Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors.
Interpretation
Books allow us to explore past knowledge and insights.
In this quote, Carl Sagan emphasizes the unique power of books to transport us through time, granting access to the insights and experiences of those who came before us. By reading, we can learn from the wisdom of our ancestors and enrich our understanding of the world.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy, one might quote Carl Sagan to emphasize how reading enhances our understanding of history.
Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be doing in their day. The work is done and the virtue of the book has expired.
They spent the first three years of school getting you to pretend stuff and then the rest of it marking you down if you did the same thing.
Youths are passed through schools that donβt teach, then forced to search for jobs that donβt exist and finally left stranded in the street to stare at the glamorous lives advertised around them.
Writing is literally transformative. When we read, we are changed. When we write, we are changed. It's neurological. To me, this is a kind of magic.
Concentration is the key that opens up to the child the latent treasures within him.
The written word endures, the spoken word disappears
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