If we offer too much silent assent about mysticism and superstition - even when it seems to be doing a little good - we abet a general climate in which scepticism is considered impolite, science tiresome, and rigorous thinking somehow stuffy and inappropriate.
Carl SaganWhen permitted to listen to alternative opinions and engage in substantive debate, people have been known to change their minds. It can happen.
Carl SaganOne of the saddest lessons of history is this: If weโve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. Weโre no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. Itโs simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that weโve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.
Carl SaganMy deeply held belief is that if a god of anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence are provided by such a god. We would be unappreciative of those gifts (as well as unable to take such a course of action) if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves. On the other hand, if such a traditional god does not exist, our curiosity and our intelligence are the essential tools for managing our survival. In either case, the enterprise of knowledge is consistent with both science and religion, and is essential for the welfare of the human species.
Carl Sagan