--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think science is hard to teach…" description: "\"“I don't think science is hard to teach because humans aren't ready for it, or because it arose only through a fluke, or because, by and large, we don'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/carl-sagan-160_carl-sagan_i-don-t-think-science-is-hard-to-teach-b_1481001.jpg" --- # I don't think science is hard to teach because humans… ![“I don't think science is hard to teach because humans aren't ready for it, or because it arose only through a fluke, or because, by and large, we don't have the brainpower to grapple with it. Instead, the enormous zest for science that I see in first-graders and the lesson from the remnant…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/carl-sagan-160_carl-sagan_i-don-t-think-science-is-hard-to-teach-b_1481001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/carl-sagan-160_carl-sagan_i-don-t-think-science-is-hard-to-teach-b_1481001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1e/carl-sagan-160_carl-sagan_i-don-t-think-science-is-hard-to-teach-b_1481001.jpg) > ““I don't think science is hard to teach because humans aren't ready for it, or because it arose only through a fluke, or because, by and large, we don't have the brainpower to grapple with it. Instead, the enormous zest for science that I see in first-graders and the lesson from the remnant hunter-gatherers both speak eloquently: A proclivity for science is embedded deeply within us, in all times, places, and cultures. It has been the means for our survival. It is our birthright. When, through indifference, inattention, incompetence, or fear of skepticism, we discourage children from science, we are disenfranchising them, taking from them the tools needed to manage their future.”” [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 is an innate human drive across cultures, essential for survival; hindering it deprives future generations of vital tools. **In simple terms:** Science is a natural human trait; blocking it harms kids. Key Takeaway Protect and nurture children's curiosity. Themes education science human nature future generations Mood hopeful concerned Type inspirational advocacy When to use this quote - Classroom teaching - parental encouragement - policy making - media representation Key Concepts Innate curiosity survival mechanism cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - How can we make science inclusive for all children? - What barriers prevent kids from exploring science? A Different Perspective Not all societies value science equally; cultural resistance can be strong. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carl-sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carl-sagan-2/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [ I would like you to teach \[the orcs\] civilised behaviour," said Ladyship coldly. He appeared to consider this. 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Can you be sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/can-you-be-sure-that-others-have-not-come-before-you-and-destroyed/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Para criaturas pequenas como nós, a vastidão só é suportável através do amor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/para-criaturas-pequenas-como-n-s-a-vastid-o-s-suport-vel-atrav-s-do/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The scope and audacity of John Kennedy’s May 25, 1961, message to a joint session of Congress on “Urgent National Needs”—the speech that launched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-scope-and-audacity-of-john-kennedy-s-may-25-1961-message-to-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Planetary exploration satisfies our inclination for great enterprises and wanderings and quests that has been with us since our days as hunters and gatherers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/planetary-exploration-satisfies-our-inclination-for-great-enterprises/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-promise-to-question-everything-my-leaders-tell-me-i-promise-to-use/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“We are alive and we resonate with idea of life elsewhere, but only careful accumulation and assessment of the evidence can tell us whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-are-alive-and-we-resonate-with-idea-of-life-elsewhere-but-only/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Just as there are those who accept every UFO report at face value, there are also those who dismiss the idea of alien visitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/just-as-there-are-those-who-accept-every-ufo-report-at-face-value/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“One consequence of this train of argument is that, even if civilizations commonly arise on planets throughout the Galaxy, few of them will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/one-consequence-of-this-train-of-argument-is-that-even-if/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Every now and then, I'm lucky enough to teach a kindergarten or first-grade class. Many of these children are natural-born scientists - although heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-now-and-then-i-m-lucky-enough-to-teach-a-kindergarten-or-first-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## 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. 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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 Carl-sagan quotes > [“My main reason for scepticism about the Huxley/Sagan theory is that the human brain is demonstrably eager to see faces in random patterns, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-main-reason-for-scepticism-about-the-huxley-sagan-theory-is-that/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Para criaturas pequenas como nós, a vastidão só é suportável através do amor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/para-criaturas-pequenas-como-n-s-a-vastid-o-s-suport-vel-atrav-s-do/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“One consequence of this train of argument is that, even if civilizations commonly arise on planets throughout the Galaxy, few of them will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/one-consequence-of-this-train-of-argument-is-that-even-if/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“CARL SAGAN SAID that if you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. When he says “from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/carl-sagan-said-that-if-you-want-to-make-an-apple-pie-from-scratch/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Just as there are those who accept every UFO report at face value, there are also those who dismiss the idea of alien visitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/just-as-there-are-those-who-accept-every-ufo-report-at-face-value/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“We are alive and we resonate with idea of life elsewhere, but only careful accumulation and assessment of the evidence can tell us whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-are-alive-and-we-resonate-with-idea-of-life-elsewhere-but-only/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/i-promise-to-question-everything-my-leaders-tell-me-i-promise-to-use/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Planetary exploration satisfies our inclination for great enterprises and wanderings and quests that has been with us since our days as hunters and gatherers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/planetary-exploration-satisfies-our-inclination-for-great-enterprises/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The scope and audacity of John Kennedy’s May 25, 1961, message to a joint session of Congress on “Urgent National Needs”—the speech that launched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-scope-and-audacity-of-john-kennedy-s-may-25-1961-message-to-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Can you be sure that others have not come before you and destroyed the pristine state of the native myth? 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She was made of book dust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-guillebeau/carl-sagan-said-we-are-all-made-of-stardust-she-was-made-of-book-dust/) Michael Guillebeau [Browse all 18 Carl-sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carl-sagan-2/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't think science is hard to teach because humans aren't ready for it, or because it arose only through a fluke, or because, by and large, we don't have the brainpower to grapple with it. Instead, the enormous zest for science that I see in first-graders and the lesson from the remnant hunter-gatherers both speak eloquently: A proclivity for science is embedded deeply within us, in all times, places, and cultures. It has been the means for our survival. It is our birthright. 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