Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Carl Sagan · Thinkers beyond philosophy · Modern · 1977, as a reporter's line
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What does it mean?
The line is a fair description of a mood people associate with him, and it is not a sentence he is shown to have written. Begley's 1977 article is the source that keeps turning up when the wording is hunted. A competing habit, very common, prints it under his name because the star-stuff narration is nearby in spirit. Spirit is not a citation. His own wonder is on the cards for Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot, in words he did say. This one stays Misattributed so the real sentences are not diluted by a caption.
Did Carl Sagan really say this?
The library’s label is Misattributed. Quote researchers trace this sentence to Sharon Begley's 1977 Newsweek article about Sagan, not to a line in Cosmos, Broca's Brain, or The Demon-Haunted World. It sounds like his wonder. It is a reporter's sentence. Do not cite it as his.
Where it comes from
Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 1977, writing about Sagan; not a sentence he published
Approximate date: 1977, as a reporter's line.
How to use it
If a poster in a school in Leeds gives the line to Sagan, replace it with the star-stuff narration or with the pale blue dot, both of which you can point to. The poster can stay on the wall as a mood. It should not stay as a quotation.
A mindset reading
A sentence can be pleasant and still be the wrong attribution. The library's rule is the source, not the fit.
Understand the philosophy
The origin is journalism, Newsweek, 1977, Sharon Begley. The key fact is that he is the subject of the sentence, not its author. Episode 1 of Cosmos is the wonder he actually narrated. Chapter 17 of The Demon-Haunted World is where wonder has to share a room with scrutiny. This card exists so the fake is easy to refuse.
- knowledge
- meaning
FAQ
What does it mean?
The line is a fair description of a mood people associate with him, and it is not a sentence he is shown to have written. Begley's 1977 article is the source that keeps turning up when the wording is hunted. A competing habit, very common, prints it under his name because the star-stuff narration is nearby in spirit. Spirit is not a citation. His own wonder is on the cards for Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot, in words he did say. This one stays Misattributed so the real sentences are not diluted by a caption.
Did Carl Sagan really say this?
Misattributed. Quote researchers trace this sentence to Sharon Begley's 1977 Newsweek article about Sagan, not to a line in Cosmos, Broca's Brain, or The Demon-Haunted World. It sounds like his wonder. It is a reporter's sentence. Do not cite it as his.
Which work is it in?
Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 1977, writing about Sagan; not a sentence he published Approximate date: 1977, as a reporter's line.