Einstein instead. His name is Heisenberg. He is a narrator. He worked mainly in Quantum Physics and was responsible for the development of the Principle of Uncertainty.
Arthur Clarke has shown interest in science and astronomy since very early in his life. Clarke was born on 12/16/1917. Though he was a farmer's son, he liked to look
Carl Sagan wanted to reduce nuclear weapons in the world because he probably did truly value the lives of others and that everyone should live life to the fullest. Carl Sagan Graduated from Cornell university and he is a great example of living life to the fullest. Carl Sagan could have accomplished more in his life if he lived longer and If he lived longer he probably wouldn’t have retired because he never did stop trying to accomplish his goals. He discovered nuclear winter and possibly saved millions of lives in US/NATO guarded countries and in Hostile Soviet countries. Carl Sagan was a great scientist, but an even better astronomer in a lot of eyes of people because he wrote the well heard, remarkable book named “Cosmos” telling about stars and possibility of extraterrestrial life past or maybe in our solar system. Clearly, from his theories and discoveries that you can't doubt because the lack of proof shown, Carl Sagan was probably one of the most intelligent scientists ever to
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15th, 1564. His father, Vincenzo was a music teacher and musician. After his family moved to Florence, Galilei was sent to a monastery to be educated. He was so happy there that he decided to become a monk, but his father wanted him to be a medical doctor and brought him home to Florence. He was never really interested in medicine and studied mathematics at the University of Pisa. He was especially interested in famous mathematicians like Euclid (geometry) and Archimedes. In fact in 1586 he wrote his first book about one of Archimedes theories. He eventually became head of mathematics at the University of Pisa where he first wrote about a very important idea that he developed. It was about using experiments to test theories. He wrote about falling bodies in motion using inclined planes to test his theories.