The Cosmos
Living in the same town as Dr. Carl Sagan, I’m very curious about something. What exactly is the difference between a Cosmologist and a Cosmetologist?
———- from John Henderson of Ithaca, NY
They’re essentially the same, except one supplements his income with tips. Both terms come from the world “Cosmopolitan,” which means “man who is incapable of farming.” In his graduate student days, Carl would try to moonlight as a haircutter but fared poorly. Those awkward hands he’s often flailed about on television did not serve him well cutting hair. He then tried farming and proved to himself, once and for all, the wisdom in the old saw: “Once a cosmologist, never a farmer.”
They’re essentially the same, except one supplements his income with tips. Both terms come from the world “Cosmopolitan,” which means “man who is incapable of farming.” In his graduate student days, Carl would try to moonlight as a haircutter but fared poorly. Those awkward hands he’s often flailed about on television did not serve him well cutting hair. He then tried farming and proved to himself, once and for all, the wisdom in the old saw: “Once a cosmologist, never a farmer.” 