Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
What does it mean for a civilisation to be a million years old? We have had radio telescopes and spaceships for a few decades; our technical civilisation is a few hundred years old ... an advanced civilisation millions of years old is as much beyond us as we are beyond a bushbaby or a macaque
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contemplates the vast differences in civilization's advancement over time, suggesting that an ancient civilization would be incomprehensibly advanced compared to ours.
Carl Sagan's quote reflects on the astonishing gap between human civilization, which has developed advanced technology only in the last few centuries, and the potential capabilities of a civilization that has existed for millions of years. It highlights how our current understanding and achievements are merely a fraction of what might be possible, emphasizing our limitations in grasping the full extent of progression over such vast timescales.
Themes
CivilizationAdvancementTechnologyTimeUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the future of technology, you might quote Sagan to illustrate how advanced civilizations could redefine our understanding of progress.
More from Carl Sagan
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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.
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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.
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The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
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