Sagan, Carl
<p>Dec 15, 2009 3:55 PM
 
Advocated skeptical inquiry, secular humanism, and the scientific method.
 
Russian Jewish family.
bach at Univ of Chicago; and PhD.
Fellow at UC Berkelely from 1960 to 1962.
lectured and research at Harvard til 68 then to Cornell.  Full Prof in 1971.
 
Taught a course at Cornell on critical thinking.
 
Carl Sagan -
<b>In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe</b>.
 
Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.
 
All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.
 
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
 
We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.
 
The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.
 
Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.
 
Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.
 
Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.
 
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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