Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Perhaps, in retrospect, there would be little motivation even for malevolent extraterrestrials to attack the Earth; perhaps, after a preliminary survey, they might decide it is more expedient just to be patient for a little while and wait for us to self-destruct.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that extraterrestrials may find it unnecessary to invade Earth, as humanity's self-destructive tendencies might ultimately lead to its own downfall.
Carl Sagan's quote reflects on humanity's capacity for self-destruction and posits that, from an external perspective, it may be more logical for advanced extraterrestrial beings to observe rather than engage. It implies that our own actions might lead to our ruin, making intervention unnecessary, as we may achieve our end without outside help.
In practice
This quote could be used in a panel discussion about humanity's impact on the planet.
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.
Man... cannot learn to forget, but hangs on the past: however far or fast he runs, that chain runs with him.
The sneakiest form of literary subtlety, in a corrupt society, is to speak the plain truth. The critics will not understand you; the public will not believe you; your fellow writers will shake their heads. Laughter, praise, honors, money, and the love of beautiful girls will be your only reward.
It is not given to human beings, happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable, to foresee or to predict to any large extent the unfolding course of events.
So much of what blacks and women contend with is centered in how we view, and how the world views, our bodies. Gestures, voices, affect.
Sometimes negative news does come out, but it is often exaggerated and manipulated to spread scandal. Journalists sometimes risk becoming ill from coprophilia and thus fomenting coprophagia: which is a sin that taints all men and women, that is, the tendency to focus on the negative rather than the positive aspects.
I’m losing my taste for everything, including even my taste for finding everything tasteless.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.