Carl Sagan Quotes, Mistake Quotes, Ignorance Quotes

The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning. We long for a Parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes. But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Mistake Quotes , Ignorance Quotes

It does no harm to the romance of the sunset to know a little bit about it.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Sunset Quotes , Romance Quotes

We have heard the rationales offered by the nuclear superpowers. We know who speaks for the nations. But who speaks for the human species? Who speaks for Earth?

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Nuclear Quotes , Earth Quotes

The Bill of Rights decoupled religion from the state, in part because so many religions were steeped in an absolutist frame of mind - each convinced that it alone had a monopoly on the truth and therefore eager for the state to impose this truth on others.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Rights Quotes , Mind Quotes

That kind of skeptical, questioning, "don't accept what authority tells you" attitude of science - is also nearly identical to the attitude of mind necessary for a functioning democracy. Science and democracy have very consonant values and approaches, and I don't think you can have one without the other.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Attitude Quotes , Thinking Quotes

A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars - billions upon billions of stars. Every star may be a sun to someone.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Stars Quotes , Dust Quotes

A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later such a religion will emerge.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Science Quotes , Religion Quotes

There are many hypotheses in science which are wrong. That’s perfectly all right: it’s the aperture to finding out what’s right. Science is a self-correcting process.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Truth Quotes , Self Quotes

If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then, we are up for grabs for the next charlatan (political or religious) who comes rambling along.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Religious Quotes , Political Quotes

As the ancient myth makers knew, we are children equally of the earth and the sky.

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Those who seek power at any price detect a societal weakness, a fear that they can ride into office.

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The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Wisdom Quotes , Understanding Quotes

It is clear that the nations of the world now can only rise and fall together. It is not a question of one nation winning at the expense of another. We must all help one another or all perish together.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Peace Quotes , Fall Quotes

It seems madness to say, 'We're worried that they're going to become addicted to marijuana' -- there's no evidence whatever that it's an addictive drug, but even if it were, these people are dying, what are we saving them from?

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Marijuana Quotes , People Quotes

Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Home Quotes , Blue Quotes

The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Two Quotes , Race Quotes

I am not an atheist. An atheist is someone who has compelling evidence that there is no Judeo-Christian-Islamic God. I am not that wise, but neither do I consider there to be anything approaching adequate evidence for such a god. Why are you in such a hurry to make up your mind? Why not simply wait until there is compelling evidence?

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Christian Quotes , Wise Quotes

The passion to explore is at the heart of being human.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Nature Quotes , Passion Quotes

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.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Ignorance Quotes , Media Quotes

As agonizing a disease as cancer is, I do not think it can be said that our civilization is threatened by it. ... But a very plausible case can be made that our civilization is fundamentally threatened by the lack of adequate fertility control. Exponential increases of population will dominate any arithmetic increases, even those brought about by heroic technological initiatives, in the availability of food and resources, as Malthus long ago realized.

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Tags : Carl Sagan Quotes , Cancer Quotes , Science Quotes