Book is a farce...Its a half hearted scientific argument!!July 9, 2008 3 out of 53 found this review helpful
I believe I have come from a scientific background. I will try to express my views as plainly as possible. First of all, in science there is no emotion. There are just consequences. There is nothing like a good consequence or a bad consequence, all you have is a consequence!
Author argues, that science has made lives of many people better, solved problems, uplifted human race leading to "better" quality of life. Hence he says you should acccept science and use that for the "better of man kind". However from a scientific point of view there is nothing called "better of mankind". If there is a nuclear explosion and everybody on earth dies, scientifically nothing has happened. Life may originate in some distant galaxy couple of million years from now. There is no reason why our life is any great to be preserved. In doing so, he consistently(unknowingly) over-emphasizes the importance of our lives(Then makes arguments that people who thought earth in the center of universe where stupid).
Also, he ridicules the saying "Ignorance is a bliss". Scientifcially there is no reason why he should? Atleast not that I know of!
Some how the author is placing too much importance on human life(unlike sciences). The book is an emotional appeal of a weak mind for scientic thought process. The book is NOT a Scientific appeal for Scientific thought process.
Good Grief! I love it ... so far.July 3, 2008 1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm not a scientist, per say, but I do know that I enjoy any author who is willing to go out of his/her way to appeal to their readers sensibilities and/or reason, before, they launch into the body of the book. This allows the reader to feel some level of comfort that they are reading from the passages of a sane individual and not one who isn't going to pay the reader the courtisy of being upfront and honest.
I think Carl Sagan has done a great job at capturing my interest ... so far, and I can't wait to read on. Good day sir!
Timely Wisdom from a Sage of ScienceMay 25, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Carl Sagan has given a gift of both entertainment and insight to us about how even science itself is subject to fads, fakes and mistaken notions. The questions he poses as models for how to figure out if you are being "bamboozled" will work in many contexts. I recommend this book for every intelligent American. Failure to appreciate the challenge of discerning truths from fictions can sink a democracy. After you read it and use its analysis, holes appear in many popular "scientfic' propositions, not the least of which is the "man is a major cause of global warming" proposition.
Science as a method to make good choices.May 13, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sagan disproves most myths lot of people have believed, are believing and probably will believe in the future, no matter how many proofs exists against these ideas. But more important is, he gives a clear method how to filter all the crap you will encounter in the future, the way science works. He explains the importance of being open minded, but still skeptical. I will definitely try other books from Sagan in the near future.
Must read book for everyone, especially for credulous people.
Sharpen your critical thinking skillsMay 11, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's hard enough to understand how Sagan could know as much about astronomy as he did, let alone the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. But that his range of knowledge was also as wide as this book demonstrates on pseudo-science and supernaturalisms is stunning, even more that he could write so well on all these topics.
I wasn't aware just how evil the treatment of witches was: I'm glad Sagan spared at least some of the details. That chapter alone was worth the book for me. Nor was I aware to what extent people actually did believe that demons were real. The attitudes and behavior about witchcraft and demons truly makes me feel I do not understand at all the mindset at the time of Rome or even during the Middle Ages. The chapter on James Randi's Carlos hoax I'll treasure: next time someone tries to sell me on telepathy or reincarnation, I hope I think of this immediately. Good information and examples here as well about hypnoisis, UFO's, hallucinations and a good deal more. This book amounts to an implicit course in choosing a scientific outlook and becoming, as Sagan would have said, a "baloney detector".
It is appalling how small a percentage of people in the U.S. accept evolution and natural selection. Have we really needed brilliant scientists like Sagan and Dawkins to have wasted time trying to convince people of just how well-founded evolution is? And yet reading in this book about how many people believe in UFOs, telepathy, ghosts, astrology, it puts the unwillingness to acknowledge evolution into perspective. Scary? Or do you doubt that it is? In either case, this easy to read book is packed with reasons to prefer a scientific approach to life. Sagan's lectures in The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God provide good reasons not to feel threatened by science but rather feel welcome its help in enhancing our sense of wonder about our lives ... and turning to knowledge instead of being distracted by foolish beliefs.
