The Demon-haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark

I love Carl Sagan and everything about him. I have watched Cosmos multiple times over and find it so stirring I am almost moved to tears at points. So I am writing this as a Sagan fan.This book contains lots of great Sagan stuff: an evenhanded look at the issues, nice literary quotes, optimism, sceptism, imagination, a defence of science, a love of humanity, humility, well-referenced, and respectful treatment of those who (earnestly) buy into, pursue or promote things we know are false. (Not so, for those who know they are false but use their credulity of earnest believers to line their own pockets or increase their power.)However, I quickly realised that a lot of Sagan's appeal is his personality and voice. Reading this was almost a let down after watching dozens of his videos on Youtube. Not because the book is bad -- it isn't -- but because his in-person delivery is so good. I found the same thing after watching a ton of Richard Feynman videos and then switching to his books: when you subtract the voice, the smile, the laughter, the comedic timing, the dramatic pauses etc. then, I found, a great deal of the enjoyment was lost.All to say: manage your expectations and you'll be fine, or read this before watching Cosmos! The aim, content and execution of the book is good: almost all human beings are trying to figure out meaning in their lives, connect with nature, and be captains of their own destiny -- it is simply that not all ways of doing this are equally true or successful. The book looks at why, and at why false or ineffective ways of doing this are so persistent, from a sympathetic point of view that we all deserve to have both the emotional consolations and everyday relevance of things like religion and astrology, but without turning away from the fascinating and effective truths of science and technology.

He predicted the level of ignorance and anti-science sentiment we see today. He warned us about the rise of flat-earthers, moon landing conspiracists, anti-vaxers, fake-news, alternative-facts, religious fanatics, ...He did it in 1996.

A wonderful debunking of pseudoscience. I laughed out loud when Carl Sagan listed the many and various "sciences" targeted at the gullible. The comedy punch line was the inclusion of long term financial forecasting. There is plenty of drivel spouted in TV advertising. If you have a bathroom full of exotic products I can recommend the advice of my sister explaining how she maintained her radiant complexion. "Soap, water and that not too often!" I use washing up liquid instead of shower gel - it works better at a fraction of the price.

Great man. Great book. Let's get the minor criticisms out of the way first. Carl can ramble slightly at times. His points are valid and thought provoking. However, I felt that a little editing was required. That aside...wonderful. Clear, balanced, unbiased and honest. He takes a look at all the key areas of science - from his own interest as a child to a closing chapter on how the essential promotion of the critical thinking protects us from fundementalists, crackpots, psuedoscience, political manipulators and those who profit from obscuring the truth. His tone isn't hectoring and less likely to discourage some. My favourite moment (and one I've re-read) is the chapter 'Obsessed with Reality' in which he takes a look how media can be fooled - and therefore fool us - with unsubstantiated claims. He tells the story of how the great Randi fools the Australian press with 'Carlos' - a kind of channeling version of Chopra/Tolle - which should act as a warning to all and is also (I found at least!) quite funny. Worth publishing in every school is his 'baloney detection kit'. It might help us spot some of our errors and not be taken in by some of the less honest, sincere or otherwise, in our society. Thank-you Carl. You're sorely missed.

I think this is a 'must read' book ,Carl Sagan was a brilliant cosmologist and polymath . This is not necessary about science what we know about the world and the universe or chemistry , physics and biology, but about the objective way in which scientist think and how they come to their conclusions through experiment and reasoning and how this method of thought can be used in more or less any aspect which we encounter . We live in a world where people believe all sorts of strange and fantastical things from crystal healing , ufo's ,mediums, astrology, reflexology ,ghosts you name it people will believe it, where there is absolutely no scientific evidence to believe it, in a time when government money is limited on scientific research perhaps money donated any number of worthy scientific causes , would be more efficacious than having our palms read or our future predicted by a charlatan . A very liberating piece of literature . Science is important it cures illness , it improves the quality of our lives we all need to make the effort to take a bit of interest .