Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
After I give lectures-on almost any subject-I am often asked, "Do you believe in UFOs?" I'm always struck by how the question is phrased, the suggestion that this is a matter of belief and not evidence. I'm almost never asked, "How good is the evidence that UFOs are alien spaceships?"
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of evidence over personal belief in evaluating claims about UFOs.
Carl Sagan highlights a common tendency to frame questions about UFOs in terms of belief rather than evidence. He points out that instead of inquiring about the proof supporting the existence of UFOs as alien spacecraft, people are more inclined to ask about personal beliefs, which reflects a misunderstanding of how scientific inquiry should be conducted.
In practice
In a science class discussing skepticism and evidence, you might reference this quote to emphasize critical thinking.
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.
Now is not the time to gut these job-creating investments in science and innovation. Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race.
We have found a strange footprint on the shores of the unknown.
Indeed, our everyday world presents intellectual challenges just as daunting as those of the cosmos and the quantum, and that is where 99 per cent of scientists focus their efforts. Even the smallest insect, with its intricate structure, is far more complex than either an atom or a star.
So, influenced by these advisors and this hope, I have at length allowed my friends to publish the work, as they had long besought me to do.
On seeing the marsupials in Australia for the first time and comparing them to placental mammals: “An unbeliever . . . might exclaim 'Surely two distinct Creators must have been at work'”
There's something really beautiful about science, that human beings can ask these questions and can answer them. You can make models of nature and understand how it works.
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