Carl Sagan

If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits?

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe.

I can find in my undergraduate classes bright students who do not know that the stars rise and set at night, or even that the Sun is a star.

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.

For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.

Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.

We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology.

The universe seems neither benign nor hostile merely indifferent.

Skeptical scrutiny is the means in both science and religion by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.

Personally I would be delighted if there were a life after death especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.

I am often amazed at how much more capability and enthusiasm for science there is among elementary school youngsters than among college students.

Our species needs and deserves a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.

The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.

All of the books in the world contain no more information than is broadcast as video in a single large American city in a single year. Not all bits have equal value.

When you make the finding yourself - even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light - you'll never forget it.

It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus they laughed at Fulton they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

A celibate clergy is an especially good idea because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.