Trygve Hammer
May 7, 2026 · Newsletter
Billions and Billions
On a Wednesday night in September of 1989, Carl Sagan delivered a lecture at the U.S. Naval Academy. I should have paid better attention, but it was a mandatory event and thus a guaranteed snooze-fest. Sagan’s speech was that year’s iteration of the James Forrestal Lecture series. Today, the Forrestal lectures are given in the Naval Academy Alumni Cente…