Carl Sagan

somewhere something incredible wait known

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

nitrogen DNA calcium teeth iron blood starstuff

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

science spirituality source

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

apple pie universe

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

nuclear arms race enemy mgasoline matches atomic bomb

“The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

absence evidence

“The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

universe benign hostile indifferent

“The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

science thinking knowledge

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

extinction rule survival exception

“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

destroy truth deserve

“If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

argument fallacious suppression idea censorship

“The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

human animal cruelty

“Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and 'animals' is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.”

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

sad lesson history bamboozle evidence

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

brain muscle understand joyous

"The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

accumulate power wisdom destroy

"If we continue to accumulate only power and not wisdom, we will surely destroy ourselves."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

society science technology ignorance

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

promise question leader critical faculties independence thought

"I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought. I promise to educate myself so I can make my own judgments."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

America technology power public authority darkness

"I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - [...] when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

disturb glorification stupidity

"Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

self-deception emotion

"Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

hard truth comforting fantasy

"Better the hard truth, I say, than the comforting fantasy."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

gift adult society read children

"One of the greatest gifts adults can give - to their offspring and to their society - is to read to children."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

genius laugh clown

"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

bamboozle sad history truth

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth."

― Carl Sagan (1934-1996)