Product Description
"A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought."
*Los Angeles Times
"POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing."
*The Washington Post Book World
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.
Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.
"COMPELLING."
*USA Today
"A clear vision of what good science means and why it makes a difference. . . . A testimonial to the power of science and a warning of the dangers of unrestrained credulity."
*The Sciences
"PASSIONATE."
*San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle
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Amazon.com
Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues.
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 Pleasantly Surprised ( genechristie )
When I started reading this book, it seemed to go slow and I thought about giving up. But, as I went on, the relevance of what he wrote made more and more sense. When I was through, I was pleased that I had read it all the way through and now I am a much more critical thinker.
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Great Insights on Being Both Curious and Skeptical ( apost8 )
Taking a broad and accurate swipe at superstition and pseudo-science, Carl Sagan makes a compelling case for scientific thinking. Though Sagan was clearly preaching to the choir in my own case, I found his insights very valuable. Sagan obviously had done alot of thinking about the subject and first sought to understand why people believe implausible and unfalsifiable ideas, but also tries to explain science in the context of our every day lives.
Sagan asks the question of whether humans are simply not proned towards scientific thinking and to the belief in the supernatural. He then goes on to explain hunter-gatherer behavior from the perspective of science. He points out that the careful and learned observations made by bush hunters of game in Africa, utilize a scientific perspective, carefully examining tracks, understanding from past experiences when and where game are likely to be, etc. Science as Sagan explains it is reasoned thinking that results in success as a species. A scientific mind is what has led humans to dominate the planet.
Sagan also examines the nature of superstition and how easy it is for individuals to be sucked into this line of thinking. Dealing with the scary uncertainties in a dark, daunting, demon-haunted world, science is the candle which illuminates. To superstition, criticism is the enemy, but to science, it is the engine by which progress is made. Science is about asking the hard questions, not accepting explanations at face value.
I think any high school science teacher worth his/her salt, would require the reading of this great book and also require a book report on it. Sagan makes a strong case, that our very survival and prosperity are riding on the rejection of superstition and bringing scientific thinking back from the abyss our nation seems to be moving into. I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment.
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Should be required reading by every highschool student.
Fantastic book on the the nature of Scientific research and on the natural gullibility of people, the lure of pseudoscience and charletons.
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 Book is a farce...Its a half hearted scientific argument!!
I believe I have come from a scientific background. I will try to express my views as plainly as possible. First of all, in science there is no emotion. There are just consequences. There is nothing like a good consequence or a bad consequence, all you have is a consequence!
Author argues, that science has made lives of many people better, solved problems, uplifted human race leading to "better" quality of life. Hence he says you should acccept science and use that for the "better of man kind". However from a scientific point of view there is nothing called "better of mankind". If there is a nuclear explosion and everybody on earth dies, scientifically nothing has happened. Life may originate in some distant galaxy couple of million years from now. There is no reason why our life is any great to be preserved. In doing so, he consistently(unknowingly) over-emphasizes the importance of our lives(Then makes arguments that people who thought earth in the center of universe where stupid).
Also, he ridicules the saying "Ignorance is a bliss". Scientifcially there is no reason why he should? Atleast not that I know of!
Some how the author is placing too much importance on human life(unlike sciences). The book is an emotional appeal of a weak mind for scientic thought process. The book is NOT a Scientific appeal for Scientific thought process.
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 Good Grief! I love it ... so far.
I'm not a scientist, per say, but I do know that I enjoy any author who is willing to go out of his/her way to appeal to their readers sensibilities and/or reason, before, they launch into the body of the book. This allows the reader to feel some level of comfort that they are reading from the passages of a sane individual and not one who isn't going to pay the reader the courtisy of being upfront and honest.
I think Carl Sagan has done a great job at capturing my interest ... so far, and I can't wait to read on. Good day sir!
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