Re-reading Sagan's "Broca's Brain", I laughed out loud when reading this passage, concerned with the story behind naming Martian surface features: "Another suggestion, made by a European savant, was to name each volcano "Mons" (mountain) followed by the name of a principal Roman deity in the appropriate Latin genitive case: thus, Mons Martes, Mons Jovis and Mons Veneris. I objected that at least the last of these had been pre-empted by quite a different field of human activity. The reply was: "Oh, I hadn't heard." I guess some astronomers really don't get out enough. ;) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
Cute! Sagan is amazing -- I'm reading "The Demon Haunted World" -- pretty relevant to these times... --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
Re-reading Sagan's "Broca's Brain", I laughed out loud when reading this passage, concerned with the story behind naming Martian surface features:
"Another suggestion, made by a European savant, was to name each volcano "Mons" (mountain) followed by the name of a principal Roman deity in the appropriate Latin genitive case: thus, Mons Martes, Mons Jovis and Mons Veneris. I objected that at least the last of these had been pre-empted by quite a different field of human activity. The reply was: "Oh, I hadn't heard."
I guess some astronomers really don't get out enough. ;)
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--- Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com> wrote:
Cute! Sagan is amazing -- I'm reading "The Demon Haunted World" -- pretty relevant to these times...
I reread "Demon" it last summer after a number of years. It is on point to current U.S. cultural trends towards not believing in the power of analysis and the scientific method over "gut feelings." This ongoing left-brain/right-brain debate is also being played out in two books on last year's and this year's non-fiction lists: Gladwell, Malcolm. 2005. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. ISBN: 0316172324 (About the light and dark side of making "thin-sliced" decisions as an alternative to rigorous analysis and critical thinking.) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316172324/qid=1140545925/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs... and Michael LeGault's pointed response to "Blink" called "Think" - LeGault, Michael. Jan. 2006 Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can't Be Made in the Blink of an Eye. ISBN 1416523782. (Gladwell notwithstanding, there just isn't any PC or anti-intellectual substitute for Baconian analysis and critical thinking skills, if you want to build a prosperous society.) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416523782/qid=1140546033/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs... After rereading Sagan's "Demon," it took me awhile to again make friends with my right-brain tree-hugging inner-child. -:) Although I'm only part way through LeGault's "Think", LeGault's guess is that the baby-boomers, after embracing counter-culture in the 1960s and 1970s, are ready for a pendulum-swing, after being hyper-marketed and focused-grouped by industry and politicians over the last 20 years. LeGault speculates the boomers are set to lead a return to insistence on rigorous analysis in public debate. - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
participants (3)
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Canopus56 -
Chuck Hards -
Richard Tenney