Goodreads | Demon-Haunted World, The

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The Demon Haunted world (Carl Sagan)	1	6	06/17/2008 12:41AM

Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

09/19/08

bookshelves: science, society

Read in September, 2008

I miss Carl Sagan.

Ever since I was a kid, Carl Sagan has been the face of science for me. I would watch Cosmos and feel a sense of amazement that the universe was as wonderful as it was. He'd be there in his turtleneck and his blazer, smiling as though he'd just heard the coolest secret and he wanted to share it with you. And he did, except that it wasn't his secret. Hell, it wasn't a secret at all - it was the combined results of thousands of years of thoughts, deductions,...more

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Dan rated it:

(review of isbn 039453512X)

01/26/08

Read in January, 2006

I sit before my computer, typing out a review of what is my favorite book. I’m daunted by the magnitude of this task, having just finished the book for the fourth or maybe fifth time. I wish I could remember when I bought this book, likely close to a decade ago, but I’m sure that I must have been awestruck to discover a book written by a man who has influenced my life and my interests to such a great extent.

One of the great memories of my early life was that of waiting to plop down in fron...more I sit before my computer, typing out a review of what is my favorite book. I’m daunted by the magnitude of this task, having just finished the book for the fourth or maybe fifth time. I wish I could remember when I bought this book, likely close to a decade ago, but I’m sure that I must have been awestruck to discover a book written by a man who has influenced my life and my interests to such a great extent.

One of the great memories of my early life was that of waiting to plop down in front of the TV set for a few Sunday nights in 1980, as our PBS station aired a thirteen part series called Cosmos. Accompanied at the TV by my mom and grandmother, Cosmos captured my imagination in ways that will last my whole life. It was a series not merely discussing outer space, but in fact, it addressed the history of humanity’s understanding of our place in the world, the universe, and in life. Why is the memory of a TV show so incredibly dear to me? I could say that the show opened my mind to concepts and philosophies and possibilities that I never imagined, and that’d be a fair and true statement. What really makes the series so pivotal in my life, though, is that I shared such a formative experience with my mom and my grandmother; two people to whom I owe my life, my intelligence, and, hopefully without too much hyperbole, my essential spirit. At the age of nine, it’s not very likely to imagine that I would have planted myself in front of a television tuned to PBS on a Sunday evening, but the patient guidance and love of my mom and grandmother gave me the gift of knowledge and wonder.

Needless to say, I’ve always been partial to the works of Dr. Carl Sagan. Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is the first work of Dr. Sagan’s that I’ve read as an adult and in the many years I’ve owned this book, I’ve read it at least five times. Why re-read a book so often? The answer is found in my reverence of the book’s message, it’s point, and it’s passion. Not only have I read it often, but I have made an irregularly observed tradition to start each new year with a fresh reading. At least three times, I’ve picked the book up within hours of watching the ball drop in Times Square, heralding in the new year.

Many who know me, already know this is my favorite book, but I’m deeply challenged when I’m asked what the book is about, and several paragraphs into my review, I’m probably overdue in attempting to answer this exact question. In this book, Dr. Carl Sagan tackles one of the key problems facing our time, as well as repeated throughout the history of our civilization, and that is the propensity for humanity to delve into our darkest superstitions and most bleak behaviors when our knowledge or ego is challenged. It seems that throughout the history of our species, we’ve turned our backs on critical thought and skepticism at times when those with claims to power and zealotry and wealth have found it advantageous and profitable to subvert the masses.

Why discuss witch burnings and crop circles and claims of government coverups of alien abductions from 50 years ago? The answer lies in the here and now. At a time when every facet of our daily lives revolves around technology; when each and every human being lives under the threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons; when communications are global but subject to being monitored in violation of the founding documents of our nation (granted this is a problem that would occur years after Sagan’s death, yet it’s exactly the type of behavior Sagan speaks of), we find that critical thought wanes in the population of our own nation, not to mention that of the entire world. Credulity and old habits creep into our consciousness. Our world, our freedoms, and our lives come under attack.

Go to the movies and watch ghosts haunt a house or watch the undead torment campers in the woods. Turn on the TV, and you’re likely to find tales of alien spacecraft being hidden by the government. You’re equally likely to channel surf past a shopping network selling new age crystals. But where on broadcast television are you likely to find a substantive debate on issues of education or technology? Where do you see education programming talking about the technology that engulfs our very lives? As Sagan points out, imagine the irony that kids can watch a cartoon about a prehistoric family with a dinosaur for a pet (I actually protest... I enjoyed the Flintstones!), but may never have the opportunity to watch a show about the invention or technology of television, itself!

At what cost to our freedoms, will we accept great claims without great proof? What decisions do we as a world culture need to make to grow and prosper and what can we learn from our history, replete with credulity and domination and fear mongering?

Should we shrink from the challenges of education and critical thinking, what price will we pay? Will it be our personal or national economic stability? Will we see our freedoms curtailed (as if we haven’t witnessed that already)? Or will we pay with the extinction of our species?
 The thesis as I understand it, of this book is that we, as a culture and society, may be repeating a common mistake of our history: accepting a diminution of our critical thinking skills at our own distinct. Because of the threats we face though, this time we stand at these crossroads at possibly the least opportune of times. Throughout history, those in power or those who seek it, have abused our fears and used them to control the masses to their own advantage or profit. This book begs to serve as a wake up call to anyone willing to accept the challenge not only to read it, but to deeply ponder each of its points and positions. It offers the methods of critical thought as the grand lighthouse by which we can safely steer our course through the treacherous times and malevolent forces we face. Dr. Sagan, true to the book’s title, offers the methods of science as a candle in the darkness in men’s souls.

This book occupies a special place in my life, as I’ve stated. I believe that this is a book of such enormous importance, that it should be required reading in every senior level high school class in the country. It may not be comfortable reading, and Dr. Sagan wrote on an astronomically high reading level (forgive the pun, as Dr. Sagan was of course a world renown astronomer) that it may take weeks or months to fully drink in the material, but the discussion that Dr. Sagan presented are vital. The arguments he presents are vital to our intellect, our freedom, and to our humanity.

For making me think and contemplate, reading after reading, this book scores five stars....less

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Arthur rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

02/21/08

bookshelves: science

Read in February, 2008

I wish I could give 6 stars to this book (but I guess that just indicates that I give 5 stars too easily). Carl Sagan covers a lot of ground in this book. One of his most important themes is that the scientific method is the best tool we have for separating fact from fantasy. He laments that a general lack of skepticism leads many people to believe in superstitions that can be easily explained. He devotes several chapters to the widespread belief in UFOs and a government conspiracy to hide the &...more I wish I could give 6 stars to this book (but I guess that just indicates that I give 5 stars too easily). Carl Sagan covers a lot of ground in this book. One of his most important themes is that the scientific method is the best tool we have for separating fact from fantasy. He laments that a general lack of skepticism leads many people to believe in superstitions that can be easily explained. He devotes several chapters to the widespread belief in UFOs and a government conspiracy to hide the "truth" that we are being visited by aliens in flying saucers. He explains the history of the crop circle hoax that began in the United Kingdom and was quickly copied by hoaxers in other parts of the world. He explains how Europeans in the middle ages frequently believed they were visited by demons (a succubus coming to seduce a man and an incubus coming to seduce a woman). Nowadays, however, the demons don't visit us anymore. Instead we are visited by aliens. He explains how both of these common beliefs can be explained in terms of complex psychological factors. He also talks about how memories can be altered, and how unreliable eyewitness accounts can be, in particular if they seek therapy with hypnotherapists who help them remember the alien abduction.

Sagan devotes an excellent chapter in the middle of his book to the basic toolkit that one should use to analyze an argument for intellectual integrity, describing the most common fallacies that can sidestep the basic requirements of argument and cause an argument to seem much more convincing than it actually is.

He discusses the modern trend to distrust science, and he discusses some of its causes. For example, he talks about how many people today view scientists as "nerds" and don't see why governments should support "curiosity-based research", thinking that they should focus on specific technological research rather than purely scientific matters. To argue against this idea, he discusses how a specific discovery by a physicist named Maxwell (the idea of electromagnetic radiation, i.e. light, and a few related ideas) allowed later scientists to discover radio waves, one of the single most important discoveries in history. But Maxwell had no idea where his discovery would lead. Rather, he was pursuing a purely scientific question.

In addition to the UFO myth, he discusses the televangelist faith healers and other people who take advantage of a general lack of skepticism for their own gain.

One of the parts of the book I appreciated most was Sagan's conclusion that since today's technology has so much potential for either disastrous or wonderful consequences, it is necessary for scientists today to have much higher ethical standards than ever before. He talks about some scientists who have been influential activists for social change, and other scientists who have been ruthlessly unethical, in particular the scientist whose pet project was the invention of the hydrogen bomb, which Sagan calls the single most odious invention in the history of the world.

I highly recommend this book, especially to people who think that science is overrated or want to get a glimpse into the mind of a scientist....less

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Miguel rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

06/17/08

bookshelves: science

Read in February, 2008

Carl Sagan represented the candle of light in a world covered by pseudo-science, superstition, and intolerance, which in essence is the same. He adopted the universe like his hometown, He was fascinated by the variety of cultures, civilizations, languages, and lifestyles. He was in love about history, Anthropology, Biology, and Physics. Science was not longer a tool of few privileged intellectual people. He popularized Science, making it easy, dynamic, and more democratic. Science is the spiritu...more Carl Sagan represented the candle of light in a world covered by pseudo-science, superstition, and intolerance, which in essence is the same. He adopted the universe like his hometown, He was fascinated by the variety of cultures, civilizations, languages, and lifestyles. He was in love about history, Anthropology, Biology, and Physics. Science was not longer a tool of few privileged intellectual people. He popularized Science, making it easy, dynamic, and more democratic. Science is the spiritualization of the Universe, it’s the soul in itself.
We are made by the cosmos, we are created by universe’s stuff. Sagan encouraged until the last day his love for the scientific method, and to think in a critical way. He might be giving a lecture about the Greek civilization or explaining the wonders of the roman civilization, and the same time he might be fascinated about biology and physics. He showed a deep fascination about the classical civilization and it’s achievement. The glory of the classical civilization, in Sagan’s words was the library of Alexandria, and his heart was it’s collection of books. We can see his sadness about the destruction of the library of Alexandria, produced with the rise of superstition and intolerance. We can notice his deep fascination about genius like: Aristarchus of Samos, Eratosthenes, or Hypathia, the last woman whose intelligence was the glory and the light of wisdom and knowledge of the classical civilization, her martyrdom along with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria represented a terrible tragedy for the humankind with terrible consequences. The destruction of the library of Alexandria was end of a culture of reason, tolerance and science, and the rising of the superstition which it will last near 1000 years. People stopped to think with critical thinking for adopting any kind of fallacies as way of thought. People stopped to think in a critical and skeptical way, with hypothesis and analysis, as a valuable tools for creating science, and objective knowledge. Sagan used to say if we would have avoided the destruction of the classical civilization, today, we might have been visiting another galaxies… it sounds prophetic, but there’s a sadness in his words.

“The Demon-Haunted World” is one of the most moving and passionate books ever written in the last century. Dictatorships, and authoritarian regimes dislike any kind of critical thinking, recognized as dangerous. Science is a precious instrument of knowledge. Mistrust the argument of any pseudo-science, verify your information, bring hypothesis, any theory or new knowledge must be verified, analyzed with the light of the science. The scientific knowledge constantly interrogate and ask questions to nature, and to our reality. There’s a long process of verification of information, before of adopting any kind of “truth”, that’s the reason because pseudo-science is so dangerous. We’ve seen through human history that human are fallible, and make serious mistakes, bringing tragedy, and death.
Finally, I recommend the reading of this book, it’s an intelligent work, with elegant writing and honesty
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Tyler rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

04/19/08

Read in January, 1998

recommended to Tyler by: _A book review
recommends it for: _People who want to think straight

Sagan shows why learning to think in a contingent universe is ... well ... absolutely necessary. My reaction first reading the book was, "I've known for a long time that something's wrong. Now I know what." The discussions the author engages in in the book are eye-openers.

I cannot recommend this book to those who are highly sensitive about their credos, but on other hand, I don't think more open-minded religious people will at all see this as the scathing attack many opinion-mak...more

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Juliana rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

01/18/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in January, 2008

This book is very inspiring! Carl Sagan tries to point out how much we allow superstitions, prejudices and so forth to influence our lives; how unprepared the majority of the population is to recognize authentic science...

He explains all this in details and with real life examples, which to me are fascinating!

One thing I learned from this book is that the human memory is not perfect and that with a little persuasion it is pretty simple to insert a false memory into someone's head!!!! Ver...more

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Ashley rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

08/23/07

bookshelves: science-and-pseudoscience

Read in August, 2007

I'm a little late to the Carl Sagan fanclub, especially for someone who lived and breathed biology in high school and college. This was one of those life-defining books for me. It made me want to go out and find a telescope to study the night sky, to take my education further, to not be content with the understanding I have of things at the present time. The world of Science and scientific discovery is so amazing and awe-inspiring, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to explore the universe furth...more

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Tom rated it:

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05/21/08

Read in May, 2008

Here's the point of the book:

"Logical thinking and repeatable, generalizable, five-senses based experience is the best thing of all."

It sounds sensible and it's hard to argue with. And I don't think I should want to! But some part of me does. Certainly not with the logical thinking part. Nor the repeatable, generalizable part. But I do take issue with the idea that science has definitively identified the extent of human sensory capability in the five senses.

Other than that,...more

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Mark rated it:

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03/04/08

Sagan's book is a predecessor to Sam Harris' "The End of Faith". However, I feel that Sagan is a much more literary writer. This book is a nice-drive-down-a-country-road read while Harris' book is more of a get-on-down-the-road read. I really enjoyed this book because it was so comfortable.
Many of the points and arguments in this book are not new, in fact few of them are, but Sagan's style and interesting approach (the world is demon-haunted?!)to the points refresh them and asks t...more

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Ginnie rated it:

(review of isbn 039453512X)

09/27/08

bookshelves: science

This is absolutely one of the finest works demonstrating the difference between the process of science and the body of knowledge we have gained through its use. Sagan uses the phrase baloney detection toolkit several times in this book, and it applies wonderfully across the spectrum of experience in our lives. When applied to the claims of various types of cultural environment, the practices he points out can easily help individuals see through the fraudulent claims of those who would pre...more

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Erin rated it:

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01/07/08

Read in January, 2008

this is not at all what i was expecting, which i attribute to the title and summary being less than well done. however, i do agree wholeheartedly with his points about the state of american education, and several other things... but i probably wouldn't have read the whole book except that i'm stubborn, as it's kind of plodding. the scientific method is good. i get it.

as for anything to do with demons or debunking, he sets it up (in a less than fascinating way) to lead into his ode to the ...more

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Trevor rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

12/08/07

Read in January, 2005

Sagan has been a hero of mine since I saw Cosmos years and years ago. Now that was one of the truly great science documentaries and one that, on the subject of physics, has rarely been bettered.

This is a supurb book. Many people say things like, "I've no idea how people without a belief in the supernatural can bare to live in this world". Well, Sagan gives a powerful answer here.

Sagan understood the infinite joy that comes from understanding something about the world - somethi...more

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Jon rated it:

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11/15/07

recommends it for: Everybody

I think its described somewhere as a manifesto for rational thought and it truly is. Carl Sagan was a true humanist in the best sense of the word, and he was taken from us too soon. Without being dogmatic or heavy handed, he examines the impact, mostly negative, of pseudoscience and fundamentalist religion on the world, but with a real empathy for people. This is the rare book that really makes its points in some pretty controversial areas without offending too many people.

Sagan makes...more

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John rated it:

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01/23/08

Read in January, 1998

recommends it for: Terry

My first Sagan book was Cosmos, which led me to this one. While Cosmos was good, this was great. It really opened my eyes to how important science is, and the underlying principles of science, and simultaneously how organized religion is virtually 100% philosophically opposed to science.

Religion: Don't think, don't reason, don't use logic. We'll (religious leaders) tell you what to think, what our god(s) wants you to think/do. Our holy book written centuries ago by primitive tribes wit...more

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Sean rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

07/08/07

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: Sketpics

Carl Sagan's polemic against pseudoscience and apologia for scientific skepticism and post-Enlightenment values. Much of the book is devoted to a fascinating description of the intimate similarities among UFO abductions, recovered memories, fairy myths, and the European witch hunts. Along the way he touches on on a range of other fringe ideas, including crop circles, Roswell, faith healing, and ESP.

While the debunkings are literate and interesting, I couldn't help feeling the book suffer...more

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Nancy rated it:

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07/11/08

Read in July, 2008

This is a book which one needs to go back to again and again. I had heard it mentioned so many times on various scientific podcasts that I simply had to read it - and I wasn't disappointed. The book is essentially Sagan's final musings before his death at the end of 1996, about the state of science in America, scientific eduction, why people believe in witches and UFO abductions, and the general human condition. The questions he poses throughout the book are so insightful, one wonders why they a...more

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Jas rated it:

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09/27/08

Read in September, 2008

I am rereading this book right now. Sagan's sane, humane and so very engaging argument for a life ruled by reason and critical thinking is such a tonic. Every time he counters examples of half-baked mysticism and pseudoscience with stuff that is provable and real, I want to cheer. Yes, I know how dumb that probably sounds. The thing is, as a culture, as a people we, meaning Americans are allowing ourselves to be cowed by people who loathe this world and are probably deathly afraid of it. I find ...more

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Rita rated it:

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09/04/07

Read in February, 2006

recommends it for: anyone with a brain - and me, too

This book blew my mind. You know all those arguments you want to make to obnoxious social conservatives, wishy-washy new age types and anyone who watches Oprah too much (myself not included)? Well Demon Haunted World makes those arguments far better than you could ever hope to. When someone says "Creationism is a valid theory" and all you can do is open your mouth and drool in horror, Carl Sagan has a point-by-point, fallacy smashing rundown to help you come up with a well-formed rebut...more

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Graham rated it:

(review of isbn 0345409469)

02/17/08

Read in January, 2004

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