History Creator / CarlSagan

** Inspired the ''[[BitTrip BIT.TRIP]]'' series as well.

* CoolTeacher: Sagan tried to be this to the world, and for the most part he succeeded. More specifically, many of his own students are now celebrity scientists in their own right. (Creator/NeilDeGrasseTyson might be the best example.)

* TheObiWan: Inspired Creator/NeilDeGrasseTyson and taught [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye]] at Cornell. And inspired and taught countless others as well.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Creator/NeilDeGrasseTyson.

* TheObiWan: Inspired Creator/NeilDeGrasseTyson and taught Creator/BillNye at Cornell. And inspired and taught countless others as well.

* CoolTeacher: Sagan tried to be this to the world, and for the most part he succeeded. More specifically, many of his own students are now celebrity scientists in their own right. (NeilDeGrasseTyson might be the best example.)

* TheObiWan: Inspired NeilDeGrasseTyson and taught BillNye at Cornell. And inspired and taught countless others as well.

* SpiritualSuccessor: NeilDeGrasseTyson.

In mainstream, he's somewhat of a star on Youtube; he's the centerpiece of the SymphonyOfScience videos, which auto-tunes Sagan's ''Cosmos'' along with other science programs to create [[strike:un]]expectedly awesome music videos, which total at about 8 million views. His ''[[TearJerker Pale]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Blue]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Dot]]'' speech is also a big hit, the two most watched versions having 1.7 Million views combined. His work, although the bulk of it was done 30+ years ago, still stands tall today within science, an incredible accomplishment.

* ''{{Threads}}'' (Scientific adviser)
* ''SymphonyOfScience'' (He's credited as artist on a released single)

* VoiceClipSong: ''SymphonyOfScience''

* TheScientificMethod

* PatrickStewartSpeech: Several times, and eloquently delivered. May have even been the inspiration for the {{Trope Namer}}'s speeches in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', which aired 7 years after ''Cosmos''.

* CompellingVoice: ''Cosmos'' is known as much for Sagan's sonorous cadence as for being groundbreaking in educational programming.

* BeamMeUpScotty: "''B''illions and ''b''illions!"
** There's an awesome instance of Sagan {{Lampshading}} this trope and, in fact, [[{{SubvertedTrope}} subverting]] it in the opening pages of his collection of essays titled ''Billions and Billions'':
--> I never said it. Honest. ... I said "billion" many times on the ''Series/{{Cosmos|APersonalVoyage}}'' television series, which was seen by a great many people. But I never said "billions and billions". [A page later.] For a while, out of childish pique, I wouldn't utter or write the phrase, even when asked to. But I've gotten over that. So, for the record, here goes: "Billions and billions."
** Sagan claimed he always pronounced "billions" with a strong, plosive B on the front so as to emphasize the fact that he wasn't just talking about mere millions. He also got rather annoyed when he did this at public speaking events and heard giggles from the audience.
* His possibly unique pronunciation of the word "cosmos" provoked lots of mirth in Great Britain, especially after impressionists and [[TheBurkissWay parodists]] got hold of it. For many people in Britain, ''Cosmos'' was their first introduction to the non-double-entendre pronunciation of the word "Uranus" - the dominant local pronunciation had always been "yoor-anus" - and the fact Sagan appeared to be conscientiously avoiding the "your arse" joke only served to lampshade it more. Kids in school playgrounds soon caught on to the weird alternative pronunciation and made a joke of it.

* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: The former TropeNamer, through ''{{Literature/Contact}}''

'''Carl Sagan''' (November 9, 1934 - December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

'''Carl Sagan''' (November 9, 1934 –- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

'''Carl Sagan''' (November 9, 1934 –- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/{{Cosmos}}'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

* ''{{Cosmos}}'' (Co-writer, host)

* ''Cosmos'' - Book form, 1980

--> I never said it. Honest. ... I said "billion" many times on the ''{{Cosmos}}'' television series, which was seen by a great many people. But I never said "billions and billions". [A page later.] For a while, out of childish pique, I wouldn't utter or write the phrase, even when asked to. But I've gotten over that. So, for the record, here goes: "Billions and billions."

Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934 –- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/{{Cosmos}}'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal claims (enlisting the assistance of JamesRandi and others). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

* ''Music from a Small Planet'' (with Ann Druyan), a {{Radio}} documentary about the Voyager Interstellar Record [[note]]A golden disc containing Earth music, voice messages and photographs, copies of which were launched into space on the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes on the off-chance that aliens would find them in interstellar space[[/note]]

Carl Sagan (November 9th, 1934 –- December 20th, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/{{Cosmos}}'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

* EruditeStoner: Had toked many a joint in his lifetime. His wife Ann Druyan carries out his legacy as a popularizer of science and as president of the [=NORML=][[note]] National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws"[[/note]] Foundation Board of Directors.

* SpaceIsAnOcean: Although the trope itself is averted, Sagan did make poetic analogies between the oceanic voyages in the Age of Exploration to the modern day exploration of the space - he called Earth the 'shore of the cosmic ocean', and repeatedly referred to spacecraft, of all kinds - from small robotic probes like the Mariners and Voyagers, to grand hypothetical Bussard Ramjet interstellar designs - as "ships". Also, the Planetary Society's logo - a [[SpaceSailing sailing ship against the backdrop of a ringed planet]].

* InsignificantLittleBluePlanet: Played with. On the one hand, he got a spacecraft, out almost 4 billion miles, to turn around and actually take a picture of the Earth as the eponymous Pale Blue Dot, and repeatedly argued that we shouldn't consider ourselves 'privileged' or 'special' over any other group of humans, or any other species, merely by birth. On the other hand, he spoke of humanity's potential to spread out into space and seek out its bearings in the cosmos, and that, while our homeworld Earth may be a tiny blue dot, it ''is'' the only place known to have evolved and sustained life, and there are no 'better places', so far at least.

** [[http://marijuana-uses.com/mr-x/ He actually wrote an article for ''Marihuana Reconsidered'' under a pseudonym.]]

Carl Sagan (Born November 9th, 1934 – December 20th, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/{{Cosmos}}'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

* CreepyMonotone

* ''Music from a Small Planet'' (with Ann Druyan), a {{Radio}} documentary about the Voyager Interstellar Record [[hottip:*:A golden disc containing Earth music, voice messages and photographs, copies of which were launched into space on the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes on the off-chance that aliens would find them in interstellar space]]

* EruditeStoner: Had toked many a joint in his lifetime. His wife Ann Druyan carries out his legacy as a popularizer of science and as president of the [=NORML=][[hottip:*: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws"]] Foundation Board of Directors.

Carl Sagan (Born November 9th, 1934 – December 20th, 1996) was [[{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/{{Cosmos}}'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

* PeripheryDemographic: Sagan, loved the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise in the sense that it basically promoted a skeptic point of view of the supernatural with the heroes continually exposing paranormal incidents as mere elaborate hoaxes and providing logical explanations instead.

* SpiritualSuccessor: NeilDegrasseTyson.