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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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Sagan-a-thon

Category: Skepticism
Posted on: November 21, 2007 4:16 AM, by PZ Myers

You've got almost a month to get it together: it's the second annual Carl Sagan memorial blog-a-thon. Write something in honor of Carl Sagan by sometime around 20 December. This event got a huge response last year — it ought to be possible to top it this time around.

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Comments

Posted by: The Flying Trilobite, fcd | November 21, 2007 6:19 AM

Carl Sagan was a giant. I'll be participating for sure. I wish everyone in high school had to read Pale Blue Dot.

Thanks for the advance notice, PZ! So kind of ya.

Posted by: Anon | November 21, 2007 8:42 AM

That's awfully close to Cephalopodmas.

I suppose that's why it's called "the holiday season"...

Posted by: Blake Stacey | November 21, 2007 10:07 AM

I didn't even have a blog during the first Sagan-a-thon (although I did manage to recycle the comments I left elsewhere into a blog post), so I'm glad this is becoming an annual affair.

Posted by: G | November 21, 2007 1:29 PM

Well, I'm at least trying to start writing more frequently, glad an opportunity came up.

Posted by: James | November 22, 2007 5:24 AM

Goldenshower--

Sagan is an ex-everything. He's very sadly dead.

I know you were probably going for the claim that since he's dead, he has "met his maker", and no doubt learned his lesson for being an atheist. You probably believe he's burning in hell or whatever.

I think it speaks volumes about the kind of person you are, and many like you, would condemn one of humanity's brightest and most compassionate and most human minds to an eternity of torture by your insane bronze-age monster of a god. Very likely, you don't know anything about Sagan, other than he's an "evil atheist". People like you have never read his works, and have never been moved to tears by his passionate, eloquent love for science, the universe, discovery, and a life very well-lived.

I know I have leapt to all sorts of unfounded conclusions from that one sentence, but whenever I've heard that sort of mealy-mouthed thoughtless drivel uttered, it was always with that sort of intent.

Carl Sagan is one of my greatest childhood heroes, and an inspiration for millions. I won't tolerate you denigrating him.

I probably over-reacted just now, and if you didn't mean any of that, I apologize. I would be interested in knowing what you really mean by that statement, however.

Posted by: Onias | November 22, 2007 1:06 PM

I personally doubt that Carl Sagan existed outside the minds of atheologians. Even if he did, there's not enough evidence to think he turned water into wine or walked on water.

Posted by: Joel Schlosberg | November 22, 2007 4:08 PM

Thanks for the plug, PZ! The traffic on my site went through the roof yesterday, mostly due to this post.

#2: it's also close to Humanlight.

#3: Well, every year, a huge amount of people start blogging, so that's just one reason to think there will be a lot of new people this year.