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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
The 90's book of debunking - it has some interesting asides while trying to weave the narrative that science is necessary for the humanity. Some chapters were pretty boring though.
My favorite book. A great summary of the fight against superstition as a means of decision-making.
Loved this book, not sure why I'd never read it. Much of its content continues to be quite relevant.
While Carl Sagan is really smart, it became unbearable how he has a clear bias against any mystery that cannot be proven or tested by science and a disdain for people who entertain the possibility that metaphysical explanations for Mysteries may be possible.
Weighty, and probably equally so in paperback. Read with a pencil to take notes on some brilliant insights, and with a pen to edit down some of the more lengthy portions.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark - Carl Sagan 8/10
This is a fascinating, compelling, and well written book. Carl Sagan examines the history and cultural around superstition and pseudoscience ranging from witch hunts hundreds of years ago to UFO sightings today. He does so with the same brilliant combination of his ability to communicate complex ideas and his dedication to rigorous research that made Cosmos so successful. He reports from incredible primary resources like the reports on witch trials in medieval germany or interviews with countless new age gurus. Through out the book he makes a tireless case for a scientific point of view and the value of rationality and evidence, and yet he does so in a way with out the pretense and condescension of many of his more contemporary advocates. As someone who has seriously participated in the search for extraterrestrial life at SETI and NASA he is a sympathetic and genuine in his examination of many sightings and claims. He also makes a strong case that science is not merely a narrow technical field of study, but a world view with implications for culture, politics, economics and ethics. It is Sagan at his best.
This is a fascinating, compelling, and well written book. Carl Sagan examines the history and cultural around superstition and pseudoscience ranging from witch hunts hundreds of years ago to UFO sightings today. He does so with the same brilliant combination of his ability to communicate complex ideas and his dedication to rigorous research that made Cosmos so successful. He reports from incredible primary resources like the reports on witch trials in medieval germany or interviews with countless new age gurus. Through out the book he makes a tireless case for a scientific point of view and the value of rationality and evidence, and yet he does so in a way with out the pretense and condescension of many of his more contemporary advocates. As someone who has seriously participated in the search for extraterrestrial life at SETI and NASA he is a sympathetic and genuine in his examination of many sightings and claims. He also makes a strong case that science is not merely a narrow technical field of study, but a world view with implications for culture, politics, economics and ethics. It is Sagan at his best.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This is one of those books that is hard to review because it just speaks for itself so perfectly.
But let me rave about it anyway.
The Demon-Haunted World is an exploration of why people believe in the supernatural and in pseudoscience, and a beautiful treatise on the cruciality of science, knowledge, wonder, skepticism, learning, and critical thinking. Sagan doesn't just debunk baloney ideas for the sake of it - though there is a satisfying amount of debunking, especially in the first few chapters - but he actually has something to SAY. I loved how he shows the disastrous injustices that happen when science and critical thinking are discarded. The passages about the witch trials in medieval Europe were so difficult and painful to read, but extremely important for understanding the tangible evil that arises when science and thinking are suppressed.
Having never watched Cosmos or engaged with any of his other work, this was my first real introduction to Carl Sagan and I had no idea what to expect. I now understand why he was/is so widely beloved and lauded. Sagan's writing is masterful, nuanced, empathetic, and thoroughly convincing, not to mention his obvious genius as a scientist. This book is not about dunking on stupid people. He understood, and thoroughly demonstrates, how the suppression of learning and science is a tactic of oppressive authorities and other bad actors. At the same time, his arguments show such incredible nuance. Even as he extolls its many virtues, Sagan repeatedly acknowledges that science can fail, it has limitations, and can even be taken too far and used for evil. Some passages were haunting in how relevant they feel today, an important reminder of how history repeats itself.
Yet despite all this, the tone of the book is constantly full of wonder and optimism, and I really needed that. It is incredibly easy to feel hopeless about the state of the world, but this book helped renew feelings of hope and resolve inside me that had long been dormant. Sagan clearly recognizes the dangers we face yet he does not wallow in doom, and instead shows us how even in the darkest times, science and critical thinking and learning can keep us forging ahead - our candle in the dark.
Simply one of the best books I've ever read, and as important now as it ever was. I was constantly highlighting as I read because there was just so much in it worth remembering. This is one book I'm very glad to own, as I know I'll be coming back to it again and again. I recommend it to absolutely anyone and everyone.
But let me rave about it anyway.
The Demon-Haunted World is an exploration of why people believe in the supernatural and in pseudoscience, and a beautiful treatise on the cruciality of science, knowledge, wonder, skepticism, learning, and critical thinking. Sagan doesn't just debunk baloney ideas for the sake of it - though there is a satisfying amount of debunking, especially in the first few chapters - but he actually has something to SAY. I loved how he shows the disastrous injustices that happen when science and critical thinking are discarded. The passages about the witch trials in medieval Europe were so difficult and painful to read, but extremely important for understanding the tangible evil that arises when science and thinking are suppressed.
Having never watched Cosmos or engaged with any of his other work, this was my first real introduction to Carl Sagan and I had no idea what to expect. I now understand why he was/is so widely beloved and lauded. Sagan's writing is masterful, nuanced, empathetic, and thoroughly convincing, not to mention his obvious genius as a scientist. This book is not about dunking on stupid people. He understood, and thoroughly demonstrates, how the suppression of learning and science is a tactic of oppressive authorities and other bad actors. At the same time, his arguments show such incredible nuance. Even as he extolls its many virtues, Sagan repeatedly acknowledges that science can fail, it has limitations, and can even be taken too far and used for evil. Some passages were haunting in how relevant they feel today, an important reminder of how history repeats itself.
Yet despite all this, the tone of the book is constantly full of wonder and optimism, and I really needed that. It is incredibly easy to feel hopeless about the state of the world, but this book helped renew feelings of hope and resolve inside me that had long been dormant. Sagan clearly recognizes the dangers we face yet he does not wallow in doom, and instead shows us how even in the darkest times, science and critical thinking and learning can keep us forging ahead - our candle in the dark.
Simply one of the best books I've ever read, and as important now as it ever was. I was constantly highlighting as I read because there was just so much in it worth remembering. This is one book I'm very glad to own, as I know I'll be coming back to it again and again. I recommend it to absolutely anyone and everyone.