Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
It means nothing to be open to a proposition we don't understand.
Interpretation
Understanding is crucial for meaningful dialogue and decision-making.
This quote by Carl Sagan emphasizes the importance of comprehension in discussions or propositions. Being open to ideas is meaningless if one lacks the understanding required to evaluate or appreciate them, highlighting the necessity of knowledge and critical thinking in any engagement with new concepts.
In practice
In a debate, you can use this quote to emphasize the need for understanding before forming opinions.
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.
When I try to be patient on my own, my patience is forced and short-lived. It is obvious to everyone that I am desperately trying to be patient.
Facts are ventriloquist’s dummies. Sitting on a wise man’s knee they may be made to utter words of wisdom; elsewhere, they say nothing, or talk nonsense, or indulge in sheer diabolism.
Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
The rule for every man is, not to depend on the education which other men have prepared for him-not even to consent to it; but to strive to see things as they are, and to be himself as he is. Defeat lies in self-surrender.
Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.
And what is a man without energy? Nothing - nothing at all.
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