BruceNov 26, 2022
Sheril Kirshenbaum

“We've arranged a society based on #science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science and technology. This combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.”

- Carl Sagan, in his last interview to Charlie Rose https://charlierose.com/videos/9094

Carl Sagan - Charlie Rose

Astronomer Carl Sagan on his book, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark."

Charlie Rose
Nov 25, 2022 at 11:34pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadPatrick RizzoNov 25, 2022
@Sheril His “Demon-Haunted World” should be required reading for every lawmaker, CEO, college freshman, et al.
Show threadDiefledermaus82Nov 26, 2022
@prizzo That is an excellent book to read, and then re-read! #demonhauntedworld
Show threadWest Coast BirderNov 26, 2022
@prizzo @Sheril it was my going-away present to both my sons as they left home to go to college.
Show threadRoseee53Dec 1, 2022
@prizzo @Sheril
Show threadRoseee53Dec 1, 2022
I totally agree and think everyone needs to read The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. It should be required reading in high school so people learn how to discern fact from fiction, what constitutes evidence and how to be a responsible skeptic.
Show threadRui BorgesNov 25, 2022

@Sheril "The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir."

How I miss Carl. How.

📷 Evelyn Hofer

Show threadScott 🇮🇱🇺🇦 WILL NOT COMPLYNov 25, 2022
@Sheril Honestly, you could substitute #democracy for "science and technology" and the statement would be equally true
Show threadMr. Pataphor, Dadaist DadNov 25, 2022
@escott @Sheril A #CultofIgnorance - #IsaacAsimov, 1980. #AntiIntellectualism #Democracy
Show threadAndy BatesNov 25, 2022
@Sheril very true. Most people faithfully believe in electrons with no better evidence than once supported their belief in angels.
Show threadDr. Brad Rosenheim has moved!Nov 26, 2022
@Sheril Millions dead from a virus, 50 years of largely unabated climate change - his analysis was prescient.
Show threadDoug BostromNov 26, 2022

@Sheril

Slow the orbital decay:

Find "device" command line interface.

If device doesn't include a command line interface, it's an example of what being taught down looks like. Consider rejecting the device and finding another implementation more friendly to intelligence.

Being trained into ignorance is not fate, more a matter of loss of situational awareness.

Show threadJason BaileyNov 26, 2022
@Sheril that fuse is getting pretty short.
Show threadCourtney Heard 🇨🇦Nov 26, 2022
@Sheril this is such a perfect quote. #HailSagan
Show threadDavid RisnerNov 26, 2022
@Sheril I wish Carl #Sagan would’ve lived much longer. We still really need him. So wise and prescient.
Show threadKeith DaggettNov 26, 2022

@Sheril

You can post anything about him anytime, I won't mind.

Show threadPatrick GallowayNov 26, 2022
@Sheril Favorite Sagan quote (use on UFO believers): "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
Show threadFernheadNov 26, 2022
@Sheril the world needs more Carl Sagan
Show threadAdrian ENov 26, 2022
@Sheril this is too true.
Show threadDiefledermaus82Nov 26, 2022
@Sheril The most compelling and concerning part of that quote was that he said so, decades ago! Perhaps we’ve been on the slide for longer than most can even remember, our care to. #carlsagan #science
Show threadWesley FryerNov 26, 2022
@Sheril Thankfully, many teachers in the #MakerEd movement have been pushing back against those dynamics for years now. #EduTooter
Show threadOpen_ervNov 26, 2022
@Sheril I have thought and marveled at exactly this thing so much, amazing to hear he said it so long ago. It's gotten so much worse since then.
Show threadAppagal CrochetNov 26, 2022

@Sheril Carl was a gift whom very few Americans apparently even know about! Not sure how the hell that happens?

The Pale Blue Dot was the 8th large book I read as a preteen. I still flip through it for inspiration to this day. (Yes, I still have those heavy things called books that collect dust.)

Show threadSkeptical MonkeyNov 26, 2022
@Sheril his book "The Demon-Haunted World" goes into detail on his concerns about this subject, and his hopes that we would overcome our ignorance. It's a great book - one of my favorites - but I do think he'd be saddened to see the current state of affairs in the US with regards to understanding basic science and reasoning.
Show threadbananamangodogNov 26, 2022
@Sheril I dare say it did with COVID.
Show threadniplavNov 26, 2022

@Sheril
If I were more optimistic, I'd probably be worrying about that kind of thing: We've built up technology & science stacks that add abstractions, but abstractions are leaky and can only go so far, so our setup to teach people those towers becomes more and more fragile over time (civilizational jenga!)

Growing intelligence would assuage that, and growing population would be helpful (more specialization possible), but neither is happening rn 😕

Show threadHirunatanNov 26, 2022
@Sheril Carl Sagan... how much we miss him. And how would we need him in today's world.
Show threadMaineNov 26, 2022
@Sheril just here to say I'm happy to see Sagan-related content in Mastodon 😊
Show threadursusNov 26, 2022
@Sheril i was looking for a book suggestion. Thanks. #sciencebooks #ReadingList
Show threadBegoniaweirdoNov 26, 2022
@Sheril after reading this book I think about this constantly..
Show threadGettinJimmy widdit🇺🇦Nov 26, 2022
@Sheril welp, at least I got that to look Fwd to
Show threadPJT NorthNov 26, 2022
@Sheril I am a scientist and, yes, ignorant arrogance does dominate our constructed society’ behavior. The resistance I’ve seen firsthand toward simple constructive dialogue is a consistent source of bitter disgust for me.
Show threadProsseliusNov 26, 2022
@Sheril Thank you for sharing this. It made me watch the video, then read Sagan‘s Wikipedia page, from there on to some awe inspiring Voyager photos and finally to this beautiful Planetary Radio podcast episode with his partner: https://overcast.fm/+vWjKW0pgg
#CarlSagan #science
Ann Druyan wishes you a happy Sagan Day — Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Celebrate Carl Sagan’s birthday with his longtime collaborator and life partner Ann Druyan.

Show threadBill DayNov 26, 2022
@Sheril I am a grumpy old man, plus I was an English major, but I think a narrow career-minded force-feeding of STEM to our kids may have had the opposite of the intended effect. We might do better with a broad-minded effort to encourage learning for the joy of it across all disciplines than the current "take your medicine or you will fail your standardized test" approach that seems calculated to make kids hate it and forget it. Scientists I know have a broad range of knowledge an interests.
Show threadBill DayNov 26, 2022
@Sheril If I could make only one national reform, it would be to double (triple?) the salary of every teacher in the nation. If we really believe that nothing is more important than our children, then the people to whom we entrust their education should receive at least the same level of respect, compensation, and training as doctors and (shudder) lawyers!
Show threadBill DayNov 26, 2022
@Sheril When people move, the first thing they ask about is the schools. Schools are in every sense the engine of prosperity. Let's make the investment in them we should.
Show threadNathanael NerodeNov 27, 2022

@Sheril

What frustrates me is that learning enough about science, probability, and critical thinking, to have a journeyman-level understanding, to be able to tell real science from BS -- it's not actually that hard.

Most people haven't tried. _The Canon_ by Natalie Angier was an attempt to help and covers almost all of the basics. (Doesn't cover logic, though.)

Show threadSheila M. Averbuch - AuthorNov 27, 2022
@Sheril perfectly said
Show threadLRNov 28, 2022
@Sheril i'm presently learning a lot about central heating technology. it warms the heart.
Show threadColectivo Látigos de FuegoNov 28, 2022
@Sheril Well, 'nobody' is a bit of a stretch right? Anyway, he was quite the visionaire to foresee what would become of the Birdsite.
Show threadEsoter1k 👑Nov 29, 2022
@Sheril Carl Sagan knew... #sad
Show threadLorraineNov 29, 2022

@Sheril
Altho seen books knew very little & interview reminds me of how I think #agnostic There’s danger believing #psuedoscience #slipperySlope but danger in dismissal too

#CarlSagan🌈Faith believing in the absence of evidence
Agree wholly; withheld belief entirely until there was compelling evidence aka saw that sh*t myself #irl & #tbh don’t get it

think👽sightings #hallucinations which beggars question how..& since I don’t want to be institutionalized #lol leave it at that🖤

Show threadᚇ Darragh RoganDec 2, 2022
@Sheril @SileDwan your concern