Quotes from Carl Sagan

Scientists often say My position is mistaken. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.

The total number of such worlds are, as I said, something of the order of a trillion, or 10^12, a one followed by twelve zeros, of which Earth represents just one, all in the family of the Sun. And our star, of course, is one of a vast multitude.

Taken together, the dramatic societal shifts — often in ten generations or less — provide a compelling refutation of the claim that we are condemned, without hope of reprieve, to live out our lives in a barely disguised chimpanzee social order.

That we can now think of no mechanism for astrology is relevant but unconvincing. No mechanism was known, for example, for continental drift when it was proposed by Wegener. Nevertheless, we see that Wegener was right, and those who objected on the grounds of unavailable mechanism were wrong.

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.

Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us — and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along.

We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

They laughed at Einstein. They laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

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

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

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.