Il mondo infestato dai demoni : la scienza e il nuovo oscurantismo

Per Sagan in una società impregnata di tecnologia come la nostra, ma sempre più assediata da nuovi profeti, impeti di irrazionalità e falsa ricerca del meraviglioso (basti pensare alla New Age e alle sue esagerazioni, ai guaritori e agli astrologi, consulenti di fiducia persino di importanti capi di Stato, agli "psicochirurghi", all'ufologia e alla mitologia degli alieni, alle truffe della parapsicologia, alla disonestà di giornali e programmi televisivi che sfruttano la credulità di persone impreparate), allontanarsi dalla scienza o permettere che venga demonizzata, significa in realtà consegnarci ai veri demoni: l'irrazionalità, la superstizione, il pregiudizio ed entrare in un'epoca di nuovo oscurantismo. A prescient warning of a future we now inhabit, where fake news stories and Internet conspiracy theories play to a disaffected American populace “A glorious book . . . A spirited defense of science . . . From the first page to the last, this book is a manifesto for clear thought.”—Los Angeles Times How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms. As I got off the plane, he was waiting for me, holding up a scrap of cardboard with my name scribbled on it.