“If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space.”

—  Carl Sagan , book Contact

The quote "If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space." is famous quote by Carl Sagan (1934–1996), American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator.

This is a paraphrase of Sagan quoting Thomas Carlyle: "A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly. If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space."
Sagan delivered this quote during the symposium on "Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man", held at Boston University (20 November 1972), published in Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man (1973) edited by Richard Berendzen; Life Beyond Earth and the Mind of Man (1975) National Archives video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQeOp7a8QMI
Misattributed
Source: Contact

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Aug. 9, 2025. History

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Carl Sagan photo
Carl Sagan 365
American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science ed… 1934–1996

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