The Demon-Haunted World.
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Fri May 14 12:51:28 PDT 1999
"I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges near, pseudoscience and
superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of
unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before?
Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of
scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we
agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purpose, or when fanaticism
is bubbling up around us - then, habits of thought familiar from ages past
reach for the controls. The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light
trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir."
I began making a list of quotes from the book as I was reading it (a few of
which you can find on this page), but I soon realized that I would be
copying about half of the book in so doing. I gave up that task and just
went on reading.
This book should be on everyone's shelf. It should be required reading
before kids can graduate from high school (and for adults before they
decide to raise their children up in any given religion).
Sagan does a masterful job of explaining what science is and what it isn't.
He clearly shows that the wonders of science are just as interesting (and
far more reliable) than the wonders of other disciplines which rely on
tradition, superstition, myth, or ignorance.
The chapters range in content from debunking UFO and alien abduction
stories to calling for a higher realm of ethics for those who are
scientists. In between are a couple dozen chapters that touch on a variety
of issues that everyone should appreciate. The book is devoted to ridding
the world of non-existant demons and allowing us all to experience more
light and knowledge.
Especially useful to kids and to adults who haven't let go of superstition
is Sagan's baloney detection tool kit. Given the current widely held
beliefs (regarding UFOs, the face on Mars, an afterlife, religion, etc.)
that are on the rise due, in part, to the soon ending of the century, this
tool kit should be implemented by all people to help see the light of day
rather than the darkness and ignorance that seems to loom in the minds of
so many.
Sagan is practically prophetic with regard to the recent case of the
Heaven's Gate cult.
Go find this book, and read it so you too can enjoy a life "obsessed with
reality".
Sagan's book ends with this reminder:
"If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority,
then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens
are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us.
In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method
and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency,
humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit
by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the
enveloping darkness."
http://www.2think.org/dhw.shtml
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