I have recently read the book “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan and I was very impressed with it. It’s an overview of the history of the Universe that reminds us how likely it is that evolution would shape us and our world in this amazing way. I was very inspired by this book to work more on myself and to make a positive difference in the world – which is surprising since the book is non-fiction, not motivational in nature.
Since I loved this book so much, I have decided to share a few really intriguing quotes from it. I hope this will incite your interest and make you want to read the book yourself! You can also read my full book review here.
“Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgement, the manner in which information is co-ordinated and used.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“[Science] has two rules. First: there are no sacred truths; all assumptions must be critically examined; arguments from authority are worthless. Second: whatever is inconsistent with the facts must be discarded or revised.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“The obvious is sometimes false; the unexpected is sometimes true.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“We must understand the Cosmos as it is and not confuse how it is with how we wish it to be.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“We are each of us largely responsible for what gets put in to our brains. For what as adults we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain we can change ourselves.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic or religious or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of the stars.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“If we long for our planet to be important, there is something we can do about it. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“If I finish a book a week, I will read only a few thousand books in my lifetime, about a tenth of a percent of the contents of the greatest libraries of our time. The trick is to know which books to read.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
“Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
– Carl Sagan, Cosmos
These are some of the quotes that I loved from “Cosmos”, but
there are many more beautiful passages in it. Carl Sagan was definitely an
intelligent person and a deep thinker and I wish everyone would read this book.
If you liked these quotes, please share them with others. I’m sure they would appreciate them
too!
Thank you for doing important work and offering guidance in this crazy online information jungle. Sagan was right: the trick is to know which books to read. What an incredible writer/thinker. Thanks! ????