It is the tension between creativity and skepticism that has produced the stunning and unexpected findings of science. — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken..." — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense. — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
You can get into a habit of thought in which you enjoy making fun of all those other people who don't see… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
We wish to find the truth, no matter where it lies. But to find the truth we need imagination and skepticism both.… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
People are not stupid. They believe things for reasons. The last way for skeptics to get the attention of bright, curious, intelligent… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“When I wake up I go through an abbreviated process of mourning all over again. Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“The theologian Meric Casaubon argued—in his 1668 book, Of Credulity and Incredulity—that witches must exist because, after all, everyone believes in them.… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
My parents were not scientists. They knew almost nothing about science. But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
In a lot of scientists, the ratio of wonder to skepticism declines in time. That may be connected with the fact that… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can't all be correct. And what if all of… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You become a crotchety old person convinced that… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“deluded or not, supporters of superstition and pseudoscience are human beings with real feelings, who, like the skeptics, are trying to figure… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
...the idea of a spiritual part of our nature that survives death, the notion of an afterlife, ought to be easy for… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“We must surrender our skepticism only in the face of rock-solid evidence. Science demands a tolerance for ambiguity. Where we are ignorant,… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship. He argued that the cost of education… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God.… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
I believe that part of what propels science is the thirst for wonder. It's a very powerful emotion. All children feel it.… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“Occasionally, I get a letter from someone who is in “contact” with extraterrestrials. I am invited to “ask them anything.” And so… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“Some information is classified legitimately; as with military hardware, secrecy sometimes really is in the national interest. Further, military, political, and intelligence… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
What counts is not what sounds plausible, not what we would like to believe, not what one or two witnesses claim, but… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“It may be that there are kernels of truth in a few of these doctrines, but their widespread acceptance betokens a lack… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“It is certainly true that all beliefs and all myths are worthy of a respectful hearing. It is not true that all… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“Another of Mack’s patients says that the aliens have been taking eggs from her since she was sexually mature, and that her… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
A proclivity for science is embedded deeply within us, in all times, places, and cultures. It has been the means for our… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
When you realize that no one really knows what they are doing and that everyone is doing the best they can according… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“Why do we put up with it? Do we like to be criticized? No, no scientist enjoys it. Every scientist feels a… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Too much openness and you accept every notion, idea, and hypothesis-which is tantamount to knowing nothing. Too much skepticism-especially rejection of new… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
“Why does Alexander the Great never tell us about the exact location of his tomb, Fermat about his Last Theorem, John Wilkes… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder and awe. Those afraid of the universe as… — Carl Sagan Copy Share Image
It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams! — Carl Sagan Copy Share
“[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no. — Carl Sagan Copy Share
Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.… — Carl Sagan Copy Share
