Almost half a century ago, popular American scientist and famous personality Carl Sagan explained the concept of a forth dimension using a sliced apple.
Sometimes, I really miss Carl Sagan. He hosted science shows - most famously Cosmos - decades ago, while I was a kid. He had this fascinating and distinctive way of talking, which appealed to me. He seemed friendly and informative. All of that was enjoyable to me at the time. Yet it was probably better for my fertile young imagination than I even realized at the time.
More recently, I remember seeing Carl Sagan honored while I was working at Rahway Pubic Schools, particularly the high school. Sagan graduated from this high school - I believe from the actual, physical building that the high school is still housed in - back in 1951. It made me reminisce about him, and I began to explore some of his television programs, at least the ones that were and/or are available on Youtube.
Now, here's the thing: I am not a scientist. When I look out into the skies at night and see the stars, I think about some of the things that I have heard about other planets and stars and galaxies and black holes and the universe. Sometimes, I look at the moon, and remember the history, and particularly the video clips of when Kennedy's goal o us reaching the moon and bringing men safely back to Earth safely, which surely was one of the finest hours for the United States, and even of humanity. It was an undeniable triumph. Still, I do not have much of a capacity to actually understand science. So all I know is what television personalities like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye say, and the few clips that I have seen of scientists of the past, particularly Copernicus and Galileo and Darwin and Einstein. I even tried to read a couple of Stephen Hawkings books (and technically, I guess I did), but only understood the very beginning of it, his introduction.
The thing is, science seems to not be overly valued today. Oh, people love certain things that science and technology have brought us, particularly all of the modern conveniences that it made possible. Certainly, they also like medications that have helped to make us healthier. But then many of these same people who love that aspect of science and technology then turn around and deny the legitimacy of scientists when they talk about things like evolution and especially climate change.
Man, we could use more famous personalities like Carl Sagan in our celebrity obsessed culture, which tends to focus on garbage and outward appearances, while lacking any serious substance.
Anyway, I ran into this article (see link below) and thought it would be worth sharing here.
Enjoy.
46 years ago, Carl Sagan beautifully explained the fourth dimension using a sliced apple Carl Sagan was the Mister Rogers of complex scientific concepts. Tod Perry Upworthy Staff 02.09.26
https://www.upworthy.com/carl-sagan-beautifully-explained-the-fourth-dimension-using-a-sliced-apple-ex1?fbclid=IwY2xjawQE0BdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeAg-7zENbNm--KuXLMtuxlKQSC93xaIS09QKc2URBuH6HNPp-rlmnCw4YjAE_aem_986KM4xoWKi2q0oOEu5onA
46 years ago, Carl Sagan beautifully explained the fourth dimension using a sliced apple - Upworthy
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