Filtering What’s “Important”

Part philosopher part layman. Spend too much time in academia and you’re a snob. Take pains to be accessible to the masses and you’re no longer a cutting-edge thinker. Thus, the public intellectual’s place is a precarious one. Despite this caveat, many have proven capable of juggling these apparently different spheres to serve an important role in the transfusion of information from inception to societal importance. Serving as a sieve for information, public intellectuals have the unique ability to sift through complex ideas to deliver to the public an iron ore core. But public intellectuals are only human and must choose what information and advances to pass along to the public’s eager ears. Although we hope public intellectuals can compartmentalize their predispositions and base their points on “reason and evidence,” often times even the most intellectual of public intellectuals can fall victim to rooting their arguments on unsound logic. Therefore it’s the responsibility of readers to take into account each intellectual’s background before choosing to follow any sort of doctrine. Religious intellectuals’ inherent bias, arising from a narrow academic focus, oftentimes leads the public (outside the belief) to discredit their work. But bias is not a unique phenomenon to religion. All public intellectuals must decide what to write and how to go about doing so. Is this not determined by their background, both academic and social? Even scientists, whose academic disciplines are firmly rooted in evidence and logic, choose to share with the world what they feel is important and relevant. Carl Sagan, though a brilliant researcher, did not merely write academic research papers. Sagan held influence during the Cold War and oftentimes spoke about the dangers of nuclear war. Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot expresses the imperative for everyone on earth to play nice. My focus is not to argue for the benefits of nuclear proliferation and warfare, but rather point out that Sagan had an agenda. And like Sagan, religious clergy most definitely has an agenda. Yes, religion through the ages has brought about pain and suffering, something Sagan outwardly fought to counteract. But religious intellectuals derive power because people lend an ear. In today’s information age, the public can be overwhelmed by intellectuals and those who proclaim to be so, some of whom are motivated more by gaining prominence than contending for a higher purpose. That places a pretty heavy burden on society. This onus, however, is not insurmountable. The public intellectual in America today seems to have people willing to listen. And although Sagan has passed, his legacy will be remembered. May he posthumously encourage society to challenge the norms of today and constantly inquire. As the man himself said, “somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

Precariously Poised

The life of an academic is an enviable one indeed. Intellectual work is exciting, bold, and new. Researchers devote lifetimes pursuing new theories and ideas in an effort to solve unanswered questions (however small and minute they might be). Much of the knowledge of the world around us stems from some form of academic inquiry. But like a thought unspoken, ideas imprisoned in academia’s philosophical shackles will be left to sputter around in circles until one day they disappear. Yes, the academy can pioneer theory after theory. But so what? How different could our world possibly be if PhD’s simply sat in the corner and bemoaned the plagues of society? The ideas ideated in universities’ whimsical world of idea-land must somehow escape to reality. But the dense forest separating the two locales contains no magical yellow brick road decorated with helpful misfits to guide the way. Crafty navigators therefore must somehow persevere through the forest to elevate the condition of humankind. And thus arises the need for the public intellectual. Half philosopher, half layperson (and just as misunderstood/conflicted as the run-of-the-mill cyborg), the public intellectual occupies a unique place in society. Bridging the gap between what is and what could be, the public intellectual must balance technical jargon and controversial ideas with real-world values.  Seemingly impossible, the public intellectual must continually defend her liminal position in society.  Even Jean Bethke Elshtain, an American political philosopher, relents that “the danger of being a public intellectual is that it becomes more and more public and less intellectual.” While this challenge holds true across the academy, in astronomy this is particularly binding. Scientific development occurs rapidly, and if an intellectual spends too much time outside of academic circles, her grasp on the discipline will become outdated. Although astronomy has many public figures eager to share their craft with the world, Carl Sagan personifies the role of the public intellectual. Recognized both in academia and the public sphere, Sagan’s book Cosmos was at the time the highest-selling science book published in English. He also published over 600 scientific papers and up until his death in 1996, served on the faculty of Cornell.  Sagan from the 1950s onwards was an advisor for NASA, where he helped to create the golden plates, a collection of Earth’s sounds and images that were attached to space probes in the hope intelligent life billions and billions of miles away would one day find and play them. His 1980 PBS TV series Cosmos has since garnered more than 500 million views. Although Sagan was a remarkable scientist, his role as a science popularizer and public figure provided society with more than academic research. Sagan had the ability to not only convey cutting-edge scientific advances in plain terms, but also ignite the public’s scientific inquiry. As Elshtain conveyed, there is a delicate balance in maintaining membership in academic circles and still being accessible to the public. As is the case with some intellectuals-turned-experts, celebrity can overwhelm the researcher and wreak havoc on one’s academic pursuits. Fortunately for Sagan (and those who followed him), he was unwavering in his pursuit of knowledge and steadfast in his desire to share his – and only his – views with the world.