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Summary
Summary
Are we on the brink of a new Dark Age of irrationality and superstition? In this stirring, brilliantly argued book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Dragons of Eden and Cosmos shows how scientific thinking can cut through prejudice and hysteria and uncover the truth, and how it is necessary to safeguard our democratic institutions and our technical civilization.
Author Notes
A respected planetary scientist best known outside the field for his popularizations of astronomy, Carl Sagan was born in New York City on November 9, 1934. He attended the University of Chicago, where he received a B.A. in 1954, a B.S. in 1955, and a M.S. in 1956 in physics as well as a Ph.D. in 1960 in astronomy and astrophysics. He has several early scholarly achievements including the experimental demonstration of the synthesis of the energy-carrying molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in primitive-earth experiments. Another was the proposal that the greenhouse effect explained the high temperature of the surface of Venus. He was also one of the driving forces behind the mission of the U.S. satellite Viking to the surface of Mars. He was part of a team that investigated the effects of nuclear war on the earth's climate - the "nuclear winter" scenario.
Sagan's role in developing the "Cosmos" series, one of the most successful series of any kind to be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System, and his book The Dragons of Eden (1977) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He also wrote the novel Contact, which was made into a movie starring Jodie Foster. He died from pneumonia on December 20, 1996.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ramtha. He also brands as superstition ghosts, angels, fairies, demons, astrology, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and religious apparitions. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Alarmed by the rise of superstition and pseudoscience, a leading science writer rallies the forces of reason and scientific literacy. Sagan (Pale Blue Dot, 1994, etc.) takes it as his mission to defend the worth and importance of science against the irrational crossfire of New Age philosophies and religious fundamentalism. He starts with an anecdote of a cab driver who, upon learning that his passenger was ``that scientist guy,'' insisted on quizzing him on UFOs, Atlantis, the shroud of Turin, and similar topics from the fringes of rational discourse. Despite the proven power of science to change the world, pseudoscience thrives- -claiming as its adherents bright, inquisitive people who, according to Sagan, have not learned the basic techniques of careful inquiry. As an astronomer, Sagan is especially plagued by reports of UFO visitations and abductions, so that is what he focuses on, analyzing these reports in detail, starting with the origins of the ``flying saucer'' craze in the pulp science fiction of the '30s and '40s. He points out parallels between medieval witch mania and our own UFO abduction mania, as well as similarities between posthypnotic memories of physically invasive examination during abduction and similar ``memories'' of abuse by satanic cults. In particular, Sagan claims, many of the worst symptoms of irrational belief have been encouraged, or at least ignored, by entrenched power structures because they deflect attention from real problems in society. As partial remedy to the wave of pseudoscience, Sagan presents a brief course in ``baloney detection'' and a catalogue of logical fallacies. He concludes with a passionate argument for the value of literacy and genuine education, noting that the inquiring mind needs a balance of wonder and skepticism to arrive at an informed understanding of the modern world. Sagan has produced a valuable document on the side of scientific civilization and enlightened progress.
Booklist Review
Sagan has devoted himself to the noble mission of rousing us from our stuporous neglect of science. His accessible and passionate books about the cosmos, our origins, and space exploration (Pale Blue Dot ) open doors of perception into exciting realms many nonscientists simply avoid. In his newest book, Sagan conducts a vigorous inquiry into why science is so "hard to learn and hard to teach" and asks why so many people embrace the sort of "pseudoscience" associated with New Age beliefs or served up in the pages of tabloids. Widespread scientific illiteracy and a dearth of critical thinking are "perilous and foolhardy," Sagan tells us, and that's obviously true. To show us just how deluded we can be, Sagan tackles the popular belief in extraterrestrials and alien abduction stories, debunking a number of half-baked but commonly held assumptions simply by asking commonsensical questions. He moves on to the whole "recovered memory" debacle, then segues into a very convincing discussion of hallucinations. Ultimately, he links today's aliens with yesterday's demons in this lithe, well-supported, sometimes quite wry, and altogether refreshing performance. Stick to the facts, Sagan tells us, "There are wonders enough out there without our inventing any." There are wonders within, too, all we need to do is learn to use them. (Reviewed December 1, 1995)039453512XDonna Seaman
Choice Review
One of the ironies of the last quarter century is the steady revival of beliefs of ages past. Dark-age worldviews are making a comeback. In this (as usual) beautifully written book, Sagan laments this dismal state in which the general public has not been touched by science. He talks about intelligent people believing in Atlantis and Nostradamus and of tabloids spreading canards such as the discovery of temple ruins on Mars, and bemoans the periodic reports on aliens and UFOs. He objects to assertions about spirits and mystery-mongering about the Bermuda Triangle, Big Foot, and the Loch Ness monster. He warns about the antiscience forces that are becoming more and more assertive. Though many people hear about spectacular discoveries in science, there is widespread illiteracy as to the nature and goals of science, and its framework and methodology. Surveys show that although science has imparted benefits through medicine and technology and has added to our creature comforts, its potentials for elevating the human spirit, endowing us with intellectual joys, and ridding the mind of stifling superstitions have not reached most people. This is Sagan's theme and message. There is a vast body of pseudoscientific literature that is appealing, understandable, and cheap, that entertains and deludes. People need some excitement, and the massive output of pseudoscience is out there to satisfy. Pseudoscience not only titillates but makes everything easy and understandable. Unless we explain to the young the framework of science--reasoned analysis, respect for meticulously gathered data from careful observations, and a readiness to correct itself in the face of appropriate evidence--our civilization will slide into the depths of darkness, to a "demon-haunted world." All levels. V. V. Raman Rochester Institute of Technology
Library Journal Review
A Pulitzer Prize-winning astronomer argues that scientific illiteracy and our new-found suspicion of the rational threatens democratic institutions. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface: My Teachers | p. xi |
| 1. The Most Precious Thing | p. 1 |
| 2. Science and Hope | p. 23 |
| 3. The Man in the Moon and the Face on Mars | p. 41 |
| 4. Aliens | p. 61 |
| 5. Spoofing and Secrecy | p. 79 |
| 6. Hallucinations | p. 97 |
| 7. The Demon-Haunted World | p. 113 |
| 8. On the Distinction Between True and False Visions | p. 135 |
| 9. Therapy | p. 151 |
| 10. The Dragon in My Garage | p. 169 |
| 11. The City of Grief | p. 189 |
| 12. The Fine Art of Baloney Detection | p. 201 |
| 13. Obsessed with Reality | p. 219 |
| 14. Antiscience | p. 245 |
| 15. Newton's Sleep | p. 265 |
| 16. When Scientists Know Sin | p. 281 |
| 17. The Marriage of Skepticism and Wonder | p. 293 |
| 18. The Wind Makes Dust | p. 307 |
| 19. No Such Thing as a Dumb Question | p. 319 |
| 20. House on Fire | p. 337 |
| 21. The Path to Freedom | p. 353 |
| 22. Significance Junkies | p. 367 |
| 23. Maxwell and the Nerds | p. 379 |
| 24. Science and Witchcraft | p. 401 |
| 25. Real Patriots Ask Questions | p. 421 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 435 |
| References | p. 439 |
| Index | p. 449 |
