The Demon-Haunted World
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is a 1995 book by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan and co-authored by Ann Druyan, in which the authors aim to explain the scientific method to laypeople and to encourage people to learn critical and skeptical thinking. They explain methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science and those that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking and should stand up to rigorous questioning. Themes. Sagan  explains that science is not just a body of knowledge, but is a way of thinking. Sagan shows how scientific thinking is both imaginative and disciplined, bringing humans to an understanding of how the universe is, rather than how they wish to perceive it. He says that science works much better than any other system because it has a "built-in error-correcting machine". Superstition and pseudoscience get in the way of the ability of many laypersons to appreciate the beauty and benefits of science. Skeptical thinking allows people to construct, understand, reason, and recognize valid and invalid arguments. Wherever  possible, there must be independent validation of the concepts whose truth should be proved. He states that reason and logic would succeed once the truth were known. Conclusions emerge from premises, and the acceptability of the premises should not be discounted or accepted because of bias. Dragon in my garage. As an example of skeptical thinking, Sagan offers a story concerning a fire-breathing dragon who lives in his garage. When he persuades a rational, open-minded visitor to meet the dragon, the visitor remarks that they are unable to see the creature. Sagan replies that he "neglected to mention  that she's an invisible dragon". The visitor suggests spreading flour on the floor so that the creature's footprints might be seen, which Sagan says is a good idea, "but this dragon floats in the air". When the visitor considers using an infrared camera to view the creature's invisible fire, Sagan explains that her fire is heatless. He continues to counter every proposed physical test with a reason why the test will not work. Sagan concludes by asking: "Now what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all ? If there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true." Continuing with concepts relevant to the 'dragon in my garage' story, Sagan writes about a patient of John Mack who claimed to have scars on her body which were from encounters with aliens. Sagan writes that if the patient is asked what her scars look like, she is unable to show them because, unfortunately, they are  located in the private areas of her body. Baloney detection kit. Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking that he calls the "baloney detection kit". Skeptical thinking consists both of constructing a reasoned argument and recognizing a fallacious or fraudulent one. In order to identify a fallacious argument, Sagan suggests employing such tools as independent confirmation of facts, debate, development of different hypotheses, quantification, the use of Occam's razor, and the possibility of falsification. Sagan's "baloney detection kit" also provides tools for detecting "the most common fallacies of logic and rhetoric", such as argument from authority  and statistics of small numbers. Through these tools, Sagan argues the benefits of a critical mind and the self-correcting nature of science can take place. Sagan provides nine tools as the first part of this kit. Sagan suggests that with the use of this "baloney detection kit" it is easier to critically think and find the truth. Logical fallacies. There is a second part to the kit that Sagan gives us. This consists of twenty different logical fallacies that one must not commit when offering up a new claim. Sagan provides a skeptical analysis of several examples of what  he refers to as superstition, fraud, and pseudoscience such as witches, UFOs, ESP, and faith healing. He is critical of organized religion. In a 2020 interview for "Skeptical Inquirer", when Sagan's wife Ann Druyan was asked about the origin of the phrase "baloney detection kit", she said that Misuse of science. Sagan indicates that science can be misused. Thus, he is highly critical of Edward Teller, the "father of the hydrogen bomb", and Teller's influence on politics, and contrasts his stance to that of Linus Pauling and other scientists who took moral positions. Sagan also discusses the misuse  of science in representation. He relates to the depiction of the mad scientist character in children's TV shows and is critical of this occurrence. Sagan suggests an addition of scientific television programs, many of which would take a look at believed hoaxes of the past and encourage viewers to engage in critical thinking to better represent science on popular television. Misuse of psychiatric authority. Sagan indicates that therapists can contribute to the growth of pseudoscience or the infusion of "false stories". He is critical of John Mack and his support of alien abduction cases, which were represented in his  patients. Sagan writes about the story of Paul Ingram. Ingram's daughter reported that her father had sexually abused her. He was told that "sex offenders often repressed memories of their crimes." Ingram was eventually able to have a foggy visualization of the claimed events, and he suggested that perhaps "a demon might be responsible." Sagan describes how once Ingram started remembering events, so did several other individuals and family members. A "memory recovery" technique was performed on Ingram, and he confessed to the crimes. A medical examination was done on his daughter, where none of the scars she described  were actually found. Sagan writes that Ingram later tried to plead innocence once "away from his daughters, his police colleagues, and his pastor." Reception and legacy. The book was a "New York Times" bestseller. The contemporary skeptical movement considers it an important book. "The Demon-Haunted World" has been criticized (in "Smithsonian" magazine and "The New York Times") for not incorporating certain information relevant to the items he discusses in his book. The "Smithsonian" article by Paul Trachtman argues that Sagan relates issues of government choices and declining scientific thinking skills to pseudoscience topics like astrology and faith healing but  ignores other issues that may be causing governmental bodies and other individuals to turn away from science. One such issue is consequences of pouring governmental money into cancer research. Trachtman writes, "it is not because of such beliefs that Congress now approaches the NIH budget with an ax. In fact, billions of dollars spent on years of research in the war on cancer have spawned growing professional bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits." Trachtman argues that Sagan does not include problems like growing bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits as reasons for a lack of scientific attention. In his review for the  New York Times, James Gorman also argues for an unaddressed issue in Sagan's book, saying Sagan fails to emphasize the idea that scientists should take a more active role in reaching science to the public, while he does mention the failures of the education system to do so. The review in the "Smithsonian" magazine and a review in the "New York Review of Books" provide a range of opinions on Sagan's attitude towards religious ideas. Per the "New York Review" article, "when it comes to the Supreme Extraterrestrial he is rather circumspect." A review from the University of  Phoenix agrees that Sagan carefully approaches the concept of religion: "Readers should be aware that Sagan touches on sensitive areas in the cultural sphere, such as religion and where it stands in science, but handles the topics in such a way as to not offend." The "Smithsonian" article suggests Sagan was very clear about his religious beliefs in the book, for he "splits his universe in two, into science and irrationality." The "Smithsonian" goes on to say that Sagan's defined religious views fall within the area of an untestable claim, a type of claim he argues against in "The  Demon-Haunted World". The article in the "New York Review" also claims that Sagan includes something in "The Demon-Haunted World" which he also is arguing against in that same text. The article mentions how Sagan discusses a natural predisposition people have towards science; but, the article says, "He does not tell us how he used the scientific method to discover the "embedded" human proclivity for science." Sagan heavily discusses the importance of using the scientific method in his book, and this article claims he strays away from his own message by not including a description of his use of  the scientific method on this topic. An article in the "Los Angeles Times" and the University of Phoenix review both describe Sagan's book positively. The "Los Angeles Times" describes Sagan's book as "a manifesto for clear thought", with the main issue being the length of eight chapters. This lengthy discussion is also addressed in the archived New York Times article, as well as the University of Phoenix review which relates to the book as having areas which repeat themselves. The latter article agrees with the use of "The Demon-Haunted World" as a text to provide tools for  clearer thinking: "Sagan writes in an engaging style, using dry wit and humor, to get his point across regarding the need for everyone to practice aspects of scientific thinking in their daily lives." This article also discusses the ability of "The Demon-Haunted World" to help beginner researchers and students learn about the importance of critical thinking early on. "The Demon-Haunted World" has been defined in more current sources as still relevant. An article in "The Guardian", 2012, suggests the still current relevance of "The Demon-Haunted World". Another article from The Verge in 2017 also supports this relevance . The latter article mentions a disconnect between what is proven by science to be the best answer and what is chosen to be done by governmental bodies. Carl Sagan covers this concept as a prominent issue in his book (1995), and this article outlines it as a problem still occurring in 2017.