I said to my daughter, you want to read a book that exposes pseudoscience, and "The Devil-Haunted World" should be your first choice. If Asimov and other masters mainly talk about scientific knowledge, then Sagan in this book focuses on explaining the essence of the scientific spirit. He is interested in various rumors such as "Geometric Patterns of English Wheat Fields", "Alien Abductions", "UFOs", "Giant Human Faces on Mars", etc., and presents the truthful facts one by one, using The latest achievements in physics, psychology, biochemistry, and brain science have given a radical exposure to pseudoscience and superstition.
If pseudoscience is not exposed, and if it continues to develop, then every field will be occupied by it. “Pseudoscience will win the case because the opponent is not in court.” It’s a coincidence, just for me. At the time of writing this article, the "Phoenix Morning Train" in Hong Kong reported that the South Korean cult has revived, clamoring "the end of the world". There are dozens of self-proclaimed "saviors" and more than 200,000 believers, and they are continuing to increase.
A closer look at the history of human civilization is, in a sense, a history of the struggle between science and pseudoscience. Don’t you see, when science drives away the devil and witch from people’s beliefs, isn’t this gap filled by "aliens" soon? Every era, even every period, and every place has its own characteristics. Unique folly. From the small to the deception of money and sex, to the deception of power and belief, all kinds of scammers, large and small, caught people’s curiosity and gullibility (and even the scammers with geometric patterns of wheat fields in England. After speaking out the whole process of deception, most people I would rather believe that the aliens did it, how stubborn), the repeated deceitful tricks have caused hundreds of millions of good men and women, what a terrible disaster!
Sagan Severely criticizing some media in the United States, for commercial purposes, even deliberately hyping pseudoscience and superstition, which has caused very serious consequences. He left a thought-provoking last word: "If we instill science and hope in future generations, what kind of society will we create?"
Will give us great wisdom, and will be deeply moved by his high sense of responsibility for the future of mankind as a whole.
He served as the Harvard University , Cornell University professor for many years before his death, and the chairman of the Planetary Science Society of the American Astronomical Association. Served as the editor-in-chief of the American planetary research magazine "Icarus" for 12 consecutive years. The focus of his research is: the greenhouse effect on Venus; the seasonal changes on Mars; the origin of life on Earth; the exploration of intelligent life on extraterrestrials, etc. He is also one of the founders and pioneers of cosmology.
In 1980, he launched a 16-episode large-scale science and education film "Universe", which was immediately translated into 10 languages and screened in more than 60 countries, with an audience of more than 500 million (unfortunately, it was not translated into Chinese) Screening in China!). The "Universe" written by him was released with the TV series and has been at the top of the "New York Times" rankings for 70 consecutive weeks.
In the United States, Carl Sagan's popularity far exceeds that of the president, let alone movie stars and singers. In 1991, in the selection of the "Top Ten Smart People" among young Americans, Presidents Reagan and Bush ranked fourth and sixth respectively, while scientist Sagan topped the list.
Sometimes I look up at the vast starry sky and sigh: In the land where only movie stars and singers are chasing, can Einstein and Hawking be produced?!
Teacher Cai You recommends a good book:
"The Devil Haunted World" by Carl Sagan, published by Jilin People's Publishing House
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