Belostoma t1_j253x71 wrote
Reply to comment by calcteacher in What is your opinion on Carl Sagan? by yciqn
>Decent scientist, but no high level research.
Wrong. You could arguably say that of Tyson, but certainly not Sagan. He had numerous highly cited, lead-authored publications in top journals, for example (not an exhausive list):
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.177.4043.52
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.276.5316.1217
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.206.4425.1363
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022519373902166
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.173.3995.417
Even if he weren't remotely famous and hadn't written any popular books, he would easily be among the top 1 % of scientists in his field (planetary science) by traditional academic metrics. On top of that publication record, he was the director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell and one of the principal scientists on most of the major NASA planetary science missions of his day. You don't even need to add his incredibly important public-facing work to rank him among the most influential planetary scientists ever.
It sounds like you're trying to impress someone here by acting unimpressed with someone everyone else rightly idolizes. It's not working.
calcteacher t1_j25ek6p wrote
I am not wrong. You don't know what you're talking about. But I know you think you do. I'm a research scientist and I lived through his life. I understand you hate about somebody else who might know a little something so. Strange that you think I'm trying to impress somebody. I have no need for that. I'm just giving you my opinion. It's just one person's point of view.
Belostoma t1_j25n46c wrote
>I am not wrong. You don't know what you're talking about. But I know you think you do. I'm a research scientist and I lived through his life.
No, you're really very wrong here. Anyone who wants to follow this exchange beyond a "he-said she-said" can browse deeply through Sagan's record on Google Scholar, read about his roles in NASA's planetary science missions, and see for themselves.
However, as it happens, I'm also a research scientist, probably with more experience than you. I'm guessing you're still just a grad student or postdoc with an excessive ego. I'm sure I have more claim to have "lived through his life" than you. Sagan inspired me to go to Cornell and major in astronomy, where I worked as an undergrad in his old office (albeit only when meeting with my supervisor, whose office it was). I later did undergraduate research in radio astronomy for Yervant Terzian, the incredibly kind and brilliant man who hired Sagan at Cornell and held the same professorship Sagan did (David C Duncan Professor of Physical Sciences) at the time I worked for him.
I ended up switching to a different field that better fits the kind of day-to-day work I like to do (quantitative ecology), but I am highly familiar with Sagan's legacy and personally close to it. I know you're wrong, and I'm qualified to know.
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