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A review by jay_sy
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
informative
slow-paced
3.0
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan is about science versus pseudoscience and how people's desire to have a sense of wonder and understanding can lead them astray.
Things I took note of while reading:
-because of the time period that this book was written a lot of the beliefs spoken of such as crystals and aliens feel a little dated and it's like looking back in time to win conspiracy theories felt a little more 'fun’ rather than just political and depressing
-I remember when crop circles were a big thing but I never learned that it was done by a couple of prankster-artists
-it's pretty amusing that people who claim to have contact with aliens have written to Sagan asking him if he has any questions for the aliens. If he asks something complex about some mathematical theorem, he never gets a response but vague questions are answered
-the treatment of the so-called witches during the Middle Ages was completely abhorrent and stomach turning to hear about
-he goes into some logical fallacies which many other books dive deeper into
-it's mildly interesting to hear the letters he has received since it kind of gives me insight into how people think about science and pseudoscience
-considering the time period this was written, I wonder what the state of education is like in the US today compared to that time period
-The part about deliberately keeping American slaves illiterate and preventing them from developing their minds, since it made a ‘bad slave’ was particularly depressing
I feel like I agreed with most of the perspectives in the book and thus, learned very little. It was an interesting insight into the time period it was written, and while still relevant today, it also feels dated. Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5
Things I took note of while reading:
-because of the time period that this book was written a lot of the beliefs spoken of such as crystals and aliens feel a little dated and it's like looking back in time to win conspiracy theories felt a little more 'fun’ rather than just political and depressing
-I remember when crop circles were a big thing but I never learned that it was done by a couple of prankster-artists
-it's pretty amusing that people who claim to have contact with aliens have written to Sagan asking him if he has any questions for the aliens. If he asks something complex about some mathematical theorem, he never gets a response but vague questions are answered
-the treatment of the so-called witches during the Middle Ages was completely abhorrent and stomach turning to hear about
-he goes into some logical fallacies which many other books dive deeper into
-it's mildly interesting to hear the letters he has received since it kind of gives me insight into how people think about science and pseudoscience
-considering the time period this was written, I wonder what the state of education is like in the US today compared to that time period
-The part about deliberately keeping American slaves illiterate and preventing them from developing their minds, since it made a ‘bad slave’ was particularly depressing
I feel like I agreed with most of the perspectives in the book and thus, learned very little. It was an interesting insight into the time period it was written, and while still relevant today, it also feels dated. Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5