Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Our passion for learning ... is our tool for survival.
Interpretation
Our desire to learn is essential for our continued existence and growth.
In this quote, Carl Sagan emphasizes the importance of learning as a fundamental aspect of human survival. He suggests that our drive to acquire knowledge equips us with the necessary tools to navigate and adapt to a constantly changing world, highlighting education as a key factor in our ability to thrive.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire students about lifelong learning.
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.
The object of universities is not to make skillful lawyers, physicians or engineers. It is to make capable and cultivated human beings
But by accident, not by cunning calculation, books, because of their weight and texture, and because of their sweetly token resistance to manipulation, involve our hands and eyes, and then our minds and souls, in a spiritual adventure I would be very sorry for my grandchildren not to know about.
How do we merge entertainment and education? We live in a world where entertainment wins, but if entertainment can have an educational heart, then we can really change people's lives.
From this I conclude that the best education for the situations of actual life consists of the experience we acquire from the study of serious history. For it is history alone which without causing us harm enables us to judge what is the best course in any situation or circumstance.
A lot of parents today are terrified that something they say to their children might make them 'feel bad.' But, hey, if they've done something wrong, they should feel bad. Kids with a sense of responsibility, not entitlement, who know when to experience gratitude and humility, will be better at navigating the social shoals of college.
A girl child who is even a little bit educated is more conscious of family planning, health care and, in turn, her children's own education.
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