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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
Carl Sagan abre nuestros ojos a la importancia de que todos conozcamos sobre ciencia y tecnologia. Advierte sobre los peligros de lideres politicos sin conocimientos o dominio de los fundamentos de nuestra sociedad actual. Nos muestra sobre el pensamiento critico y como identificar camelos bajo una serie de cuestionarios. Tambien sobre los argumentos irracionales que a veces usamos para respaldar falacias.
Este es un gran libro que ha marcado mi vida, y planeo leerlo por segunda vez.
Este es un gran libro que ha marcado mi vida, y planeo leerlo por segunda vez.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
by Carl Sagan is an exemplary introduction to skeptical thinking through the use of science, while never forgetting how important wonder and awe is, when it comes to appreciating the magnitude of the universe we inhabit.
While never crude or unfairly dismissive, Sagan convincingly makes the point of Edmund Way Teale: "It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good, as it is not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it." Sagan over and over again shows how dangerous it is to accept pseudoscience and other falsehoods without any scientific, independently verifiable evidence. He tackles such varied topics as UFOs, alien abductions, astrology, witch hunts, faith healings, demons etc., and authoritatively debunks them all.
In the last part of the books he uncovers how dangerously far Americans have falling behind when it comes to understanding even the most elementary science, and what dangers it could hold for the future, specifically in terms of democracy and liberty.
If nothing else, I highly recommend the chapter The Fine Art of Baloney Detection (the link will take you to a free PDF version). In my opinion this essay should be required reading in all high schools. It powerfully and simply sets forward rules and guidelines to help you keep a skeptical mindset, e.g. by using tools such as looking for independent confirmation of the "facts", encourage debates from all points of view, put little weight on authority arguments, look for more than one explanation, don't become too attached to your own explanation etc.
Sagan has a real gift for explaining difficult and scientific topics in layman terms, so even if you don't have a scientific background it is an easy, enlightening and educational read.
by Carl Sagan is an exemplary introduction to skeptical thinking through the use of science, while never forgetting how important wonder and awe is, when it comes to appreciating the magnitude of the universe we inhabit.While never crude or unfairly dismissive, Sagan convincingly makes the point of Edmund Way Teale: "It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good, as it is not to care how you got your money as long as you have got it." Sagan over and over again shows how dangerous it is to accept pseudoscience and other falsehoods without any scientific, independently verifiable evidence. He tackles such varied topics as UFOs, alien abductions, astrology, witch hunts, faith healings, demons etc., and authoritatively debunks them all.
In the last part of the books he uncovers how dangerously far Americans have falling behind when it comes to understanding even the most elementary science, and what dangers it could hold for the future, specifically in terms of democracy and liberty.
If nothing else, I highly recommend the chapter The Fine Art of Baloney Detection (the link will take you to a free PDF version). In my opinion this essay should be required reading in all high schools. It powerfully and simply sets forward rules and guidelines to help you keep a skeptical mindset, e.g. by using tools such as looking for independent confirmation of the "facts", encourage debates from all points of view, put little weight on authority arguments, look for more than one explanation, don't become too attached to your own explanation etc.
Sagan has a real gift for explaining difficult and scientific topics in layman terms, so even if you don't have a scientific background it is an easy, enlightening and educational read.
Quotes
"Spirit" comes from the Latin word "to breathe". What we breathe is air, which is certainly matter, however thin. Despite usage to the contrary, there is no necessary implication in the word "spiritual" that we are talking of anything other than matter (including the matter of which the brain is made), or anything outside the realm of science. On occasion, I will feel free to use the world. Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.
"Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I'm asking you to do comes down to believing in the absence of evidence, on my say-so."
Any book that can leave its reader changed in some way is worth a read. My partner recommended this to me, and I am just so glad I read it. Sagan approaches science through the lens of empathy. He challenges different branches of pseudo-science with a sense of nobility, and calls for the dire need of skepticism and an authentic love for curiosity. I loved this book. I didn't know how much I needed to read this (as both an educator and an overall human being), but it was lovely and monolithic and I highly doubt that this will be the last time I pick it up. Ten stars out of five, Mr. Sagan. And thank you for the brilliant recommendation, Ripley.
3.5/5. The book is a slow starter. Whilst I enjoyed it as I was reading, I was never too pushed to come back to it the following day. There was no "I can't wait to read what comes next" feeling to it. The content of the book, however, is still so relevant. The sad part is that the people who need to read this book won't. It's a passionate defence of science and some really nice passages littered throughout.
What can I say about my fondness for Carl Sagan? An astrophysicist who championed the idea of bringing the wonders of the world around us, in all its fantastical complexities, in all the delights and marvels of the universe, to the public. To all to the people who should find it most important. After all... it's only life and the world around us that we're talking about.
This book is incredibly important. In fact, so much so that when I was reading it I thought, "This should be required reading." It's short and aptly written--and with today's "fake news" and slander ricocheting around the world, it seems even more relevant now.
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... we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
This is a book about the importance of critical thinking, about science, about questioning everything. Sagan discusses very early in the book about how a hired driver upon discovering his identity asked if he could ask him some questions. Being the good-natured chap he is, he agrees--but rather than being asked about the galaxy and gravity and orbits, instead about Atlantis, magic crystals, and so forth. I feel like we've all been in an uncomfortable situation similar to that. Where someone's ideas and beliefs don't match up with our own. Even if we know the beliefs to be blatantly untrue ones.
We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.
This is such an important book and I wish more people had access to it.
This book is incredibly important. In fact, so much so that when I was reading it I thought, "This should be required reading." It's short and aptly written--and with today's "fake news" and slander ricocheting around the world, it seems even more relevant now.
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... we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
This is a book about the importance of critical thinking, about science, about questioning everything. Sagan discusses very early in the book about how a hired driver upon discovering his identity asked if he could ask him some questions. Being the good-natured chap he is, he agrees--but rather than being asked about the galaxy and gravity and orbits, instead about Atlantis, magic crystals, and so forth. I feel like we've all been in an uncomfortable situation similar to that. Where someone's ideas and beliefs don't match up with our own. Even if we know the beliefs to be blatantly untrue ones.
We've arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.
This is such an important book and I wish more people had access to it.
4.5/5 stars
When I was sixteen years old (adverse to reading outside of the occasional non fiction, aware of the anxiety a good book could produce and unable to handle it) I came across this title and wanted to pick it up. Due to its unavailability at my library, I never got around to tracking it down. I can say now that I am sincerely glad that some stroke of the universe (a phrase that is ironic to use after the contents of this book) prevented me from acquiring “The Demon Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark” any earlier than now. At the age of sixteen, I would be incapable to grasp the applicability of this book’s contents and its implications to the broader world.
Not to continue rambling on about myself, but for a brief moment, I was pursuing a biotechnology major. Realizing my passion waited for me elsewhere, and truly despising chemistry no matter what I tried, I switched. Not far into my degree when I made the change, I was scared I wouldn’t have the knowledge/intelligence necessary to understand Sagan’s book. While some specific scientific examples went over my head, the broader concepts were broken down in a way that most readers could understand them, which I appreciated. I truly enjoyed seeing how Sagan dismantled the tenants of science to apply them to aspects of society that at first, seem unrelated, which further emphasizes the importance of applying scientific thinking to everything around us.
A few concepts/subjects of “The Demon-Haunted World” that stood out to me in particular was its discussion of witch hunts and the fallacies around alien abductions (and the comparisons that could be drawn between them), the importance of giving the children of America a proper and engaging science education, the role of skepticism in examining potential falsehoods, and the broad intersection between science, human nature, history, and politics. “The Demon-Haunted World” is accessible and pertinent to those even without a science background, and I truly appreciated the insight it lent to me.
Now, I just can’t help but wonder what a follow up book would look like in light of the insanity of today. What would Sagan have to say about everything we’re facing?
When I was sixteen years old (adverse to reading outside of the occasional non fiction, aware of the anxiety a good book could produce and unable to handle it) I came across this title and wanted to pick it up. Due to its unavailability at my library, I never got around to tracking it down. I can say now that I am sincerely glad that some stroke of the universe (a phrase that is ironic to use after the contents of this book) prevented me from acquiring “The Demon Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark” any earlier than now. At the age of sixteen, I would be incapable to grasp the applicability of this book’s contents and its implications to the broader world.
Not to continue rambling on about myself, but for a brief moment, I was pursuing a biotechnology major. Realizing my passion waited for me elsewhere, and truly despising chemistry no matter what I tried, I switched. Not far into my degree when I made the change, I was scared I wouldn’t have the knowledge/intelligence necessary to understand Sagan’s book. While some specific scientific examples went over my head, the broader concepts were broken down in a way that most readers could understand them, which I appreciated. I truly enjoyed seeing how Sagan dismantled the tenants of science to apply them to aspects of society that at first, seem unrelated, which further emphasizes the importance of applying scientific thinking to everything around us.
A few concepts/subjects of “The Demon-Haunted World” that stood out to me in particular was its discussion of witch hunts and the fallacies around alien abductions (and the comparisons that could be drawn between them), the importance of giving the children of America a proper and engaging science education, the role of skepticism in examining potential falsehoods, and the broad intersection between science, human nature, history, and politics. “The Demon-Haunted World” is accessible and pertinent to those even without a science background, and I truly appreciated the insight it lent to me.
Now, I just can’t help but wonder what a follow up book would look like in light of the insanity of today. What would Sagan have to say about everything we’re facing?
I read this with my book club, and wanted so badly to be interested in what Carl Sagan had to say. I even bought the audio book hoping that Cary Elwes' soothing voice would help pull me into it. The topics are theoretically interesting to me. However, I found this book so incredibly boring. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. It's just not my kind of book, and that's ok.
This was heavy reading, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I'm going to make my AP classes read Chapter 19 on the sorry state of science education in America...it made me want to be a better teacher.
