Science as a Candle in the Dark
0345409469
Carl Sagan
Notes
Part of the reason that children are afraid of the dark may be that, in our entire evolutionary history up until just a few moments ago, they never slept alone. Instead, they nestled safely, protected by an adult – usually Mom. In the enlightened West we stick them alone in a dark room, say goodnight, and have difficulty understanding why they’re sometimes upset. It makes good evolutionary sense for children to have fantasies of scary monsters. In a world stalked by lions and hyenas, such fantasies help prevent defenseless toddlers from wandering too far from guardians.
But I try not to think with my gut, If I’m serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brain, as tempting as it might be, is likely to get me into trouble. Really, it’s okay to reserve judgment until the evidence is in.
There are naive questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.
“That man (Linus Pauling) is a real genius” was Albert Einstein’s assessment. In all this time he continued to work for peace and amity. When Ann and I once asked Pauling about the roots of his dedication to social issues, he gave a memorable reply: “I did it to be worthy of the respect of my wife,” Helen Ava Pauling.
Through salaries, social pressures, and the distribution of prestige, and awards, societies try to herd scientists into some reasonably safe middle ground – between too little long-term technological progress and too much short-term social criticism.
I was said that when he (Hugo Black) was a young man, he dressed up in white robes and scared black folks; when he got older, he dressed up in black robes and scared white folks.