--- title: "7 Scrutiny Quotes By Carl Sagan" description: "7 Scrutiny quotes by Carl Sagan. Plus more from Carl Sagan and more Scrutiny sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/carl-sagan-160_attitude_at-the-heart-of-science-is-an-essential_207585.jpg" --- > [At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes-an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/at-the-heart-of-science-is-an-essential-balance-between-two-seemingly/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/carl-sagan-160_attitude_at-the-heart-of-science-is-an-essential_207585.jpg) > [Ask courageous questions. Do not be satisfied with superficial answers. Be open to wonder and at the same time subject all claims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satisfied-with-superficial-answers/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/carl-sagan-160_answers_ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satis_272433.jpg) > [When you realize that no one really knows what they are doing and that everyone is doing the best they can according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-knows-what-they-are-doing-and/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/carl-sagan-160_consciousness_when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-know_1081709.jpg) > [Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both-science-and-religion-by-which/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/carl-sagan-160_deep-thought_skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both_1164501.jpg) > [Science is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking. This is central to its success. Science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-is-much-more-than-a-body-of-knowledge-it-is-a-way-of-thinking/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/carl-sagan-160_alternatives_science-is-much-more-than-a-body-of-know_1281731.jpg) > [When you buy a used car, you kick the tires, you look at the odometer, you open up the hood. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tires-you-look-at-the-odometer/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/carl-sagan-160_automobile_when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tir_2627079.jpg) > [“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an-exquisite-balance-between-two-3/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/carl-sagan-160_balance_it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an_2982642.jpg) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny/carl-sagan/#itemlist", "name": "7 Scrutiny Quotes By Carl Sagan", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes-an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. 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Do not be satisfied with superficial answers. Be open to wonder and at the same time subject all claims to knowledge, without exception, to intense skeptical scrutiny. Be aware of human fallibility. Cherish your species and your planet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satisfied-with-superficial-answers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/carl-sagan-160_answers_ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satis_272433.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/carl-sagan-160_answers_ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satis_272433.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/carl-sagan-160_answers_ask-courageous-questions-do-not-be-satis_272433.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ask courageous questions. Do not be satisfied with superficial answers. 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Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-knows-what-they-are-doing-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/carl-sagan-160_consciousness_when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-know_1081709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/carl-sagan-160_consciousness_when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-know_1081709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/carl-sagan-160_consciousness_when-you-realize-that-no-one-really-know_1081709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you realize that no one really knows what they are doing and that everyone is doing the best they can…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both-science-and-religion-by-which/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/carl-sagan-160_deep-thought_skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both_1164501.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/carl-sagan-160_deep-thought_skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both_1164501.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/carl-sagan-160_deep-thought_skeptical-scrutiny-is-the-means-in-both_1164501.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking. This is central to its success. Science invites us to let the facts in, even when they don't conform to our preconceptions. It counsels us to carry alternative hypotheses in our heads and see which ones best match the facts. 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But on the issues of the transcendent, of ethics, of morals, of the origins of the world, of the nature of human beings, on those issues should we not insist upon at least equally skeptical scrutiny?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tires-you-look-at-the-odometer/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/carl-sagan-160_automobile_when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tir_2627079.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/carl-sagan-160_automobile_when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tir_2627079.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd7/carl-sagan-160_automobile_when-you-buy-a-used-car-you-kick-the-tir_2627079.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you buy a used car, you kick the tires, you look at the odometer, you open up the hood. If you do not…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas...If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you … On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an-exquisite-balance-between-two-3/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/carl-sagan-160_balance_it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an_2982642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/carl-sagan-160_balance_it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an_2982642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/carl-sagan-160_balance_it-seems-to-me-what-is-called-for-is-an_2982642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical…” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny/carl-sagan/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny/carl-sagan/", "name": "Scrutiny Quotes by Carl Sagan", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny/carl-sagan/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/carl-sagan-160_attitude_at-the-heart-of-science-is-an-essential_207585.jpg" }, "description": "7 Scrutiny quotes by Carl Sagan. 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