And don’t you dare call yourself an atheist until you’ve seen all of these.

As an atheist, I highly resent that remark.

I hope I don’t sound sappy, but when I hear Sagan talk, I feel such a sense of wonder and awe at the universe that I want to cry. And not the empty “wonder” that religious people have about the “amazing creation of God.” That wonder is dependent on remaining ignorant of reality, of finding enlightenment in not understanding the universe. Sagan’s awe is far more transcendent, because the more we understand the universe, the more wonderful it is.