Carl Sagn Book Report

Carl Sagan is an author/scientist who is really dedicated to science and the effect science has on our world. When it comes to pseudoscience, he is very passionate about it and the way science is crucial in its understanding. He says, "The scientific way of thinking is at once imaginative and disciplined. This is central to its success" (page 27). This quote relates to the imaginative thought of fallacies and proving them either to be real or fake. In order to figure that out you have to be imaginative. In the novel, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, he explains how scientific thinking is crucial in this technological intergrated world with pseudoscience. Sagan goes through the many fallacies such as UFO sightings, extraterrestrial life, eyc. and how they cannot be real without scientific evidence. Carl's intentions of writing this book is to inform people about the importance science has on these fallacies. 

My favorite part of Carl Sagan's novel is when he talks about the relationship between demons and humans on earth. He talks about this in chapter 7. The logic behind demons is that they were created by God to overule the humans. Sagan says that demons are really similar to humans as they partake in human activies. Similar to aliens, they lived I liked this part of the book because it reminded me of The Jersey Devil story. The Jersey Devil was born through a human and killed the parents. The demon was born through a human and ended up ruling them like Sagan has stated. It was interesting to read the book and relate it to many lectures in the class, like the story of The Jersey Devil. Similar to what Carl Sagan was saying, there has to be science to back up the claims of these creatures. The Jersey Devil was spread through old folk gossip and had been passed along. Sagan goes in depth to figure out the purpose of the existence of these creatures on Earth.

Furthermore, I have a better understanding of the effects science has on pseudoscience. Science is a major necessity when it comes to claims of UFO sightings, demons, and other fallocies that are said to be true. People like to believe these things are true because they want to believe something that is out of the ordinary. The best way to understand how these fallacies came about and their existence, is to use science to find evidence supporting it.

Pictured below is a diagram that explains the difference between pseudoscience and science. This also supports Sagan's claim because it shows how science is more about testing rather than believing something someone heard.