ABSTRACT
But I did not expect science merely to extend lifespan, feed the hungry, cure disease, and shrink the world with jets and cell phones. I also expected science to banish the evils of human thought-prejudice and superstition, irrational beliefs and false fears. I expected sci-
ence to be, in Carl Sagan’s memorable phrase, “a candle in a demon haunted world.” And here, I am not so pleased with the impact of science. Rather than serving as a cleansing force, science has in some instances been seduced by the more ancient lures of politics and publicity. Some of the demons that haunt our world in recent years are
invented by scientists. e world has not benefi ted from permitting these demons to escape free. But let’s look at how it came to pass.
