---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For years I've been stressing with regard…"
description: "\"For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.\" — Carl Sagan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg"
---

#  For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that…

![“For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg)

> “For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Emphasizes that extraordinary claims, like UFOs, demand equally extraordinary evidence before acceptance.

**In simple terms:** Extraordinary claims need strong evidence.

Key Takeaway

Demand rigorous proof for unusual claims.

Themes

skepticism science evidence critical thinking UFOs

Mood

cautious analytical

Type

scientific philosophical

When to use this quote

- Evaluating conspiracy theories
- media literacy
- academic research
- policy making

Key Concepts

Epistemology burden of proof scientific method

Questions to Reflect On

- What evidence would convince you?
- How do you assess credibility?

A Different Perspective

People may dismiss evidence due to bias.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Extraordinary Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-claims-1129971/) [Extraordinary Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-evidence-1875384/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Regard Ufos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-ufos-5001503/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Ufo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ufo/) [Ufos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ufos/) [Ufos Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ufos-extraordinary-5001502/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [It is an understatement to say that the time has arrived for a serious and open international dialogue regarding the possibility of future interplanetary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-m-greer/it-is-an-understatement-to-say-that-the-time-has-arrived-for-a/)

[Steven M. Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-m-greer/)

> [What counts is not what sounds plausible, not what we would like to believe, not what one or two witnesses claim, but only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/what-counts-is-not-what-sounds-plausible-not-what-we-would-like-to/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [I believe that the extraordinary should be pursued. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-believe-that-the-extraordinary-should-be-pursued-but-extraordinary/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/extraordinary-claims-require-extraordinary-evidence/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/extraordinary-claims-demand-extraordinary-evidence/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabetha-s-boyajian/extraordinary-claims-require-extraordinary-evidence-and-it-is-my-job/)

[Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/)

> [UFOs: The reliable cases are uninteresting and in the interesting cases are unreliable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/ufos-the-reliable-cases-are-uninteresting-and-in-the-interesting/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [After I give lectures-on almost any subject-I am often asked, "Do you believe in UFOs?" I'm always struck by how the question is phrased,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/after-i-give-lectures-on-almost-any-subject-i-am-often-asked-do-you/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [We can make a similar examination, but with greater uncertainty, of the extraterrestrial hypothesis that holds that a wide range of UFOs viewed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-can-make-a-similar-examination-but-with-greater-uncertainty-of-the/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [For all I know we may be visited by a different extraterrestrial civilization every second Tuesday, but there's no support for this appealing idea.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-all-i-know-we-may-be-visited-by-a-different-extraterrestrial/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Extraordinary observations require extraordinary evidence to make them believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/extraordinary-observations-require-extraordinary-evidence-to-make/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [What most people don't understand is that UFOs are on a cosmic tourist route. That's why they're always seen in Arizona, Scotland, and New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/what-most-people-don-t-understand-is-that-ufos-are-on-a-cosmic/)

[Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/)

> [ I would do it \[study UFOs\], but before agreeing to do it, we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-edgar-hoover/i-would-do-it-study-ufos-but-before-agreeing-to-do-it-we-must-insist/)

[J. Edgar Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-edgar-hoover/)

> [The proponents of UFOs offer up impressive quantities of principally eyewitness data, which although largely subjective and circumstantial in nature, is nevertheless quite intriguing……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davenport/the-proponents-of-ufos-offer-up-impressive-quantities-of-principally/)

[Peter Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davenport/)

> [“If aliens do not exist in this universe, then you do not exist in this universe as well! If you exist in this universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-aliens-do-not-exist-in-this-universe-then-you-do-not-exist-in-this/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

## 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/)

[Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

## More Atheism quotes

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/)

[Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/)

[Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/)

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carl Sagan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regard-to-ufos-that-extraordinary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atheism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regard-to-ufos-that-extraordinary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72e/carl-sagan-160_atheism_for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regar_1415742.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” — Carl Sagan",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Carl Sagan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "For years I've been stressing with...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regard-to-ufos-that-extraordinary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regard-to-ufos-that-extraordinary/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
