People like Carl Sagan highlight the need for science evangelists who are good at communicating scientific ideas to the public in terms which are easy to understand. All too often other more dubious kinds of evangelists are far more effective at spreading their propaganda.

This blows my mind every time I watch it.

Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

Also this is a fantastic mix using Carl Sagan samples from Cosmos.

I'm sorta a massive fan ^_^

It gets me too. Puts our petty concerns into perspective. Carl Sagan would have been the coolest president ever. If only we could resurrect him. hahah

I respect Sagan enormously. His works have had a huge impact on who I am as a person. Nevertheless, there's no need to deify him, I think that's the last thing he would have wanted. That being said, I think he would probably not have made a good president.

Even so, his contribution to humanity was tremendous, we are very much diminished by his absence.

> there's no need to deify him, I think that's the last thing he would have wanted

Well, if you're going to deify someone, a good first criterion is to avoid anyone who does want the position :)

The best presidents were scientists and writers. Jefferson saw himself as a scientist before a politician...

I'm interested in what aspects of Sagan you perceive as not being suitable for political leadership?

Not that I want to imply that I think he was suitable (I've never really considered that particular option) - but I do view with dismay what is typically seen as being required to be an effective politician and it is perhaps interesting to consider the alternatives.

I wouldn't say I deify him but that is a fair point, it would be easy to do so though so one must always reflect.

I watched Cosmos on DVD, great series.

I watched it on (black-and-white) over-the-air TV growing up in Argentina at the tail end of the military dictatorship. I'm not exaggerating when I say it changed my life -- and many of my friends' too.

I've had my current Netflix disks far too long. Thanks for the nudge; I haven't been able to finish them because I'm finding I need something genuinely inspiring (and interesting).

If you have a media center, you can also watch Cosmos from Netflix Instant.

ooh, and I also recommend Jacob Bronowski's "The Ascent of Man", which is a little older, but it's a similar concept, with a similarly eloquent presenter, focusing on the history of mankind.