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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
Wonderful, depressing, fascinating stuff. Some of it was a little deep. Other parts one step up from fluff. It is extremely sad the amount of scientific illiteracy there is in this country, augmented by the fact that many people see that this is no problem.
It started out riveting and a relatively fast read. The last 1/3 dragged a bit, or else I lost interest. He had other people write chapters for him and their style isn't quite as clean as Sagans; one chapter was extremely technical in electrical/magnetic physics, and area in which I have very little grounding, and he became more theoretical about how to avoid the problems he'd been discussing the whole book.
Still, this is an imporantant read for people who don't "believe" in science but do believe in astrology, mediums, etc.
It started out riveting and a relatively fast read. The last 1/3 dragged a bit, or else I lost interest. He had other people write chapters for him and their style isn't quite as clean as Sagans; one chapter was extremely technical in electrical/magnetic physics, and area in which I have very little grounding, and he became more theoretical about how to avoid the problems he'd been discussing the whole book.
Still, this is an imporantant read for people who don't "believe" in science but do believe in astrology, mediums, etc.
informative
slow-paced
this book sets out to debunk a lot of the crop-circle, ufo, faith-healer mythology that is out there in the world, and i picked it up for precisely this reason. it’s not that i don’t want to believe on some level, but i also am interested in all explanations for phenomena, particularly about some things. sagan spends most of his time in this book examining ufo claims, but also ventures into other subjects, and ends the book by criticizi
Some eloquent scientific arguments but since I am already a pro-science advocate nothing here changed my worldview. I do love Carl Sagan though.
Sagan's style is pretty engaging and informative, even if he does tend to go after low-hanging fruit. Fortunately, so much has changed since the writing of this book -- there have been so many breakthroughs in technology, science, government, religion, and public opinion since 1997 that a lot of his examples of woo and attitudes toward it have drastically decreased in popularity due to the rise of the Internet. It's a good look back at a time not that long ago.
This is my favorite book, I now read it once a year.
Some quotes:
"The lure of the marvelous blunts our critical faculties. (As if a man become a moon is not marvel enough.) "
"Cutting off fundamental, curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn. We may have a little more to eat next winter but what will we plant so we and our children will have enough to get through the winters to come?"
Notes:
The word "mesmerize" comes from the last name of 18th century German physician Franz Mesmer, who believed that all people and objects are pulled together by a strong magnetic force, later called mesmerism.
Some quotes:
"The lure of the marvelous blunts our critical faculties. (As if a man become a moon is not marvel enough.) "
"Cutting off fundamental, curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn. We may have a little more to eat next winter but what will we plant so we and our children will have enough to get through the winters to come?"
Notes:
The word "mesmerize" comes from the last name of 18th century German physician Franz Mesmer, who believed that all people and objects are pulled together by a strong magnetic force, later called mesmerism.
funny
informative
slow-paced
From Dec. 2017: I started reading this book years ago, and lost my copy. By the time I found it, I needed to start over, but wasn't up for it. For a group challenge to read a science book in November, I decided that now was the time. I was excited to see that there was a version on Audible, read by Cary Elwes (with a bit from Seth MacFarlane). I'm sorry I didn't finish the book years ago, but am glad that I finally did. The book was excellent. I think I enjoyed the last 2 chapters the most, but it's hard to say.
From fall of 2010: "Already loving it."
From fall of 2010: "Already loving it."
I didn't make it to the end. It is very long. I felt it repeated the same concept over and over with only slight variation.
Have aliens invaded the earth? Demons taken over? Are there witches among us?
The argument is basically, every generation wants something to blame strange happenings on when most of it can be described by science.
I was torn on the book. He talks about critical thinking before jumping to conclusions, which I agree with. However, he lumps everything "unproven by science" into the same category.
He claims there are no aliens or witches, but also there is no God or angels either.
It's really hard to prove one way or the other. One could argue there is no direct evidence for angels or God, but one could also argue there is no way to prove the negative. For example in order to prove there are no aliens you would need to be everywhere at once and show there are no aliens present. Which cannot be done.
I like the idea of critical thinking before jumping to conclusions, however the belief of God helps many people. So why argue against something good for many people?
I recommend for 15 and up.
Have aliens invaded the earth? Demons taken over? Are there witches among us?
The argument is basically, every generation wants something to blame strange happenings on when most of it can be described by science.
I was torn on the book. He talks about critical thinking before jumping to conclusions, which I agree with. However, he lumps everything "unproven by science" into the same category.
He claims there are no aliens or witches, but also there is no God or angels either.
It's really hard to prove one way or the other. One could argue there is no direct evidence for angels or God, but one could also argue there is no way to prove the negative. For example in order to prove there are no aliens you would need to be everywhere at once and show there are no aliens present. Which cannot be done.
I like the idea of critical thinking before jumping to conclusions, however the belief of God helps many people. So why argue against something good for many people?
I recommend for 15 and up.
informative
reflective
slow-paced