Carl Sagan

The demon-haunted world: Science as a candle in the dark e o carte de citit si de recitit cu aceeasi placere ca si prima data.
Sagan ne vorbeste rabdator, exact cum au facut atati altii inaintea lui.

“Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the point of view of others, and not just those in power; to contemplate--with the best teachers--the insights, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, drawn from the entire planet and from all of our history. They allow people long dead to talk inside our heads. Books can accompany us everywhere. Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.” 

Citate din carte

“If you’re only sceptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything. You become a crochety misanthrope convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.) Since major discoveries in the borderlines of science are rare, experience will tend to confirm your grumpiness. But every now and then a new idea turns out to be on the mark, valid and wonderful. If you’re too resolutely and uncompromisingly sceptical, you’re going to miss (or resent) the transforming discoveries in science, and either way you will be obstructing understanding and progress. Mere scepticism is not enough.” 

Deci ce este, ceea ce faci Tu, cu aceasta salbatica si pretioasa viata a ta?

Titlul reprezinta finalul filmuletului de mai jos.

Diana Nyad e cea care a reusit saptamana trecuta, la 67 de ani si fara cusca de protectie sa inoate din Cuba in Florida, la a 5 incercare. Motivatia si claritatea motivelor sunt de invidiat si de urmat in descrierea pe care o face ea ultimei incercari ratate.
Starile pe care le descrie ea sunt din acelasi registru si exemplifica nivelul de fericire pe care il poate atinge un om cu o minte sclipitoare cand are ocazia sa stea de vorba cu ea.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/ro/diana_nyad_extreme_swimming_with_the_world_s_most_dangerous_jellyfish.html