Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
There is a lurking fear that some things are not “meant" to be known, that some inquiries are too dangerous for human beings to make.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the idea that some knowledge may be too perilous for humanity to pursue.
Carl Sagan expresses a cautionary perspective on the limits of human inquiry, suggesting that there are certain truths or areas of knowledge that may be inherently dangerous or detrimental for us to explore. This perspective invites a reflection on the ethical implications of scientific exploration and the responsibilities that come with acquiring knowledge.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about ethical boundaries in scientific research.
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.
Ageing destroys youth, sickness destroys health, degeneration of life destroys all excellent qualities and death destroys life. Even if you are a great runner, you cannot run away from death. you cannot stop death with your wealth, through your magic performances or recitation of mantras or even medicines. Therefore, it is wise to prepare for your death.
Blacks have traditionally had to operate in a situation where whites have set themselves up as the custodians of the black experience.
I wonder that we Americans love our country at all, it having no limits and no oneness; and when you try to make it a matter of the heart, everything falls away except one's native State; -neither can you seize hold of that, unless you tear it out of the Union, bleeding and quivering.
The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.
I am the descendant of slaves, of people that were born from a slave and a slave master.
There was a kindliness about intoxication - there was that indescribable gloss and glamour it gave, like the memories of ephemeral and faded evenings.
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