--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that even a smattering of such…" description: "\"I believe that even a smattering of such findings in modern science and mathematics is far more compelling and exciting than most of the doctrines of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg" --- # I believe that even a smattering of such findings in… ![“I believe that even a smattering of such findings in modern science and mathematics is far more compelling and exciting than most of the doctrines of pseudoscience, whose practitioners were condemned as early as the fifth century B.C. by the Ionian philosopher Heraclitus as “nigh -walkers…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg) > “I believe that even a smattering of such findings in modern science and mathematics is far more compelling and exciting than most of the doctrines of pseudoscience, whose practitioners were condemned as early as the fifth century B.C. by the Ionian philosopher Heraclitus as “nigh -walkers, magicians, priests of Bacchus, priestesses of the wine-vat, mystery-mongers.” But science is more intricate and subtle, reveals a much richer imiverse, and powerfully evokes our sense of wonder.” [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. Science, with its depth and wonder, surpasses pseudoscience, offering a richer, more intricate universe. **In simple terms:** Science offers deeper wonder than pseudoscience. Key Takeaway Embrace scientific inquiry. Themes science wonder knowledge skepticism Mood inspiring thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - public outreach - critical thinking Key Concepts philosophy of science cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How can you make complex science relatable? - What role does wonder play in learning? A Different Perspective Science can be inaccessible to some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bacchus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacchus/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Magician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magician/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Modern science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-science/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Priestesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priestesses/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Pseudoscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pseudoscience/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sense of wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-wonder/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [ Science and mathematics \[are\] much more compelling and exciting than the doctrines of pseudoscience, whose practitioners were condemned as early as the fifth century… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/science-and-mathematics-are-much-more-compelling-and-exciting-than/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Every woman is a priestess,” she said abruptly. “Every single one.” She turned to Marianne, her eyes clear as water. “The major religions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-george/every-woman-is-a-priestess-she-said-abruptly-every-single-one-she/) [Nina George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-george/) > [My style for the moment is modern mystic priestess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisa-jimenez/my-style-for-the-moment-is-modern-mystic-priestess/) Elisa Jimenez > [Your soul is the priestess of memory, selecting, sifting, and ultimately gathering your vanishing days toward presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/your-soul-is-the-priestess-of-memory-selecting-sifting-and-ultimately/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [What I like so much about Corot is that he can say everything with a bit of tree; and it was Corot himself that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/what-i-like-so-much-about-corot-is-that-he-can-say-everything-with-a/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [“Our priestesses have always taught that divinity, by virtue of its great power, must encompass both beauty and terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/our-priestesses-have-always-taught-that-divinity-by-virtue-of-its/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Nature is boundless in her powers, exhausting in her variety: the powers of Art and its capabilities of variety in production are bounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-brownell-jameson/nature-is-boundless-in-her-powers-exhausting-in-her-variety-the/) [Anna Brownell Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-brownell-jameson/) > [We need the expressive arts, the ancient scribes, the storytellers, the priests. And that's where I put myself: as a storyteller. Not necessarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/we-need-the-expressive-arts-the-ancient-scribes-the-storytellers-the/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [For people raised and programmed on the patriarchal religions of today, religions that affect even the most secular aspects of our society, perhaps there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-stone/for-people-raised-and-programmed-on-the-patriarchal-religions-of/) [Merlin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-stone/) > [I'm a priest, not a priestess. Priestess implies mumbo jumbo and all sorts of pagan goings-on. Those who oppose us would love to call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/i-m-a-priest-not-a-priestess-priestess-implies-mumbo-jumbo-and-all/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Most women I know are priestesses and healers... We are, all of us, sisters of a mysterious order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/most-women-i-know-are-priestesses-and-healers-we-are-all-of-us/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Apollo at Delphi, through the oracular utterance of his priestess, pronounced Socrates the wisest of men. Of him it is related that he said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/apollo-at-delphi-through-the-oracular-utterance-of-his-priestess/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [If I created a new depravity I would be a priestess, while my imitators would founder, after my reign, in abominable filth...Don't you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachilde/if-i-created-a-new-depravity-i-would-be-a-priestess-while-my/) [Rachilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachilde/) > [How will it ever be bearable, Priestess?” His voice was rough. He sounded completely broken. “You’ll see her again. She’s with Nyx now. She’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-will-it-ever-be-bearable-priestess-his-voice-was-rough-he-sounded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the beginning, people prayed to the Creatress of Life, the Mistress of Heaven. At the very dawn of religion, God was a woman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-stone/in-the-beginning-people-prayed-to-the-creatress-of-life-the-mistress/) [Merlin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-stone/) ## 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 Bacchus quotes > [For when we quaff the gen'rous bowl, Then sleep the sorrows of our soul. Let us drink the juice divine, The gift of Bacchus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anacreon/for-when-we-quaff-the-gen-rous-bowl-then-sleep-the-sorrows-of-our/) [Anacreon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anacreon/) > [Bacchus ever fair and young, Drinking joys did first ordain. Bachus's blessings are a treasure, Drinking is the soldier's pleasure, Rich the treasure, Sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/bacchus-ever-fair-and-young-drinking-joys-did-first-ordain-bachus-s/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction! -Bacchus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/the-pinecone-is-a-fearsome-tool-of-destruction-bacchus/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma.” Bacchus scratched his stubbly chin. “Ah…yes. John Green.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lord-bacchus-do-you-remember-me-i-helped-you-with-that-missing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wine give strenght to weary men. and And wine can of their wits the wise beguile. Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/wine-give-strenght-to-weary-men-and-and-wine-can-of-their-wits-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [If anyone decided to call the sea Neptune, and corn Ceres, and to misapply the name of Bacchus rather than to give liquor its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/if-anyone-decided-to-call-the-sea-neptune-and-corn-ceres-and-to/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [Bacchus has drowned more men than Neptune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-garibaldi/bacchus-has-drowned-more-men-than-neptune/) [Giuseppe Garibaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-garibaldi/) > [Rich the treasure, Sweet the pleasure,- Sweet is pleasure after pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/rich-the-treasure-sweet-the-pleasure-sweet-is-pleasure-after-pain/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Bacchus' blessings are a treasure, Drinking is the soldier's pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/bacchus-blessings-are-a-treasure-drinking-is-the-soldier-s-pleasure/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [(Those women whom the distaff no longer claims nor spun cloth) driven made, mad, mad by Bacchus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/those-women-whom-the-distaff-no-longer-claims-nor-spun-cloth-driven/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [“Did someone just call me the wine dude ?” he asked in a lazy drawl. “It’s Bacchus, please. Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/did-someone-just-call-me-the-wine-dude-he-asked-in-a-lazy-drawl-it-s/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Eat and carouse with Bacchus, or munch dry bread with Jesus, but don't sit down without one of the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/eat-and-carouse-with-bacchus-or-munch-dry-bread-with-jesus-but-don-t/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-martyr/and-when-we-say-also-that-the-word-who-is-the-first-birth-of-god-was/) [Justin Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-martyr/) > [Come boy, and pour for me a cup Of old Falernian. Fill it up With wine, strong, sparkling, bright, and clear; Our host decrees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/come-boy-and-pour-for-me-a-cup-of-old-falernian-fill-it-up-with-wine/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Answer my question, Bacchus. I’m not one of your dickless Greeks to be kept waiting for an answer. (Camulus) You better take a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/answer-my-question-bacchus-i-m-not-one-of-your-dickless-greeks-to-be/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) [Browse all 47 Bacchus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacchus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that even a smattering of such findings in modern science and mathematics is far more compelling and exciting than most of the doctrines of pseudoscience, whose practitioners were condemned as early as the fifth century B.C. by the Ionian philosopher Heraclitus as “nigh -walkers, magicians, priests of Bacchus, priestesses of the wine-vat, mystery-mongers.” But science is more intricate and subtle, reveals a much richer imiverse, and powerfully evokes our sense of wonder.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such-findings-in-modern-science/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bacchus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such-findings-in-modern-science/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/carl-sagan-160_bacchus_i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such_2930867.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe that even a smattering of such findings in modern science and mathematics is far more compelling…” — 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": "I believe that even a smattering...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such-findings-in-modern-science/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-believe-that-even-a-smattering-of-such-findings-in-modern-science/#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 } } ] } ```