by Salman Hameed
This is very cool! Here is an Urdu translation of Sagan's Pale Blue Dot excerpt (tip from Zakir Thaver). This apparently is part of a project of urdu language translation of science content, proposed by Faisal R. Ahmad at Cornell University. We have to capture the wonder and thrill of science. This is a great step. Fantastic!
This is very cool! Here is an Urdu translation of Sagan's Pale Blue Dot excerpt (tip from Zakir Thaver). This apparently is part of a project of urdu language translation of science content, proposed by Faisal R. Ahmad at Cornell University. We have to capture the wonder and thrill of science. This is a great step. Fantastic!
3 comments:
The Urdu translation reminds me of:
http://mashalbooks.org/
Mashal Books is an NGO run by Pervez Hoodbhoy which has translated Sagan, Hawking, Asimov, Dawkins' and many other books on science, social issues, education, economics, philosophy etc in Urdu which available for free or nominal.
Asad - yes. Mashal Books effort is fantastic! Thanks for reminding me of that!
Weirder and weirder. Why would a muslim be celebrating and promoting the atheistic principle of mediocrity?
No muslim could agree with this central point from Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot":
"Because of the reflection of sunlight . . . the Earth seems to besitting in a beam of light, as if there were some special significance to this small world. But it’s just an accident of geometry and optics. . . . Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."
And yet, if the Qu'ran is true, this is indeed a privileged planet. Mr Hameed should surely be promoting "The Privileged Planet" by Guillermo Gonzalez instead... even if there isn't an Urdu version available.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnWyPIzTOTw
http://www.privilegedplanet.com/
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