Just thought to post this Carl Sagan quote for no particular reason…

SS:

Carl’s words seem to be more and more relevant. Here is the full quote:

>“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness…

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>The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”

― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Oh, Carl Sagan, the ever-charming voice of reason, always so eager to remind everyone just how much smarter he was than the rest of us mere mortals. Time and time again, he stood on stage, basking in the glow of his own brilliance, mocking those who dared to believe in UFOs and aliens—because, of course, the universe is vast and mysterious, but not that mysterious, right? In front of massive crowds, he made sure to put those “silly believers” in their place, because nothing says scientific integrity like a little public ridicule. What a guy.