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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Professor Sagan wrote passionately about the need for scientific inquiry, openness to ideas, freedom of expression and the ability to question conventional wisdom is so relevant to the issues we face today (2024).
This should be required reading. It's just as relevant today, perhaps even prophetic, as when it was first published. Fascinating and frustratingly spot-on.
Worth reading despite the fact that it was a little disappointing. It goes on too long in parts and leaves many bare threads towards the end. High expectations were created by the prescient quote ending in "...The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”. There is great insight in connecting the angels and demons of history with the aliens of recent times. The connection is more powerful now that the alien noise has died down but that quote remains more salient than ever today. We see first hand the damage that can be done when science is ignored or misunderstood.
The more important message of the book is the need for "adequate reason, coherent argument and rigorous standards of evidence and honesty." Unfortunately the connection to democracy is only teased in the beginning and not fully formed at the end. That is the part of this book that sorely needs to be expanded upon today. After recently reading the work of Yuval Noah Harari and seeing Hamilton I am growing more concerned about the fracturing of logical thought from a majority into competing factions of minorities that struggle to maintain coherence. Sagan condemns in this book the same Alien and Sedation Acts that Hamilton strongly supported. Sagan's strong support of democracy also goes against the republic structure that Hamilton and many founding fathers believed in. The problem may not be "a complete dumbing down of America." Rather, it is the inability of logical incoherence to provide unifying leadership and direction for the future. To solve that problem we need more than a candle.
The more important message of the book is the need for "adequate reason, coherent argument and rigorous standards of evidence and honesty." Unfortunately the connection to democracy is only teased in the beginning and not fully formed at the end. That is the part of this book that sorely needs to be expanded upon today. After recently reading the work of Yuval Noah Harari and seeing Hamilton I am growing more concerned about the fracturing of logical thought from a majority into competing factions of minorities that struggle to maintain coherence. Sagan condemns in this book the same Alien and Sedation Acts that Hamilton strongly supported. Sagan's strong support of democracy also goes against the republic structure that Hamilton and many founding fathers believed in. The problem may not be "a complete dumbing down of America." Rather, it is the inability of logical incoherence to provide unifying leadership and direction for the future. To solve that problem we need more than a candle.
3-stars feels a bit harsh to give to Carl Sagan but I couldn't convince myself to raise it to 4-stars. The Demon-Haunted World is a righteous diatribe attempting to save modern society from all of the woes the masses have fallen into due to a general lack of critical thinking and often failing to apply the scientific method. According to Sagan, we find ourselves ensconced in a world that is all too willing to deceive ourselves with pseudo-science and flim-flam. This ranges from UFOs, to Christian Science, to Astrology, and witchcraft. Sagan and his wife often seem quite prescient while diagnosing the ills affecting us in the 2020s but equally often they can give off very dated mid-1990s views and conclusions that rubbed me the wrong way. There was an instance where it very much seemed like they were conflating the very real issue of sexual abuse of children coming out through therapy with claims of "demonic" abuse or possession that come from hardline religious communities.
Beyond the content, I think the structure of the book was tiresome. They spent quite a deal of time belabouring points in the first half of the book, often taking multiple chapters to hit the same subject; only to come back later in the second half of the book and provide more succinct and penetrating thoughts on those same subjects. That isn't to say there were no interesting tidbits thrown in the whole way, but the recursive nature of the book made it feel like there could have been something less muddled if they had an editor with a heavier stroke.
Beyond the content, I think the structure of the book was tiresome. They spent quite a deal of time belabouring points in the first half of the book, often taking multiple chapters to hit the same subject; only to come back later in the second half of the book and provide more succinct and penetrating thoughts on those same subjects. That isn't to say there were no interesting tidbits thrown in the whole way, but the recursive nature of the book made it feel like there could have been something less muddled if they had an editor with a heavier stroke.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Wow. There is a LOT in here. The audio version runs over 17 hours. It felt like the book kept getting essays and new, independent sections tacked on. But it's hard to begrudge Carl Sagan that, as there is so much good stuff here. History as it relates to science and (the lack of) critical thinking. Practical tools for critical thinking. Discussion of politics. UFO believers, and how their stories changed as science advanced. Pranksters, scam artists.
I liked the "dragon in the garage" thought experiment. There are also a few book quotes that stand out:
“Religions are the state-protected nurseries of pseudoscience.”
“There are wonders enough out there without us having to invent any.”
“More harm and child abuse has been perpetrated by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed, then has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don’t like that statement, but few can argue with it.”
I wish everyone would read this.
I liked the "dragon in the garage" thought experiment. There are also a few book quotes that stand out:
“Religions are the state-protected nurseries of pseudoscience.”
“There are wonders enough out there without us having to invent any.”
“More harm and child abuse has been perpetrated by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed, then has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don’t like that statement, but few can argue with it.”
I wish everyone would read this.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I read this in 2010 living in a dorm, me and 2 other women spent many nights gleefully shitting on this book.