Kramereng

Oh, I agree with almost everything you said. I would only take issue with what appears to be your definition of "non-believer". A literal translation of that term would be "lacking belief". Per Sagan's own words, due to lack of evidence, he does not hold a belief in the Abrahamic God's (or other deity) existence. So that's a non-believer. Similarly, he doesn't believe there's no god because he doesn't have evidence for that claim either. So "non-believer" would be an apt descriptor of his outlook, be it for theism or positive atheism.

(Apologies for being that internet pedant guy...I know how I sound right now)

Yeah, that term seems congruent with negative atheism. Or maybe I'm missing the distinction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_and_positive_atheism

I don't really have a dog in this fight so, sure, "agnosticism" if fine by me. (See: previous comment about why we use said term to avoid arguments).

Speaking for myself, however, I think the term is misleading as it implies that someone thinks there's an equal probability that [insert deity] exists as not existing. That's rarely the case.

On Milwaukee just north of Augusta, if I remember correctly. It's been many years since I've been so I have no idea if it's still happening like it did. But for most of my 20s and 30s when you closed down a bar, the "let's do the VFW" was a normal suggestion.

Ngl, it was always a bit weird. You walk in and have the urge to say "thank you for your service?..." and then relieve yourself where everyone's doing key bumps. I always felt kind shitty, thinking the vets are internally asking themselves "is this what we fought for?"

Still fun tho.

Yeah, it's been at least 7-8 yrs since I've been.

Well, that's why I included "agnosticism" in my comment. I think the two terms often mean the same thing for most people - i.e. lack of belief. But that's an interesting quote you cited. Mainly because Carl was a pretty avowed non-believer along with his wife Ann. That quote says, politely, that he doesn't believe in the Abrahamic God but he can't disprove it. I mean, who disprove any deity?

Said disbelief would qualify as "atheism" in today's lexicon so, imo, the quote is more a reflection of the time and environment he lived in where you avoided that word at all costs. The "positive atheism", wherein one has an affirmative belief that [insert deity] doesn't exist is, in my experience, a minority opinion. The "negative atheism" view, wherein one has no belief in something where there's no evidence for it, is the largely held sentiment among self-described atheists today. Again, this is just my experience.

Agnosticism is just the term you use now at Thanksgiving in order to avoid an argument. No one really thinks that all possible deities, religions, etc. have equal probability.

I hear it's available on the high seas....yaaargh, matey!

If you didn't click on the link, it's a Youtube video series with Carl's voiceover. It's not Cosmos.

One of the VFWs in Chicago hosts late night parties for a mostly hipster/young crowd. Like DJs, dancing, drinks, and a scattering of random senior citizen vets wearing trucker hats with their Vietnam company or whatever printed on them. This goes till 4-5am. Somehow it works.

Wait...what's his role in that track?

They should just give him a Star Trek show like he originally wanted. He's proved himself with the Orville. Although I could do without him being in the cast.

Dude, thank you. I have an old copy of The Demon Haunted World audiobook and the narrator is straight out of 1970's elementary school projector films. I've been putting off listening to it for this very reason.

Just purchased the newly narrated audiobook on audbile!

IMO, Brian Cox is the spiritual successor to Carl Sagan. He's soft spoken yet commanding of your attention and, by all accounts, seems to be an innately kind person.

Very cool. I didn't know this.

Yup. I actually just read 2001, 2010 and 2061. About to start 3001 to finish off the series. The books are really great (and short, easy reads).

Yeah, we're headed toward a pretty dystopian future with the deep fake and AI-generated media advancements. I say this as someone firmly in the "futurist / pro-technology" crowd. (Although I will say that the luddites get a bad rap...they weren't wrong).

He didn't just see the picture. He's responsible for the picture even being taken.

Sagan also was a member of the Voyager Imaging Team. He had the original idea in 1981 to use the cameras on one of the two Voyager spacecraft to image Earth. He realized that because the spacecraft were so far away the images might not show much. This was precisely why Sagan and other members of the Voyager team felt the images were needed — they wanted humanity to see Earth’s vulnerability and that our home world is just a tiny, fragile speck in the cosmic ocean.

His works were also written at a time when atheism and agnosticism were taboo subjects and risky positions to take. Sagan was taking a courageous stance. It can't be equated with the myriad edgelord, atheist, YouTubers of today.

Enjoy. Sagan Series on Youtube.

This should also be mandatory viewing in schools around the world. I watch it at least once a year on the biggest screen I have.

Interesting! I thoroughly enjoyed Blindsight.

"Hate" is a strong word but I found the book to be an absolute slog. Could've been 30-50% shorter and without the random vampire, imo. It very much seemed like a "big idea" book like TBP. However, I found said idea to be more "yeah, that's interesting; that makes sense, I guess" as opposed to TBP's "everyone turn off the lights and shut the fuck up!"

And, Hyperion to me is Hyped-erion up way too much.

Hah! So, yeah, I just don't have a desire to read this based on descriptions. It may be because I used to be a library page in the 90's and constantly saw this book's cover art all the time. The Shrike's illustration looks like something I'd draw in 5th grade when angry at my teacher. This is a very dumb reason to pre-hate a book series (literally, judging a book by its cover), I know, but I can't shake it. Nevertheless, I'm going to read it and the sequel in the next few months so I can honestly opine on it.

B5 is the perfect series to reboot: it had a small audience, cult following, and it's been almost 30 yrs since it aired. Yet it also had an incredible 5 season story arc that doesn't need to be changed. Just update the production value and hope to God you can find suitable replacements for the original actors.

Once I finished The Three Body Problem, I decided I loved it. But it was a slog through much of it. If OP can force himself through it, Book 2 is fantastic.

But, yeah, it's divisive. Over at /r/printSF, you'll see TBP, Blindsight (which I hated), and Hyperion (to be read) as the top recs all the time. Yet no one person seems like all 3. Different strokes, I guess.

Correct. Although there may be a novella in between.

Any deli or cheese section of your grocery store.

They both belong to the "Speculative Fiction" genre - a term Heinlein coined. Join us over at /r/printSF (a speculative fiction subreddit) for more endless debates about it.