Carl Sagan
(1934 - 1996)
Predicted The Mess 2020's Would Be
Almost 3 Decades Ago
By Vani Khokar December 18, 2022
Astrophysicist and author Carl Sagan managed to predict a lot of the things the challenges America faces in the year 2021 all the way back in 1995 when he was writing a book published just before his death in 1996.He talked about climate change, a society full of division, insecurity, mistrust and authoritarian leadership in the country.
Carl Sagan holding a globe model of the planet Mars, 1970s
Carl Sagan predicted the present state of USA almost 28 years ago and it is blowing people's minds
Global warming, climate change, a crashing economy and bad administration are not something unfamiliar to us today. We reap the consequences of humankind's disastrous actions every day. However, one American astronomer reportedly predicted the current state of the US 28 + years ago.
Carl Sagan, the author of "Cosmos," is known for simplifying scientific concepts in layman's terms for the average civilian. He received many awards during and after his revolutionary career, including the
NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Pulitzer Prize, two Emmy awards and the
National Science Foundation's Distinguished Public Service Award for lifetime achievement.
He died in 1966 at the age of 62 but his predictions about the US are still proving to be true in today's times. Charles Bergquist, the director of a public radio science program, drew the Internet's attention to Sagan's prediction of America's future in his book, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark," when he tweeted about it in 2017. People were shocked to read his prediction of the then-future United States as a dystopian society full of division, insecurity, mistrust and authoritarian leadership in only a few phrases.
He wrote, "I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries."
He added: "...when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues."
He died in 1966 at the age of 62 but his predictions about the US are still proving to be true in today's times. Charles Bergquist, the director of a public radio science program, drew the Internet's attention to Sagan's prediction of America's future in his book, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark," when he tweeted about it in 2017. People were shocked to read his prediction of the then-future United States as a dystopian society full of division, insecurity, mistrust and authoritarian leadership in only a few phrases.
He wrote, "I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries."
He added: "...when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues."
Moreover, he predicts that people would have lost the ability to question those in power.
"When clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and whats true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness," Sagan wrorte. The tweet went viral.
"When clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and whats true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness," Sagan wrorte. The tweet went viral.
Sagan didn't stop there and made several other predictions that have come true after his death. During his keynote speech at the 5th Emerging Issues Forum in 1990, Sagan outlined the impacts of climate change and the need of combating them, reports The Manual. He asked the audience a simple question, "How much money do you think the United States has spent since 1945 on the Cold War?" Sagan observes that "classic military thinking" always entails planning for the worst-case scenario. Even if it's only a remote possibility, being prepared for a severe, existential threat is critical.
He then asks, "Why doesn't that same argument apply to Global Warming? If it's only a small probability of it happening since the consequences are so serious, don't you have to make some serious investment to prevent it or mitigate it?" Sagan was correct and can even now make most of us think that the current scenario might have been prevented if we all had asked ourselves these questions and decided to do something about it.
He then asks, "Why doesn't that same argument apply to Global Warming? If it's only a small probability of it happening since the consequences are so serious, don't you have to make some serious investment to prevent it or mitigate it?" Sagan was correct and can even now make most of us think that the current scenario might have been prevented if we all had asked ourselves these questions and decided to do something about it.
🌍🌎🌏🌟🌠
No comments:
Post a Comment