Being true Quote by Carl Sagan
“I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Cosmos by Carl Sagan, 1980
Science offers genuine wonder and reliable truth, unlike pseudoscience which lacks evidence and verifiability.
In simple terms: Science is wondrous and true.
Key Takeaway
Trust science for reliable knowledge.
Themes
wonder
truth
knowledge
Mood
inspired
curious
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- education
- research
- public policy
- media literacy
Key Concepts
empiricism
skepticism
philosophy of science
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we make scientific wonder more approachable?
- What role does skepticism play in everyday decisions?
A Different Perspective
Science can be inaccessible or misunderstood by the public.
![“[T]he true natural sciences lock together in theory and evidence to form the ineradicable technical base of modern civilization. The pseudosciences satisfy personal psychological needs... but lack the ideas or the means to contribute to the technical base.” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/db8/e-o-wilson-1348_civilization_t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together_2419733.jpg)
![“Science and mathematics [are] much more compelling and exciting than the doctrines of pseudoscience, whose practitioners were condemned as early as the fifth century B.C. by the Ionian philosopher Heraclitus as 'night walkers, magicians, priests of Bacchus, priestesses of the wine-vat…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3e2/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_science-and-mathematics-are-much-more-co_2332206.jpg)
![“[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion, why do you not believe in materialistic science, which has an unparalleled record of fulfilled prophecy? Consider, for example, eclipses.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/875/carl-sagan-160_belief_when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-a_25095.jpg)
