--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Extraordinary claims require…" description: "\"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses shoul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/tabetha-s-boyajian-64149_alien_extraordinary-claims-require-extraordina_3089230.jpg" --- # Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and… ![“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be a last resort.” quote by Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/tabetha-s-boyajian-64149_alien_extraordinary-claims-require-extraordina_3089230.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/tabetha-s-boyajian-64149_alien_extraordinary-claims-require-extraordina_3089230.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/tabetha-s-boyajian-64149_alien_extraordinary-claims-require-extraordina_3089230.jpg) > “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be a last resort.” [Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extraordinary claims need equally strong evidence; astronomers must caution against jumping to alien explanations. **In simple terms:** Extraordinary claims demand strong proof. Key Takeaway Demand rigorous evidence. Themes science skepticism responsibility Mood analytical cautious Type explanatory persuasive When to use this quote - public talks - science education - media interviews Key Concepts evidencebased reasoning critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can we improve public understanding of scientific method? - What role does media play in spreading sensational claims? A Different Perspective People may dismiss scientific caution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien/) [Alien Hypotheses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien-hypotheses-5303909/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Evidence Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-job-5303910/) [Extraordinary Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-claims-1129971/) [Extraordinary Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-evidence-1875384/) [Last resort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-resort/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Astronomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-astronomer-5303908/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [For years I've been stressing with regard to UFOs that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/for-years-i-ve-been-stressing-with-regard-to-ufos-that-extraordinary/) [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 claims require extraordinary investigation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/extraordinary-claims-require-extraordinary-investigation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [Extraordinary observations require extraordinary evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/extraordinary-observations-require-extraordinary-evidence/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [“a skeptic's mantra is "extraordinary beliefs require extraordinary evidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-skeptic-s-mantra-is-extraordinary-beliefs-require-extraordinary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Extraordinary allegations require extraordinary evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/extraordinary-allegations-require-extraordinary-evidence/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [“There is a time and place for electromagnetic shielding and I regard it as a last resort due to the long term biological problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-is-a-time-and-place-for-electromagnetic-shielding-and-i-regard/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“I will tell you this only once. Homosexuals have been among the best warriors in our history, the berserkers of last resort. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/i-will-tell-you-this-only-once-homosexuals-have-been-among-the-best/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) [Joel McDurmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mcdurmon/) ## More by Tabetha S. Boyajian > [The human brain has an amazing ability for pattern recognition, sometimes even better than a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabetha-s-boyajian/the-human-brain-has-an-amazing-ability-for-pattern-recognition/) [Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) > [There's planets, life in the universe. You don't talk about that in high school - or maybe I skipped class that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabetha-s-boyajian/there-s-planets-life-in-the-universe-you-don-t-talk-about-that-in/) [Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) > [I just don't know where my head is sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabetha-s-boyajian/i-just-don-t-know-where-my-head-is-sometimes/) [Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) > [I was a bad egg. I didn't like going to class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabetha-s-boyajian/i-was-a-bad-egg-i-didn-t-like-going-to-class/) [Tabetha S. Boyajian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) [Explore all 5 Tabetha S. Boyajian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabetha-s-boyajian/) ## More Alien quotes > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?' 'Lots of planets have a north!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-t-davies/if-you-are-an-alien-how-come-you-sound-like-you-re-from-the-north/) [Russell T Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-t-davies/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [North Korea is still my homeland, my country. I suffered on the outside because I was alien, without identity. I was nobody. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/north-korea-is-still-my-homeland-my-country-i-suffered-on-the-outside/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/whatever-is-not-commonly-seen-is-condemned-as-alien/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Alien's a great one. That's a scary movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/alien-s-a-great-one-that-s-a-scary-movie/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Rick stared at him. "Your brother is an alien." "Yeah, but he's a cute one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/rick-stared-at-him-your-brother-is-an-alien-yeah-but-he-s-a-cute-one/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [You tell me you love me, but Im not sure you know what love is, or how fast it flies, or how much it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/you-tell-me-you-love-me-but-im-not-sure-you-know-what-love-is-or-how/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“When I was a kid, I used to watch that show, sitting on the couch in my pajamas and wishing more than anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-watch-that-show-sitting-on-the-couch-in-my/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [We of alien looks or words must stick together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/we-of-alien-looks-or-words-must-stick-together/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [One of the most interesting things for me in playing another species is that you want to make them different enough to be alien…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/one-of-the-most-interesting-things-for-me-in-playing-another-species/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 709 Alien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be a last resort.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tabetha S. 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