Thursday, February 03, 2011

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The scions of Sagan

Carl SaganBrian GreeneNeil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Greene are the Carl Sagans of the 21st century. I’m happy that Carl Sagan’s 1980 TV series, Cosmos is available for streaming on Netflix, and I’ll soon re-watch it.

Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts the TV program NOVA ScienceNOW, and gives wonderfully amusing and insightful talks, some of which are on YouTube. Brian Greene did a PBS program about string theory, called The Elegant Universe, based on his book of the same name. Both scientists have a way of making science interesting and understandable to the general public, and both are excellent, charismatic speakers. If you have a chance to see or hear either of them, do it.

A week ago, or so, Dr Greene was on the radio program Fresh Air, a 34-minute segment called A Physicist Explains Why Parallel Universes May Exist (promoting his new book, of course, The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos). Go give it a listen.

3 comments:

Brent said...

One would expect that by this point in time there would be "billions and billions" of new astronomers to step into his shoes...

The Ridger, FCD said...

I've read Green, but not heard him. Tyson, on the other hand, I have heard (and in person once) and he is a wonderful speaker.

Katharine said...

Did you catch Tyson's cameo on "Big Bang Theory" too?

My husband, a science educator, enjoys Tyson's new NOVA series; so do I, but then again I'm no expert ;-)