Carl Sagan (Blogophilia 14.46)
Looking heavenward Alternating blinking lights Did E T phone home? I'm not much of a science fiction fan, but I did go through a short phase in college where I read Arthur C. Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov. I spent time in Perlandra and Dune. Even did Watership Down and The Clan of the Cave Bear series. I appreciated their efforts to get me to think of what was beyond the veil. But in the end, I'm too much of a realist to suspend my belief in theories that, at least at the moment, have no basis in the real world. I eventually came around to Carl Sagan. He was one of few people who could communicate both what could be and what truly is (at least at the moment). The balance of skepticism and wonder rolled through his writing, whether it was Cosmos or about this family life. There is an essential hope to draw from there. I hope I passed that on to my kids.