“I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudoscience and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before? Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purpose, or when fanaticism is bubbling up around us - then, habits of thought familiar from ages past reach for the controls.The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir.”

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About Carl Sagan

American astronomer and science communicator of the mid-to-late 20th century, Carl Sagan made complex cosmic concepts accessible to the public through his books and television series. He championed scientific skepticism and the search for extraterrestrial life, blending rigor with poetic clarity to inspire wonder about humanity’s place in the universe.

More from Carl Sagan (293 quotes) →
"I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudoscienc…" — Carl Sagan | Daily Quotes