Tonight I’ll nervously be watching the reboot of the television series, Cosmos, which was created and narrated by a science hero of mine, Carl Sagan. The visual special effects and the soundtrack of the old series now come across as very dated but the concepts and the writing are timeless. Much of what is presented is common knowledge to science majors in college, but the presentation is charming and Carl Sagan’s heartfelt enthusiasm makes it addictive to watch.
Here is a clip in which Sagan talks about atoms and the origin of the word “googol” while trying to convey how big numbers like a googolplex really are. (And yes, it’s googol, not google!)
Here’s a link to new TV show’s web page: Cosmos, a Spacetime Odyssey.