Today was the final episode of the second version of Cosmos.
I remember watching Cosmos in the living room of my grandparents when I was growing up. I remember Carl Sagan talking and being in awe of the off that is around us. I remember reading a children’s magazine called Odyssey and learning of the universe.
I remember the pale blue dot.
Pale Blue Dot – Animation from Ehdubya on Vimeo.
I remember listening to Carl Sagan on that TV in my grandparents house listening with rapt fascination at what was going on. I remember getting the bug that is learning about everything around me.
I remember it well.
Fast forward to today… Science is… from the recent Cosmos with Neil DeGrass Tyson:
It was the work of generations of searchers who took five simple rules to heart.
- Question authority. No idea is true just because someone says so. Including me.
- Think for yourself. Question yourself.
- Don’t believe anything just because you want to. Believing something doesn’t make it so.
- Test ideas based on evidence gained from observation and experiment. If a favorite idea fails a well designed test it’s wrong get over it. Follow the evidence wherever it leads. If you have no evidence, reserve judgement.
- And perhaps the most important one of all: remember you could be wrong.
Science is a way to keep from fooling ourselves and each other.
I love science. I love being wrong. Being wrong means I get to learn something. Learning makes me better.
Science. It works, bitches.
