![]() Statements in this review do not necessarily express the thoughts or opinions of the Ethical Society of St. I recommend it to every reasonably literate person. ![]() I’ve always loved Carl Sagan ever since I first saw the Cosmos TV series, and this is one of his very best books. ![]() At the very least, we owe it to our democracy to understand as much as necessary to make informed decisions about the major issues of the day. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. In that book, Carl said: We’ve arranged a global civilization in which most critical elements profoundly depend on science and technology. Fortunately, in our modern world, even past 1996, it has become increasingly possible to present scientific facts in a way that those of us without a specialized education can understand. The late Carl Sagan said it well in his 1996 book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. He does drop in a few really technical matters, as when he discourses on Maxwell’s equations in a chapter titled “Maxwell and the Nerds,” but in doing so argues for the importance of science journalism and popularization. With lots of interesting anecdotes, some pretty insightful analyses of the situation in modern (published in 1996) education and public information, the risks involved in allowing ignorance to become more respectful than learning - all issues that have been at the heart of Carl Sagan’s entire life. The basic message is the significance of a skeptical, evidence-based mind-set that respects the scientific method. If I was teaching a freshman philosophy course, or perhaps social science or psychology or several other topics, I’d assign this book. ![]()
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