Take a photo of a barcode or cover
starvix 's review for:
The Demon-Haunted World
by Carl Sagan
Sagan touches many of the most important parts of our lives: how we think, how we learn, how we treat each other, how we tackle problems as individuals and as a society, our politics, and our history. I consistently found myself in awe of Sagan's ability to articulate a claim or argument while laconically dictating the flaws with the corresponding counterarguments. I find myself disagreeing with his final chapter about free speech, given the rise of social media and 24-hour "news" networks, which both bring us face-to-face with the issues pertaining to free speech vs moderation (for instance: freedom of speech does not mean freedom of reach, lies are cheap and the truth is expensive, etc.). I appreciate that Sagan does not pull any punches with regard to the dangers of mysticism, religion, pseudoscience, or anti-intellectualism. Sagan also does not simply elucidate issues; when possible, he offers practical and actionable solutions, citing relevant empirical analogues that are available. Given what has transpired in the last 30 years, I find this book to be eerily prescient. I find this book to be one of the most important that I've read in preparation for the Donald Trump administration and its associated influences/consequences.