Pale Blue Dot
by Carl Sagan · first published 1994
35% recommend65% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Sagan's humbling, optimistic case for seeing Earth as a fragile speck and for humanity's future in space, with detailed Voyager and Apollo coverage and poetic prose; suits readers wanting wonder over technical depth.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
“Fascinating . . . memorable . . . revealing . . . perhaps the best of Carl Sagan’s books.”—The Washington Post Book World (front page review) In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time. Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier—space. In Pale Blue Dot, Sagan traces the spellbinding history o
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2022–2025Bronze Age Mindset
Bronze Age Pervert
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 52 recommend · 5 mention2 recommend · 52 recommend
2008–2026The Lucifer Principle
Howard Bloom
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2018–2025Salvation
Peter F. Hamilton
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
The years of Lyndon Johnson
Robert A. Caro
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 2220 recommend · 22 mention20 recommend · 2220 recommend
2009–2026The Urth of the new sun
Gene Wolfe
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 126 recommend · 12 mention6 recommend · 126 recommend
2016–2025The Big Picture
Sean M. Carroll
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 137 recommend · 13 mention7 recommend · 137 recommend
2007–2023The Innovators Solution
Clayton M. Christensen
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 144 recommend · 14 mention4 recommend · 144 recommend
2008–2026Master of the Senate
Robert A. Caro
Recommended by 17 · mentioned by 2417 recommend · 24 mention17 recommend · 2417 recommend
…they understand science. They could, if they desired, find a way to communicate with earthlings using the universal language - Science. Carl Sagan made this point in one of his books and I think it was Pale Blue Dot (highly recommended). I've shared some of my thoughts about aliens on my blog posts which my comment here were from. [4] [5] [1] https://www.joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsys... [2]…
on “Fermi Paradox” ↗To follow your argument here, perhaps the person in question believes the Pale Blue Dot to be more meaningful than a legal document. I certainly do - it’s a wonderful book that absolutely captures Carl Sagan’s sense of wonder for the universe, which to me seems like exactly what you should…
on “New NASA Director Swears Oath on Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’ Instead of Bible” ↗As Carl Sagan would say, "billions of billions". Also this quote from the book "Pale Blue Dot" is equally amazing: http://vimeo.com/2822787 The original "Pale Blue Dot": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M
on “The Most Detailed Image of Our Galaxy Ever Taken” ↗…bombs and lots of them. Then you have the ablation problem on the surface of the pushee - ie the asteroid.) Project Orion explored the concept of bomb propulsion at great length. Two references for you: Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan, contains a thorough exploration of the technology required to divert earth-bound asteroids, and the consequences of possessing that technology. Project Orion, by George Dyson, is the…
on “Can You Stop a Hurricane by Nuking It?” ↗…that might be not what you're after. Here are 3 good books I'm happy to recommend instead: - "Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945" by Tony Judt - "A History of Future Cities" by Daniel Brook - "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space" by Carl Sagan (if you already read Pale Blue Dot which I appear to be late to the party on try "Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective" by…
on “Lessons learned after 300 books in 4 years” ↗…poetic story about the wind. As well as a couple non-fiction: - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! This is made of pure awesomesauce and perfectly captures the kind of spirit at the root of hackerdom. - Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan (in progress). Humbling. - Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. Surprised me in many ways.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗I really loved the Pale blue dot by Carl Sagan. His voice is soo smooth and relaxing that sometimes I just hear it for his voice even though the content is nothing less than amazing. P.S. Unfortunately Sagan died before the book recording…
on “Ask HN: Which audiobooks did/do you like?” ↗I don't think it's about control as it is about conceit. I don't think human conceit can be underestimated. This really became clear to me from reading The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. Humans want to believe everything is created for them, the universe was created for them, it's at the basis of a lot of the beliefs people hold. Then they want to cling to this belief of…
on “My Parents Are Flat Earthers” ↗>I don't think it's about control as it is about conceit. I don't think human conceit can be underestimated. This really became clear to me from reading The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. Humans want to believe everything is created for them, the universe was created for them, it's at the basis of a lot of the beliefs people hold. Then they want to cling to this belief of…
on “My Parents Are Flat Earthers” ↗…the clouds, to look up and for the first time witness that glorious universe of Sun and planets and stars." . . . Carl Sagan is an amazing author, and I've shared the famous excerpt from his book Pale Blue Dot multiple times before - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47565381 A few mentions of his books in my blog post here - https://www.rxjourney.net/30-things-i-know
on “Why Not Venus?” ↗…Germs and Steel is possibly one of the most fascinating books I've read in years. No wonder it won a Pulitzer. Also I have to add a Carl Sagan book. "Varieties of Scientific Experience" is fantastic. "pale blue dot", as well.
on “What books would you recommend reading? Why?” ↗The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig Lila: An Inquiry into Morals - Robert M. Pirsig The Open Society and its Enemies - Karl. R. Popper The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." from "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost
on “Articles, Ideas, Books and/or Concepts that have changed your life” ↗Also good: Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M&feature=fvw
on “The universe is a very big place” ↗The great Carl Sagan was at times mocked for his seemingly outrageous claims that "we live on this pale blue dot, amongst a billion other solar systems, amongst a billion other galaxies." If anybody remembers him standing on the beach in the opening episode of Cosmos -- or read the book, my childhood favorite, still…
on “Image of the Day: One Trillion Stars Andromedea Galaxy in Infrared & X Ray” ↗…member of this species but at times we rise higher than we can possibly imagine. Either that, or we get hit by an asteroid and we're wiped of the face of the planet. I'd recommend everyone read the book Pale Blue Dot by Sagan "A Vision of the Human Future in Space".
on “ What are your thoughts after watching "pale blue dot"” ↗