ABSTRACT
Although an innovative astronomer and an important contributor to the development of planetary science, the late Carl Sagan is probably best remembered among the general public for two of his other activities: his popularization of contemporary natural science (especially astrophysics) and his highly public and unapologetic condemnation of “pseudoscience” concerning crystals, ESP, and alien abductions. The two activities fit together quite well, as they are united by a commitment to spreading a particular sensibility out beyond professional specialists and into the wider community. In a collection of essays entitled The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan borrows a metaphor from Thomas Ady’s 17thcentury tract condemning witch hunts to describe his public and popular work as an effort to shine an illuminating light into the dark corners of the contemporary world: to light a candle in the hopes of banishing the shadows. The candle he sought to light and to wield against the darkness was what he called science:
In science we may start with experimental results, data, observations, measurements, “facts.” We invent, if we can, a rich array of possible explanations and systematically confront each explanation with the facts. In the course of their training, scientists are equipped with a baloney detection kit. The kit is brought out as a matter of course whenever new ideas are offered for consideration. If the new idea survives examination by the tools in our kit, we grant it warm, although tentative, acceptance. If you’re so inclined, if you don’t want to buy baloney even when it’s reassuring to do so, there are precautions that can be taken.
