Ann Druyan is the writer, producer, director, and one of the most important and impactful communicators of science in our time. She co-wrote the 1980 science documentary series Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan, whom she married in 1981, and her love for whom, with the help of NASA, was recorded as brain waves on a golden record along with other things our civilization has to offer and launched into space on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft that are now, 42 years later, still active, reaching out farther into deep space than any human-made object ever has. This was a profound and beautiful decision she made as a Creative Director of NASA's Voyager Interstellar Message Project. In 2014, she went on to create the second season of Cosmos, called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, and in 2020, the new third season called Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which is being released this upcoming Monday, March 9. It is hosted, once again, by the fun and brilliant Neil deGrasse Tyson. EPISODE LINKS: Cosmos Twitter: https://twitter.com/COSMOSonTV Cosmos Website: https://fox.tv/CosmosOnTV This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code "LexPodcast". Here's the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. OUTLINE: 00:00 - Introduction 03:24 - Role of science in society 07:04 - Love and science 09:07 - Skepticism in science 14:15 - Voyager, Carl Sagan, and the Golden Record 36:41 - Cosmos 53:22 - Existential threats 1:00:36 - Origin of life 1:04:22 - Mortality
Ann Druyan is a writer, producer, and director who co-wrote the 1980 science documentary series, Cosmos, hosted by Carl Sagan, and continues to carry on its legacy with new seasons. She discusses the impact of the show, the importance of science communication, and the upcoming season of Cosmos.
The interviewee discusses the value of science beyond its values, methods, and rules that keep us in check and how it can also be spiritually uplifting and inspirational.
The making of the Voyager record inspired a young Aaron Freeman to ask Carl Sagan if he could meditate for an hour while hooked up to a machine that would record every signal from his body and brain to be converted into sound on the record. This episode explores the making of the Voyager record, the Pioneer 10 plaque, and the potential for human connection and communication through music and imagery.
The speaker muses on the potential perspectives of an advanced spacefaring civilization as they pass by Earth, and touches on the complexity of human relationships over time.
Discussing the democratization of knowledge sharing, the speaker ponders on the idea of selecting something new from the internet that represents the better angels of our nature or humanity and can make accessible to everyone in the most democratic way, especially those intimidated by science jargon.
The fear of failure and lack of self-confidence can hinder one's creativity and willingness to take risks. However, it is important to overcome these obstacles and push forward in the imaginative thinking and rigorous crafting of ideas to ultimately achieve success.
The speaker believes that the hazardous events caused by climate change have made people more aware of our fragile existence on Earth and the need to address it collectively, instead of focusing on the immortality of the privileged few.
Andrew Yan discusses various topics in this podcast with Lex Friedman. Sponsored by Cash App and some part of the app download and usage goes towards the FIRST organization.