Sagan explains that it was in Alexandria that Eratosthenes (276-194 BC) made the discovery that the Earth was round. Whatever the case, the vast majority of the Library’s contents have been lost to history.) There is evidence that the buildings were converted into churches and mosques at different periods. Some scholars believe the Library was burned to the ground in 48 BC during Julius Caesar’s occupation of Alexandria, while others believe it suffered a more gradual destruction due to long periods of political unrest in the area. (Shortform note: The Great Library of Alexandria is believed to have contained in its collections over half a million written works on every subject of human knowledge and inquiry, from cultures across the world. He says that he has often wondered where we might be today (scientifically) if all of that knowledge hadn’t been lost. Around 285 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria was established as the world’s greatest repository of scientific knowledge and literature, though Sagan laments that most of the documents were lost when it was destroyed. These belief systems don’t assume humans are superior to, or have dominion over, anything else in nature, and put a strong emphasis on respect and honor for all non-human beings.) Alexandriaīy the 3rd century AD Alexandria, Egypt had become the new center of scientific inquiry in the West. Most indigenous religions are animistic belief systems that see humans as a part of the natural world just like everything else. (Shortform note: Challenging an anthropocentric worldview isn’t necessarily in contradiction with all religions. Sagan explains that this was a bold challenge to the social order, as it conflicted with a religious worldview that asserted that humans are uniquely created by the Gods, as well as with the idea of natural social hierarchies. This idea can be extended to many aspects of life-Aristarchus challenged the prevailing anthropocentric (“human-centered”) worldview. He argued that humans are not the center of the universe, nor is our planet.
In that text, he states, "The sun strings these worlds-the earth, the planets, the atmosphere-to himself on a thread." It’s unclear why Sagan doesn’t acknowledge this, which leaves us to question whether it’s because of a bias toward Western history or if he was unaware (or skeptical) of this text.)Īccording to Sagan, Aristarchus’ “great legacy” is the argument that we’re not special. An Indian astronomer named Yajnavalkya, proposed the heliocentric model of the universe around 800 BC, more than 500 years before Aristarchus. In fact, the earliest known suggestion that the Earth revolves around the sun comes from an ancient Vedic text from India. (Shortform note: Sagan takes a Western historical perspective in the timeline he presents. I end with a discussion on how the study of Sagan fandom can help build bridges between public participation in science and fan studies.Scientists in this period also proposed that the orbits of the planets were elliptical rather than circular, and that gravitational forces were at work in their orbiting of the sun. I explore these forms of participation by categorizing four types of paratextual routes that Sagan fans and anti-fans create for engaging secular-religiosity.
Next, I map a fan-generated Sagan-inspired group of paratexts onto Massimiano Bucchi and Federico Neresini’s public participation in science graph to show that Sagan fans who reproduce secular-religiosity engage in low-intensity but spontaneous forms of public participation in science. helps to describe how popular texts that feature Sagan allow room for audiences to access scientific knowledge and incorporate it into everyday belief systems. I draw from Matt Hills, to develop the term secular-religiosity. This article asks the question: in what ways can Carl Sagan fans and anti-fans be understood within a larger participatory science culture? To answer this question, I use Jonathan Gray’s theory of paratextuality to show how the study of Carl Sagan fandom can contribute to discussions on public participation in science.
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