There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. Carl Sagan More Quotes by Carl Sagan More Quotes From Carl Sagan What is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish useful ideas from the worthless ones. Carl Sagan two hands ideas It is all a matter of time scale. An event that would be unthinkable in a hundred years may be inevitable in a hundred million. Carl Sagan matter may years Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns. Carl Sagan space stars sea Science is a way to call the bluff of those who only pretend to knowledge. It is a bulwark against mysticism, against superstition, against religion misapplied to where it has no business being. Carl Sagan bluffs superstitions way By exploring other worlds we safeguard this one. By itself, I think this fact more than justifies the money our species has spent in sending ships to other worlds. It is our fate to live during one of the most perilous and, at the same time, one of the most hopeful chapters in human history. Carl Sagan other-worlds fate thinking A general problem with much of Western theology in my view is that the god portrayed is too small. It is a god of a tiny world and not a god of a galaxy much less of a universe. Carl Sagan tiny views world All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value. Carl Sagan technology science book If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits? Carl Sagan stars believe thinking When you make the finding yourself - even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light - you'll never forget it. Carl Sagan educational inspirational knowledge There are many instances in science, where those closest to the intricacies of the subject have a more highly developed sense of its intractability than those at some remove. On the other hand, those at too great a distance may, I am well aware, mistake ignorance for perspective. Carl Sagan distance ignorance mistake I think the discomfort that some people feel in going to the monkey cages at the zoo is a warning sign. Carl Sagan zoos people thinking The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. Carl Sagan doing-you laughter doe The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols, is the pathway to a dark age. Carl Sagan perfect dark science If we are merely matter intricately assembled, is this really demeaning? If there's nothing here but atoms, does that make us less or does that make matter more? Carl Sagan atoms matter doe Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic. Carl Sagan cosmos magic book In the deepest sense the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is a search for ourselves. Carl Sagan star-gazing extraterrestrial moon I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudo-science and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Carl Sagan worry song years If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds. Sailors on a becalmed sea, we sense the stirring of a breeze. Carl Sagan other-worlds responsibility sea You can get into a habit of thought in which you enjoy making fun of all those other people who don't see things as clearly as you do. We have to guard carefully against it. Carl Sagan fun science people We are a way for the cosmos to know itself. Carl Sagan cosmos science knowledge
