The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark in Astronomy and Space exploration

Apr 15, 2018 Mark rated it really liked it

One of the big take-aways from this book for me was the continued need for this country (or any country, for that matter) to put a high-priority on the education of its people so that they will have the necessary degree of critical thinking skills and skepticism needed to effectively participate in and engage in their civic responsibilities (e.g., making informed decisions on who to vote for in local and national elections) as well as to make sense of and critically evaluate what they see on TV, One of the big take-aways from this book for me was the continued need for this country (or any country, for that matter) to put a high-priority on the education of its people so that they will have the necessary degree of critical thinking skills and skepticism needed to effectively participate in and engage in their civic responsibilities (e.g., making informed decisions on who to vote for in local and national elections) as well as to make sense of and critically evaluate what they see on TV, in the news (traditional media), and on social media, as well as to acquire the necessary skills that are needed to compete in a global economy.

There are a frighteningly significant number of people in this country in 2018 (as was also the case when this book was published back in 1996) who believe that (for example) the earth is flat, that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, believe in creationism, in crazy UFO conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact, in other pseudoscientific ideas, and in wild political conspiracy theories, just to take a few examples. It is not a coincidence that those who have such beliefs also tend not to have a post-high school education, and it is also not a coincidence, as Sagan points out in this book, that such people are more prone and vulnerable to be whipped and stirred up into nationalistic, nativist, and xenophobic mindsets by clever and manipulative politicians and, now in the second decade of the 21st century, cleverly placed propaganda and 'fake news' on social media and traditional media. The best and most sustainable antidote against this would be to insure (and make whatever financial investments are necessary) that as many people as possible have access to affordable post-high school education (not to mention good quality and safe K-12 schools with properly paid teachers). Not only will this help to stop and reverse the dangerous trends mentioned above, but it will also enable those who have lost jobs in the manufacturing sector for a number of complex reasons (and who have in some cases become fearful and desperate as a consequence, leading to questionable and problematic voting patterns) to better transition to other work sectors.

If we are not willing to make these investments in education (both K-12 and at the college level) we can very well experience, as Sagan mentions, the (continued) erosion of our democratic institutions. ...more

Like · see review