He's only an eye doctor. It's not like he's a virologist or immunologist. And having a medical degree obviously doesn't cure jackassism.
He promoted the concept of nuclear winter while later admitting that he did NOT have the evidence to actually support it.
In many ways, the nuclear winter theory was a game changer. The scientific community had never before tried to quantify or calculate the destruction that would come from all out nuclear war.
He didn't say science has been dumbed down - he said America has. I'll leave the irony of that alone...
Again, I don't think Americans are dumber...I just don't think Americans have kept up with the pace of world and domestic issues and their complexities. I think education has changed but not because we're dumber but because education itself has been dumbed-down for political and profit reasons. College education is still a great achievement for those who complete their degrees and can use their education for a career. I know college educated people who are not that bright and high school dropouts that are brilliant...education is a great asset but it takes more than an education to solve today's problems. Denying science is stupid yet 50% of Americans aren't that excited about science. People placing religion and politics and other personal preferences over what's in the best interest of the nation will never be productive or solve anything. I think we are simply experiencing the limitations of humans, of society, sort of like the Peter Principle...and where it all leads I don't know...
Nuclear proliferation was a priority for Sagan and he used his celebrity to promote the possible outcome of a nuclear war...a nuclear winter. There could never be evidence since there was no history of such an event. The idea that a comet hitting Earth created mass-destruction suggested the same would happen with a nuclear war...even a small scale event in a regional location could greatly effect the entire world. It is an abstract theory but IMO one that needed to be communicated to the public and thankfully is still discussed today...
In his biography he openly admits to promoting the idea of nuclear winter despite the evidence not supporting it due to what he saw as the importance of making the case against the use of nuclear weapons. Ignoring the obvious.
I have to agree with OMOF but really you should look stuff up BEFORE posting https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...-warned-world-about-nuclear-winter-180967198/ so there was a pending research paper and you may not remember the 1980s and nuclear drills but I do - we were living in fear of the wrong button being pushed at the wrong time especially since Reagan’s cognitive decline was visible to all. The nuclear winter theory (which has not been debunked) went a long way to limiting nuclear proliferation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_winter
I have Carl Sagan's official biography on my bookshelf where he talks about the lack of evidence in support of the nuclear winter theory and his reasoning for promoting it anyway.
So………your evidence for your assertion is “it is in a book but I can’t prove that it is there and despite you showing evidence to the contrary I will continue to tell you you are wrong because of the book on my bookshelf” My observations in the OP stand
No How about you find it online and do a cut and paste - it is possible. I am betting you have either misremembered or misunderstood given what the Smithsonian and the Wiki articles say
“Preview unavailable “ so i cannot check it out and, sorry but I take no ones word without reading it myself
I do try to link to all material I rely on and you can always request it of me. If you note even on this point of disagreement I went to the trouble of posting from sources that did not agree with your premise.
Oh I'm sure the Soviets decided to cut back their nuclear arsenal due to the concept of nuclear winter. Get real.
Yes, they did for that and other reasons. Reagan and Gorbachev agreed that the risk to the planet from nukes was too great. So they agreed to work together and did reduce the size of the nuclear arsenals.
And what makes you think the idea of nuclear winter played a major role in that? Ronald Reagan had been on the record for decades as wanting to eliminate nuclear weapons
No he hadn't. Just the opposite. He had opposed controls on nukes and opposed related legislation but later changed his mind. You don't even know the most basic facts. Why do you insist on posting nonsense? We all know better. You aren't fooling anyone.
