--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By all means let's be open-minded, but…" description: "\"By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/richard-dawkins-115_attributes_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_750213.jpg" --- # By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded… ![“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, where he attributes it to engineer James Oberg, who says he stole it from someone else.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/richard-dawkins-115_attributes_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_750213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/richard-dawkins-115_attributes_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_750213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/268/richard-dawkins-115_attributes_by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-no_750213.jpg) > “By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, where he attributes it to engineer James Oberg, who says he stole it from someone else.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages openness while warning against excessive gullibility that can impair critical thinking. **In simple terms:** Be open but keep critical judgment. Key Takeaway Balance curiosity with skepticism. Themes critical thinking open-mindedness skepticism intellectual rigor Mood cautious analytical inquisitive Type advice philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - academic research - media consumption - political discourse - personal decision making Key Concepts cognitive bias information overload epistemic humility Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern valuable ideas from noise? - When does openness become a liability? A Different Perspective Excessive openness may lead to credulity and poor judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Candle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carl-sagan/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Minded Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-brains-1046961/) [Minded Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-open-255820/) [Oberg Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oberg-says-5838287/) [Open mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-mind/) [Open minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-minded/) [Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sagan/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-science-317467/) ## Related quotes > [By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/by-all-means-let-s-be-open-minded-but-not-so-open-minded-that-our/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The true scientific understanding of the nature of existence is so utterly fascinating; how could you not want people to share it? 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