If you're the kind of person who is always reading some book or another, (which if you're reading this blog then I would assume you are), then you know that the phrase "life-changing" can become a somewhat cliche way to describe a book. Personally, I find it nigh impossible to read any book without finding that it shapes me in some way. Usually, time is the only sufficient measure of how permanent those changes are (most of them are dishearteningly fleeting). However, I feel that I can fairly confidently claim that Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark has permanently altered my way of thinking.
Altering the reader's way of thinking is nothing less than Sagan's expressed intent. Sagan was one of, if not the premiere popularizer of science in the late 20th century. He was at the forefront of countless cosmological discoveries, while at the same time devoting much of his life to promoting science and scientific thinking to the general public. This was one of the last books he ever wrote, as he succumbed to a bone marrow disease in 1996, and it, appropriately, reads like his magnum opus. It exalts the value of scientific thinking and skeptical inquiry in a systematic, yet exuberant way. This is the first Sagan book that I've read, and I find his prose to be straight-forward and academic, while oddly engaging.
I admit though, my one point of frustration came when I felt like he was spending too much time on debunking UFO theories. He devotes many a chapter to using UFO-ology as his proof text for the principles he expounds; however, I soon came to the conclusion that this is part of Sagan's brilliance--he leaves nothing to assumption. Even though it seems obvious to me that all the alien stuff is nutty, he's willing to give it a thorough, scientific treatment, which I came to appreciate. And my patience was rewarded with some unexpected insight: a peek into the psychology of those who claim to have been abducted by aliens, along with the apparent relationship between such perceived experiences and child molestation. This is a fascinating topic, worthy of a book-length treatment itself.
The strongest portion of the book is near the end. After lauding the benefits of science to society, Sagan turns his attention to the American education system, to show us the detriments of the scientific ignorance that pervades our classrooms. But he does something more helpful here than the typical rant about "decreasing standards" of education. He points out the real problem, which, as it turns out, has little to do with the education system lowering its expectations. It actually starts with the overall cultural attitudes towards science. Many kids have, by time they start grade school, already had their curiosity and capacity for wonder stifled by ignorant parents. Sagan also suggests some potential solutions to this crisis, and I must say that despite his professed agnosticism, he made a believer out of me. I now find myself much more drawn to the possibility of pursuing a career in science education.
One final note: as a Christian, I know that many of my fellow believers tend to be leery of science books by non-believers. I can assure you though that you won't find Sagan engaging in any Dawkins-esque tirades against religion. Though an agnostic himself, and certainly critical of fundamentalism, he is generally respectful of faith. And his stated mission, essentially to debunk the psuedosciences, superstitions, occult practices, etc. that arise from flawed ways of thinking, is something that any Christian should see as valuable. What any open-minded reader will take from this book is, not only a better and more informed way of thinking about science, but a better and more informed way of thinking, period.
