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CARL SAGAN AND FANATICISM

Publicado el 26/01/2011
⚡ TL;DR

Carl Sagan, a vocal astrology skeptic, exposed how constellation names change with Earth's position, making astrology's visual foundation unreliable. Paradoxically, his followers often became fanatics wielding his ideas as dogma—the very fundamentalism he opposed.

Carl Sagan  Y el fanatismo
El científico Carl Sagan, excelente divulgador sobre temas relacionados con las ciencias, fue y aún es un referente, tanto es así que se granjeó la envidia de ciertos sectores de la ciencia, que no veían con buenos ojos que se impusiese vía documental, una personal manera de ver las cosas, ciertamente su mensaje ha llegado lejos tanto en el cielo como la tierra, y como ya apuntaba en su popular cosmos. Fue un mensaje personal, sin embargo es difícil sustraerse a su embrujo y a su claridad mental ,se trata de un personaje contrario a los fanatismos, mitómanos y fundamentalistas, en el sentido de que luchó contra aquello que pretendía imponer dogmas.

The inevitable and moreover repeatedly occurring paradox throughout history is that some followers became authentic fanatics of his message, closing themselves off to all reasoning and wielding some of his most popular works as if they were biblical creed. This myth-making is not far removed from that which he fought against during his life. The tendency we humans have in general to seek idols found in him a strong reference point, distorting the message of a popularizer above all willing to advance science and break with the old paradigms of faith.

It seems truly crude to use his name to formalize closed conduct, laden with prejudices and in many cases fundamentalist, I believe he already fought enough in his life against closed-mindedness and intolerance from certain sectors of science, which moreover isolated him.

Carl Sagan no fue un experto astrólogo.
Carl Sagan es usado por fundamentalismas cientificos en ocasionesEn uno de sus excelentes documentales, que yo de pequeño más que ver absorbía, explicó que las constelaciones cambian de forma en relación con un observador terrestre,  y puesto que los nombres de estas constelaciones y  sus atributos en la interpretación astrológica son causados por el parecido que puedan tener con por ejemplo animales, la astrología dejaría de ser funcional en el futuro al cambiar la forma en que contemplamos los astros desde la tierra, de la misma manera en el pasado las figuras que aparentemente observamos ahora serían otras, ¿cómo se puede explicar esto? Es evidente que dentro de la interpretación astrológica existen varios factores que simultáneamente deben tomarse en consideración, las constelaciones zodiacales son uno de estos factores, aunque la revolución de los planetas y su relación angular, así como la que tienen con los cuatro puntos de referencia cardinales es más relevante e inamovible, sin embargo respecto al cambio en la figura que podemos percibir desde la tierra, la respuesta es la más sencilla como suele suceder,

The doctor Sagan pointed out that in different regions of the earth the constellations had different names and what for some turns out to be a cart for others can be a vase, well then that is the answer, first comes the influence and then a reference is sought in the sky, if force and statistical decisiveness is observed in a series of people born in a certain month, a lion was sought in the constellation through which the sun passes and not the other way around, it is something very obvious, as Oakland said in his principle of parsimony the simplest and most straightforward explanation is the correct one.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did Carl Sagan say about astrology? +
Sagan argued that astrology relies on outdated constellation patterns. Since constellations change appearance from different Earth locations and shift over time, the visual basis for astrological interpretation lacks scientific validity. However, he acknowledged planetary positions and angles hold different relevance to astrological systems.
Does astrology work according to science? +
Scientific consensus rejects astrology as pseudoscience. While Sagan noted that constellations are culturally named projections (a lion to some, a vase to others), the core claim that celestial positions influence personality lacks empirical evidence. Confirmation bias and statistical analysis typically account for perceived accuracy.
Why did Carl Sagan become controversial? +
Sagan's popular documentaries and accessible science communication threatened traditional scientific gatekeepers who resented his cultural influence. His anti-dogmatic stance made enemies among fundamentalists in both religion and academia, leading to professional isolation.
Can constellations change over time? +
Yes. Constellations appear different from various Earth locations and shift gradually over millennia due to precession. Sagan pointed out that the zodiac constellations observed 2,000 years ago no longer align the same way, undermining astrology's foundational visual framework.
What is the paradox of Carl Sagan's legacy? +
Many of Sagan's followers became dogmatic fanatics, treating his ideas as unquestionable truth rather than invitations to critical thinking. This mirrors the very fundamentalism and closed-mindedness he spent his life fighting against, demonstrating humanity's tendency to create idols and myths.
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