I turned 62 on November 26th 2025.
Carl Sagan and Christopher Hitchens were both 62 when they died.
Sagan was born on November 9th 1934. He died on December 20th 1996 from pneumonia after a struggle with myelodysplasia, in which bone marrow stem cells fail to yield mature red, white blood cells and platelets.
Hitch was born on April 13th 1949 and died on December 15th 2011 after a battle with oesophageal cancer, and in the end, like Sagan, from pneumonia.
I remember a feeling of deep sadness and loss when I heard the news of Sagan’s death. I did not know of Hitch until about two years after he died but recall a retrospective sense of loss upon becoming familiar with his work.
Sagan was a scientist, author, presenter of the inspiring Cosmos series, co-founder of the Planetary Society, and the prototype of all future successful science communicators.
Hitch was a fearless journalist, writer and speaker, with an amazing recall of literature and history, an ironic wit, and blistering debating skills.
They were both great orators with a masterful grasp of the English language.
They both warned about the dangers of pseudoscience, irrationality and ideological thinking.
Both are sorely needed and missed at a time when opinions seem to carry as much weight as reasoned argument and the findings of Science.
They were not alive for long enough.
I wish they were still here.
Our world needs more like them.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. (Carl Sagan)
Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way. (Christopher Hitchens)
December 26, 2025 at 2:12 am |
Amen, brother. Thanks and Peace.