Comments on: Carl Sagan on the Brain

By: TheCryptKeeper

TheCryptKeeper — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:46:39 +0000

Else Harbeau
I respect your information but there is no doubt, intentional or not, the similarity between the character and carl are literally identical. A lamen not knowing either, listening to both could quite easily consider the voice one individual. The similarity is indisputable and i’m suprised that your information suggests no crrelation. As i’ve not looked into this in any detail, other than to recognise vocal similarity i will take your good word on the matter however i dont think any disrespect is intended by anyone and feel that none could possibly be had from the suggestions, only that as you say philosophically, they are polar opposites.

By: Else Harbeau

Else Harbeau — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:34:35 +0000

Hugo Weaving DID NOT base the Agent Smith voice n Carl Sagan. This is in fact a persistent urban legend that’s been circulating a couple of years and is rooted in a group of silly YouTube clips synching Sagan’s voice to Matrix clips. Hugo Weaving has always given the same answer about the voice’s origins: that Smith is inspired by 1970s American news readers like Waler Chronkite, in addition to the SciFi perennials Mr Spock and HAL 9000 and the methodical speech patterns of the Wachoski brothers, who directed the Matrix films. In ten years of interviews, Cal Sagan has never been mentioned. And Carl Sagan was an optimist and a humanist in spite of his sometimes-bleak projections… a polar opposite of the Smith character philosophically. So can we please stop disrespecting both men and stop mindlessly repeating this nonsense?

By: Bren

Bren — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:12:31 +0000

Philis – I don’t have a source, so it may be.

Still, here’s Agent Smith torturing Morpheus with a science lecture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpyGhABXRA

By: Clint Burky

Clint Burky — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:17:50 +0000

Oh I love it when he says: “Down there in the basement of our brain are the functions that our remote ancestors mainly depended on for survival. Aggression, child rearing, sex, the willingness to follow leaders blindly. Lots of things that we can still recognize in our lives today”. One can’t help but have ‘religion’ spring to mind. )

Carl, we miss you!

By: Bren

Bren — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:59:04 +0000

Phil: Hugo Weaving based Smith’s voice on Sagan. So: well spotted, but you have the cart before the horse

- I heard that but wasn’t sure if it was just urban myth – Phillis

By: Journojulz

Journojulz — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:40:26 +0000

The wife has just suggested that Sagan’s voice was the inspiration behind Mr Smith in the Matrix.

Hmmm, she has a point.

By: Journojulz

Journojulz — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:23:19 +0000

Carl sagan killed god for me.

I was 10 when i read the bit in Cosmos about the abiogenesis experiments by Miller in the 50s.

Pass a spark through some simple chemicals and the building blocks of life assemble and replicate themselves.

Before then i thought gods were a little fanciful – afterwards i realised they were unnecessary.

Thanks. Freed my mind from a lot of clutter.

By: Phil

Phil — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:24:05 +0000

He talks like Agent Smith from The Matrix

By: spiderabc1

spiderabc1 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:23:11 +0000

Hi jesus. For me DB is more worthy of that title. He rocks and makes psychology look interesting. Still he has yet to convince my in-laws that derek and co are fake and that would take a miracle.

By: JFrank Anastasio

JFrank Anastasio — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:16:08 +0000

Carl Sagan has been a hero of mine ever since “Cosmos” came out. Wish he was still around.