His Excellency Carl Sagan.

For years this man has fascinated me. No one has ever made complicated astronomy, physics, and science in general more accessible to the public. Many people try to compare Richard Dawkins to the great Sagan, to which I see the argument. However, Sagan carried the ability to make people question their beliefs and accept the scientific method into everyday life almost conflict free. His Cosmos series was groundbreaking in terms of public accessibility, and has contributions that will exceed many generations from now. One of which was a set of core beliefs in the scientific method that can be bridged into core subjects such as social studies and English. (taken from his website)

1. Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts.
2. Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
3. Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
4. If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
5. Quantify wherever possible

He also went on the 'debunking' trend within cosmos. I once postulated a curriculum based upon debunking pseudo science, but quickly realized i was in the social sciences. Later I'll devote an entire post to debunking astrology, but for now here is Carl Sagan doing what he did best.



Finally for anyone seeking to find a clip describing the national morale towards the end of the cold war, Sagan says it better than anyone else could.


As Sagan says,
"By.studying.other.worlds.we.learn.about.ours."