In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it." - Meaning and context.">
Chapter 20 (p. 359)

In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it.

— Carl Sagan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, almost always. It's their nature. They can't help it." in the context of "Chapter 20 (p. 359)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Carl Sagan" (Quotes, Contact (1985): (1985), Contact : a novel place: New York, publisher: Simon and Schuster, ISBN: 0671434004, LCCN: 85014645 For quotes from the motion picture based on this novel, see: ''''Contact'' (film) All page numbers from the mass market paperback edition published by Pocket Books) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Carl Sagan

About Carl Sagan

Carl Edward Sagan (9 November 1934 – 20 December 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. Sagan argued the hypothesis, accepted since, that the high surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to, and calculated using, the greenhouse effect. He testified to the US Congress in 1985 that the greenhouse effect will change the earth's climate system.