Carl sagan book the demon haunted world6/28/2023 Presented as a collection of essays The Demon-Haunted World can be read in a linear fashion, or you can select specific chapters as each is broadly self contained. When information is controlled and a population lacks critical thinking it becomes "unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true". A quarter of a century ago, he predicted the rise of misinformation, fake news and alternative facts. Published in 1995 Sagan’s concerns regarding the coming century have proven sadly accurate. He even goes so far as to argue that it is patriotic to ask questions and that any person, institution or organisation that avoids such scrutiny should be deemed suspect. If something cannot be effectively measured, tested or verified we should be deeply sceptical of it. By this he means questioning ideas critically and requiring evidence based arguments. In his book, The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan strongly advocates that adopting a scientific approach to thinking is essential in a modern democracy. There are no quick fixes for issues such as climate change or nuclear proliferation and anyone trying to sell you one is either a charlatan or a fool. Thus any potential solutions will be equally complex and subtle. The problems that beset the modern world are complicated and nuanced. “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”
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