--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in a society exquisitely…" description: "\"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg" --- # We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and… ![“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg) > “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology.” [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. Society relies heavily on science yet most people lack understanding of it, creating a paradox of dependence and ignorance. **In simple terms:** People depend on science but rarely understand it. Key Takeaway Promote scientific literacy. Themes science technology public understanding paradox Mood concerned reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - school curricula - media reporting - policy making - community workshops - STEM outreach Key Concepts epistemology social dependence education Questions to Reflect On - How can we make science more approachable? - What barriers prevent understanding? A Different Perspective Complex topics can be inaccessible without effective communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art and science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-science/) [Dependent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependent/) [Dependent Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependent-science-857098/) [Information society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-society/) [Information technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-technology/) [Inspirational science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-science-92531/) [Modern technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-technology/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-society/) [Science and technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-technology/) [Science life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-life/) [Science physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-physics/) [Science technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-technology/) [Society Exquisitely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-exquisitely-4535168/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Technology and education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology-and-education/) [Technology Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology-cleverly-5524876/) [Understands Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understands-science-1864035/) ## Related quotes > [We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-have-also-arranged-things-so-that-almost-no-one-understands/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Science is the language of the temporal world; love is that of the spiritual world. Man, indeed, describes more than he explains; while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/science-is-the-language-of-the-temporal-world-love-is-that-of-the-2/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [ We are very concerned all the time with figuring out new technologies and advances in science, but really \[while\] our future is dependent on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/we-are-very-concerned-all-the-time-with-figuring-out-new-technologies/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [We are more dependent on science and engineering than at any other time in history. However, there is plenty of evidence that far too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/we-are-more-dependent-on-science-and-engineering-than-at-any-other/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [All the sciences have a relation, greater or less, to human nature; and...however wide any of them may seem to run from it, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-the-sciences-have-a-relation-greater-or-less-to-human-nature-and/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We are living in a society that is totally dependent on science and high technology, and yet most of us are effectively alienated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/we-are-living-in-a-society-that-is-totally-dependent-on-science-and/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [Science can never solve one problem without raising ten more problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/science-can-never-solve-one-problem-without-raising-ten-more-problems/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [ \[Mystery\] is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/mystery-is-the-fundamental-emotion-that-stands-at-the-cradle-of-true/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Science is simply common sense at its best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/science-is-simply-common-sense-at-its-best/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“Roses are red and violets are purple, sugar is sweet and so is maple surple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-miller/roses-are-red-and-violets-are-purple-sugar-is-sweet-and-so-is-maple/) [Roger Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-miller/) > [“Basic research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I am doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/basic-research-is-what-i-m-doing-when-i-don-t-know-what-i-am-doing/) [Wernher Von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [God reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/god-reveals-himself-in-the-orderly-harmony-of-what-exists/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“A present is not the source of buying someone's love but its a source of showing how much u love and apriciate that particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ramovha/a-present-is-not-the-source-of-buying-someone-s-love-but-its-a-source/) [Ralph Ramovha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ramovha/) > [“Se estaba enseñando a sí mismo a pensar por su cuenta, a mirar detrás de las apariencias en un esfuerzo para descubrir la causa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/se-estaba-ense-ando-a-s-mismo-a-pensar-por-su-cuenta-a-mirar-detr-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Art and science quotes > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [RUBBISH, n. Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rubbish-n-worthless-matter-such-as-the-religions-philosophies/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Architecture might be more sportive and varied if every man built his own house, but it would not be the art and science that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/architecture-might-be-more-sportive-and-varied-if-every-man-built-his/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [Science and art may invent splendid modes of illuminating the apartments of the opulent; but these are all poor and worthless compared with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/science-and-art-may-invent-splendid-modes-of-illuminating-the/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I really like Kickstarter because you don't have to be a Medici to fund the arts and sciences or to get behind a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gansky/i-really-like-kickstarter-because-you-don-t-have-to-be-a-medici-to/) [Lisa Gansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gansky/) > [Some gifted adventurer is always sailing round the world of art and science, to bring home costly merchandise from every port.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/some-gifted-adventurer-is-always-sailing-round-the-world-of-art-and/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [EDUCATION, n. The bringing up, as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/education-n-the-bringing-up-as-of-a-child-instruction-formation-of/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [“It was to Greece that the Romans first owed their knowledge of healing, and of art and science generally, but at no time did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elliott/it-was-to-greece-that-the-romans-first-owed-their-knowledge-of/) [James Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elliott/) > [It is the greatest of crimes to depress true art and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/it-is-the-greatest-of-crimes-to-depress-true-art-and-science/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The science of the church is neglected for the study of geometry, and they lose sight of Heaven while they are employed in measuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-science-of-the-church-is-neglected-for-the-study-of-geometry-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/after-a-certain-high-level-of-technical-skill-is-achieved-science-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this religious feeling and keep it alive in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-my-view-it-is-the-most-important-function-of-art-and-science-to/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson later said that there should be a “consilience” between art and science. 79 Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison took selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lewis/sociobiologist-edward-o-wilson-later-said-that-there-should-be-a/) [Sarah Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lewis/) > [One of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/one-of-the-strongest-motives-that-lead-men-to-art-and-science-is/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“\* The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. ALBERT EINSTEIN \*I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pinkney/the-most-beautiful-thing-we-can-experience-is-the-mysterious-it-is/) [John Pinkney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pinkney/) [Browse all 255 Art and science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art and science" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b70/carl-sagan-160_art-and-science_we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-depende_1504735.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things…” — 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": "We live in a society exquisitely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-in-a-society-exquisitely-dependent-on-science-and-technology/#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 } } ] } ```