Carl Sagan
Mollie Lund
Professor Paul DK
English 101
September 26, 2014
Carl Sagan’s ability to attract many. Carl Sagan, a widely known American scientist has changed the way that many people view the universe. In the essay, Can We Know the Universe? by Carl Sagan, Sagan uses many different questions and scenarios to relate to a diverse audience. This technique makes the essay more interesting to a variety of readers rather than just a certain group of people. At the beginning of the essay the reader is likely to feel overwhelmed by the information in Sagan’s essay. As a reader of the essay “Can We Know the Universe?” I felt confused after reading the first paragraph, but I felt more comfortable reading the essay after Sagan stated “The main trick of science is to really think of something.” Sagan wants the reader to think about something that they are interested in because he wants to reader to continue to stay interested in his essay. Sagan is a science whiz, he knows that if the reader is in a deep thought about what they are interested in they will continue to read his essay because they want to understand more about what they are interested in. After thinking about something that is interesting to themselves the reader begins to understand that there is a scientific meaning behind what they are interested in and the reader continues to read Sagan’s essay, making the essay more interesting to a business major, math major, fashion major and even an English major. Sagan keeps the reader interested in his essay by asking many questions that almost every reader can relate to. Sagan asks the following: “How a “walking stick” got to look so much like a twig?” “Why are the Sun and the Moon and the planets spheres?” “Why the Moon seems to follow us as we walk?” Many people do not wonder about these questions, these things are the way they are “just because.” Because Sagan is an intelligent man he proposes these questions because these are not questions that not only one
Professor Paul DK
English 101
September 26, 2014
Carl Sagan’s ability to attract many. Carl Sagan, a widely known American scientist has changed the way that many people view the universe. In the essay, Can We Know the Universe? by Carl Sagan, Sagan uses many different questions and scenarios to relate to a diverse audience. This technique makes the essay more interesting to a variety of readers rather than just a certain group of people. At the beginning of the essay the reader is likely to feel overwhelmed by the information in Sagan’s essay. As a reader of the essay “Can We Know the Universe?” I felt confused after reading the first paragraph, but I felt more comfortable reading the essay after Sagan stated “The main trick of science is to really think of something.” Sagan wants the reader to think about something that they are interested in because he wants to reader to continue to stay interested in his essay. Sagan is a science whiz, he knows that if the reader is in a deep thought about what they are interested in they will continue to read his essay because they want to understand more about what they are interested in. After thinking about something that is interesting to themselves the reader begins to understand that there is a scientific meaning behind what they are interested in and the reader continues to read Sagan’s essay, making the essay more interesting to a business major, math major, fashion major and even an English major. Sagan keeps the reader interested in his essay by asking many questions that almost every reader can relate to. Sagan asks the following: “How a “walking stick” got to look so much like a twig?” “Why are the Sun and the Moon and the planets spheres?” “Why the Moon seems to follow us as we walk?” Many people do not wonder about these questions, these things are the way they are “just because.” Because Sagan is an intelligent man he proposes these questions because these are not questions that not only one