The Demon-Haunted World
Carl Sagan
45 people recommended it in 26 threads, 2008–2025.
What people on Hacker News said
Great thoughts and advice from Carl Sagan. The last chapter had a profound effect on the way I think of the US constitution.
although I was already a skeptical thinker, this book opened me up to how critical thinking can enhance your spiritual side as well as your intellectual side.
It gave me the tools required to cut through bullshit and helped me free myself from the shackles of a religious upbringing
This was the first thing I read that said that how we know what we know is more important than what we know. It was the first philosophy I had encountered that would challenge even evidence in favor of itself on the grounds that that evidence didn't meet a certain bar of quality.
Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication and courage. But if we don’t practise these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, a world of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who saunters along.
It changed the way I see the world, how to have a sceptical mind and not only how but why one should question.
The Demon Haunted World does a good job at explaining how we have to escape magical thinking and be more rational about how we approach life.
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