The Demon-Haunted World
by Carl Sagan · first published 1995
57% recommend41% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Readable case for skepticism and scientific thinking, with the Baloney Detection Kit and chapters on pseudoscience, alien abduction claims and why basic research matters. Suits anyone resisting magical thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace “A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.”—Los Angeles Times How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thi
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…impossible but even its proposal is an outright embarrassment for people with more education than the Twitter-audience encouraged to send their questions. Enough. Carl Sagan's prophetic 1996 book "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" predicted an America sinking in "superstition and darkness". This time has arrived. -- ---Nandor Ludvig, MD, PhD I must say, it does feel like history repeating itself.…
on “Neuralink Progress Update [video]” ↗The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan. It changed the way I see the world, how to have a sceptical mind and not only how but why one should question. And also, it shows to me that, if you…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗I know this is a little out of left field but I couldn't understand why anyone was Atheist until I read The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan... quickly followed by The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Those two books together crystallized in me what it could mean to have a world view absent of supernatural forces.
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demon-Haunted_World Also perhaps Bill Bryon's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" for an entertaining broad view of a variety of…
on “What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?” ↗The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan. Corny as it sounds,, that book changed my way of thinking and indeed my life when I was around 18yo.
on “Ask HN: Books that changed your life?” ↗From the "patron saint of reason and common sense" I can recommend Carl Sagan's "Baloney Detection Kit" from superb The Demon-Haunted World: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/03/baloney-detection-k...
on “Calling bullshit” ↗…are (de facto) used against political enemies. What we need is a way to educate people with the scientific method and just enough logic to implement it practically. Sagan discussed this problem in "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark", which I regularly recommend to anybody that seems to need his "Baloney Detection Kit"[1]. [1] https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/03/baloney-detection-k...
on “Generating convincing audio and video of fake events” ↗…general, nothing comes close to it for producing trustworthy and useful results. There is plenty of pseudoscience masquerading as science unfortunately. A good book to read on this is Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark". A significant portion of the book is devoted to what Sagan calls a "Baloney detection kit" that he thinks everyone should have. If more people could accurately distinguish…
on “Why “Trusting the Science” Is Complicated” ↗…building's concierge loves talking about UFOs. I try to steer him towards articles etc on the latest exobiology info. Real stuff can capture that desire for something exotic just as well. Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World is a great read for the psychology and history behind the UFO phenomenon.
on “I’m a Physicist Who Searches for Aliens. U.F.O.s Don’t Impress Me” ↗…putting them on that you start having issues, and often in areas that you didn't anticipate, because at that point you're acting on a belief and not a fact. I highly recommend reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Here's an interview to give a preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JpQFVXGzUI
on “Why “Trusting the Science” Is Complicated” ↗One of the recommended lectures on a logic class I had at my school, which was run by missionary nuns from Minnessota (and the teacher himself was catholic), was Carl Sagan's The demon-haunted world. It turned me into an atheist.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗As a young teenager, Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. A brilliant series of essays about critical thinking. More recently - I hesitate to recommend it because the trilogy is unfinished, but still - Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle books have redefined…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗Carl Sagan did a great job describing the witch trial phenomenon in "The Demon Haunted World". It discusses how unchecked beliefs without any evidence can wreak havoc on society. If you were accused of witchcraft your only choices were: 1. to deny it and be burned at the stake 2. admit it,…
on “The Cornell University Witchcraft Collection” ↗The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan lays bare the naive optimism and ignorance behind belief in alien UFOs. Aliens would be the greatest discovery in man's history. There would simply be no way to suppress it. If they can…
on “I still think it's unlikely we're observing alien aircraft” ↗> I'd prefer things not directly technical though not necessarily fiction. Sounds exactly like me. I strongly suggest: 1. The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) 2. The Demon-Haunted World (Carl Sagan) ...or if you need a little inspiration... 3. Founders at Work
on “Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?” ↗