Prophetic Words from Carl Sagan (1996)

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There's two kinds of dangers. One is what I've just talked about, that we've arranged a society based on science and technology in which nobody understands anything about science and technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power sooner or later is gonna blow up in our faces. I mean, who is running the science and technology in a democracy if people don't know anything about it?

The second reason that I'm worried about this is that science is more than a body of knowledge. It's a way of thinking, a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us something is true, to be skeptical to those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along.

It's a thing that [Thomas] Jefferson laid great stress on. It's wasn't enough, he said, to enshrine some rights in the constitution or bill of rights. The people had to be educated and they had to practice their skepticism and their education. Otherwise we don't run the government, the government runs us.

IN MY OWN WORDS

We are in serious trouble if not only the population does not understand science and technology, but even the 'leaders' and 'experts' do not.

Science is about much more than knowledge. It's about a way of thinking, where skepticism is healthy and desirable. Especially during the past 2 years, people who exercised this healthy skepticisms were accused of being conspiracy theorists, quacks or anti-vaxxers. It is not only about skepticism about theories, but also about human weakness, such as dogmas, rigidity, laziness, cognitive dissonance, egos, money, power, hubris.

It is crucial that we ask critical questions of experts who make claims. If they are real experts who are actually seeking the Truth and who want the best for the population, they welcome this skepticism.

We're in deep trouble when...

- we have fallen asleep and blindly rely on 'science' and the best intentions of 'experts' who supposedly operate in a scientific environment where Truth is the only thing that matters and everything can be said

- we are too stupid, too lazy or too cowardly to think independently and ask critical questions

- asking critical questions is made virtually impossible because 'experts' do not make themselves available to answer these questions and/or critical questions and unwanted information are censored in the regular traditional and social media

It is not sufficient if a right is enshrined in a constitution or Bill of Rights. If the authorities, the judiciary, and the population do not enforce the law, there might as well be no law at all. And if there is actually no law, then the population is there for those in power instead of the other way around. The rulers have free rein to do what is in their own best interest, instead of what is in the best interest of the population.

The only thing those in power will have to do to gain cooperation from the population, is say that "the science says so". They will neutralize anyone who dares to question or disagrees with them, as spreaders of misinformation, causing vaccine hesitancy, endangering public health, causing civil unrest and polarization, et cetera.

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SOURCE: https://odysee.com/@JWild:6/prophetic-words-carl-sagan:2