Carl Sagan, The Demon-haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark

Quotes

• “The chief deficiency I see in the skeptical movement is its polarization: Us vs. Them — the sense that we have a monopol...”
• “But, Jefferson worried that the people - and the argument goes back to Thucydides and Aristotle - are easily misled. He ...”
• “You squeeze the eyedropper, and a drop of pond water drips out onto the microscope stage. You look at the projected imag...”
• “Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship...”
• “Science is an attempt, largely successful, to understand the world, to get a grip on things, to get hold of ourselves, t...”
• “There is much that science doesn't understand, many mysteries still to be resolved. In a Universe tens of billions of li...”
• “Arguments from authority carry little weight – authorities have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the ...”
• “Cutting off fundamental, curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn. We may have a little more to eat next wi...”
• “Science is a way to call the bluff of those who only pretend to knowledge. It is a bulwark against mysticism, against su...”
• “But I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brai...”
• “Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value the may have in in...”
• “If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us...”
• “Avoidable human misery is more often caused not so much by stupidity as by ignorance, particularly our ignorance about o...”
• “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reass...”
• “Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”