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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Briefly
I won't say this book should be obligatory. But it's a fact that people should be encouraged to read it.
I'd call it an ode to skepticism, a guide to understand why humanity is stuck in the same old problems. Almost every topic is examined; no "demon" remains hidden.
I wonder what Sagan would think knowing that what he wrote 25 years ago about the present he witnessed is still so accurate.
I won't say this book should be obligatory. But it's a fact that people should be encouraged to read it.
I'd call it an ode to skepticism, a guide to understand why humanity is stuck in the same old problems. Almost every topic is examined; no "demon" remains hidden.
I wonder what Sagan would think knowing that what he wrote 25 years ago about the present he witnessed is still so accurate.
The prescience of this book has been blindingly revealed with time; with each passing year, the consequences of ignoring it seem to grow.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
My lifetime doesn’t overlap with Carl Sagan’s. I knew of him as a respected scientist and author, but most of that information came from other scicomm enthusiasts - from work by Ann Druyan or from acknowledgement by the pop scientists that populated my childhood, like Bill Nye or Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
But in reading this book I was reminded of the wonder of the written word, and the way it can resurrect someone who may physically be long gone. I miss Carl Sagan now. I briefly lived his hopes for dissemination of the scientific method and I cried a little as his descriptions of the issues within science hit a little too close to home. (Please put out good vibes for me to get into a grad program with funding, as much as both Sagan and I agree there’s little evidence to suggest that would help.) I am glad he never saw the rise of Internet-driven conspiracy theories, although I do believe he would have been able to predict their advent.
On an unrelated note, it was fascinating to read nonfiction work from twenty-five years ago: references to the discovery of DNA structure without a single reference to Franklin, in an otherwise actively inclusive work; description of American deficit in education presented as shocking information instead of a general truth we’ve reluctantly accepted; discussion of Isaac Asimov and Linus Pauling and Stephen Jay Gould as contemporaries. Wild.
But in reading this book I was reminded of the wonder of the written word, and the way it can resurrect someone who may physically be long gone. I miss Carl Sagan now. I briefly lived his hopes for dissemination of the scientific method and I cried a little as his descriptions of the issues within science hit a little too close to home. (Please put out good vibes for me to get into a grad program with funding, as much as both Sagan and I agree there’s little evidence to suggest that would help.) I am glad he never saw the rise of Internet-driven conspiracy theories, although I do believe he would have been able to predict their advent.
On an unrelated note, it was fascinating to read nonfiction work from twenty-five years ago: references to the discovery of DNA structure without a single reference to Franklin, in an otherwise actively inclusive work; description of American deficit in education presented as shocking information instead of a general truth we’ve reluctantly accepted; discussion of Isaac Asimov and Linus Pauling and Stephen Jay Gould as contemporaries. Wild.
Good introductory book on skepticism. However, it covers a well worn path for those versed in skepticism.
I really enjoyed this book. It had so many lines that I would go back to just to reflect on how poignant they were — it is a bittersweet read simply because in the context of current events… not much of what Carl Sagan thought could improve has. We—specifically Americans—as a global citizenship are so fucking disappointing. But I do love the hope Sagan instils through this book, and it makes me feel desperately hopeful for the future.
It’s crazy how relevant everything in this book still is, over 20 years later.
Science feels significantly less controversial after reading this.