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| Carl Sagan, Right Again! |
“I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness..."
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark -1995I found this quote on a picture of the great man, but it was hard to read on the blog so I went searching the Interwebs for it to copy and paste, I found it and other quotes here at Good Reads
(a good spot to find book quotes). As I checked out other quotes I realized I needed to read this book, so I just ordered from Amazon, In print, rather than Kindle because I think it is going to be a long read. He encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. and recognize valid and invalid arguments about science and the world. You may hear more from me, about this book as April progresses. I feel some rants coming.
"when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority"
ReplyDeleteThese are important traits to possess and we should be worried if we've started to lose them.
Rant away, we are listening :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great quote! Great man.. I agree about critical thinking. I am constantly asking my students to really *think* about what they're saying/writing. Sometimes they do.. sometimes they don't..
ReplyDeleteCattle, I'm sorry to say that many of us act like a bunch of cattle following the crowd instead of thinking for ourselves. such a shame.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I know about Carl Sagan is that he says "billions and billions" a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteYa gotta love Sagan. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteCarl Sagan rocks. The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie, we all worry so much about our future but I suppose there is an upside to worry, it helps us to stay vigilant! Thanks so much for visiting our blog today!
ReplyDelete"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." An amazing man, wish he were still among us. It saddens me to see just how many young people today have no idea who he is.
ReplyDeleteA-Z participant blogging from Elise Fallson
And all of our ideas and emails to each other go woosh in cyberspace. I save letters from special friends and re-read them from time to time. I still love the written word, and not in Kindle. Sagan was a sage.
ReplyDeleteSagan definitely gives us a lot to think about. I worry too about the way we don't really produce goods like we used to.
ReplyDeleteRant on Bankerchick!
ReplyDeleteThat really does sound like an interesting book. I shall wait for your next report on it :-)
ReplyDeleteRosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain
A great scientist and writer: may the candle burn bright and clear! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, I could not find a link for you to return the favor. Happy A-Z.
DeleteKatie atBankerchick Scratchings