Also I reposted my last post because I realized my phone autocorrected "Sagan" to "Satan" which rules.

Most importantly, Sagan's "Demon Haunted World" is obnoxiously prophetic. He predicted the information landscape we have now, and how it would be exploited. He showed how fringe beliefs can become mainstream. He explained, in plain language, how to identify those errors.
We didn't listen. Read it.

Chapter 12 of "A Demon Haunted World" -- "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection" -- is the logical fallacy chapter. Worth reading the book as a teen just for that.
But the key is the humanity he shows through the book. He understood why people have unscientific beliefs, but he also didn't simply accept.

When I was 14, I read "A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark". I read a lot of books as a kid and teen, as a weird little nerd I averaged 3 a week. I would even read on my 1.5 mile walk home from school. This was probably the most influential book I read during that time.

Specifically, let's talk about what made Sagan great. I presume, like many, he had personality issues that weren't presented front and center (he is a dude with several wives, after all).

But his mission of making science (and logic and the scientific method) accessible made him a force for good.

It's been a long time, it feels, since I posted on social media for something other than work, what with fracturing social groups and internet toxicity, so I'm going to keep this account far away from my job.

Anyway, let's talk about Carl Sagan.