On Reading and Carl Sagan

An Experiment in Blockquotes

I normally use Sagan Ipsum for all my ipsums. Upon beginning this prefab codepen, which Codepen so kindly created as a prompt for worknig on blockquotes, I immediately opened my beloved saganipsum.com and found some Sagany ipsum to fill in. Ofcourse, I then wanted my block quote to be a REAL Carl Sagan quote, so I went and found one to use.

Then I realized that the very quote which Codepen decided to use for this exercise...is a Carl Sagan quote. How charmingly synchronos! I love it when the universe does that. I will keep the quote which Codepen included and add a second which I found. I think Carl Sagan would have appreciated this little impression of magic in all the stochasticity of the universe.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Astonishment the ash of stellar alchemy kindling the energy hidden in matter radio telescope Tunguska event circumnavigated. Inconspicuous motes of rock and gas emerged into consciousness extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence intelligent beings made in the interiors of collapsing stars a still more glorious dawn awaits. Hydrogen atoms vanquish the impossible extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence dispassionate extraterrestrial observer muse about concept of the number one. Not a sunrise but a galaxyrise a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena descended from astronomers permanence of the stars a still more glorious dawn awaits a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena?

A mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam Euclid Apollonius of Perga light years paroxysm of global death gathered by gravity? A still more glorious dawn awaits at the edge of forever descended from astronomers dispassionate extraterrestrial observer ship of the imagination muse about. Dispassionate extraterrestrial observer prime number of brilliant syntheses Sea of Tranquility tendrils of gossamer clouds muse about? Of brilliant syntheses star stuff harvesting star light shores of the cosmic ocean intelligent beings intelligent beings how far away.

What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic. — Carl Sagan

Vanquish the impossible rich in heavy atoms prime number concept of the number one trillion intelligent beings. Citizens of distant epochs emerged into consciousness another world are creatures of the cosmos made in the interiors of collapsing stars not a sunrise but a galaxyrise. Two ghostly white figures in coveralls and helmets are softly dancing hearts of the stars inconspicuous motes of rock and gas great turbulent clouds a billion trillion the only home we've ever known.

Across the centuries preserve and cherish that pale blue dot star stuff harvesting star light rings of Uranus prime number realm of the galaxies. Citizens of distant epochs tingling of the spine astonishment citizens of distant epochs encyclopaedia galactica the sky calls to us. Laws of physics another world the sky calls to us from which we spring gathered by gravity invent the universe? Courage of our questions the only home we've ever known bits of moving fluff invent the universe two ghostly white figures in coveralls and helmets are softly dancing muse about.

Bits of moving fluff brain is the seed of intelligence are creatures of the cosmos paroxysm of global death quasar tingling of the spine. Dream of the mind's eye courage of our questions dream of the mind's eye inconspicuous motes of rock and gas radio telescope concept of the number one? How far away stirred by starlight something incredible is waiting to be known corpus callosum across the centuries not a sunrise but a galaxyrise and billions upon billions upon billions upon billions upon billions upon billions upon billions.