Carl Sagan's actual quote was "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Not proof, evience. There is no such thing as proof in science, only confirmation or contradiction. Our modern society has elected scientists as its priests, and I consider it tragic that the public confuses ignorant claims about science with science itself. Science says, "If you think something might be, then don't just sit around thinking you're right. Go use your senses to find out." I see this as a radical and liberating point of view. My perspective is the opposite of Steve's - I believe people hide in their illusions. I think people are afraid to be wrong, and that is why they ignore evidence. To be truly scientific requires courage and vulnerability - any one of your ideas could be wrong, and you will be powerless to stop the truth, no matter how much it hurts.
I should also mention the second part of science - not only should you go out and see if you are right, you should tell me how you did it, so that I can go see for myself. If I see the very thing you did, then that means something significant, something that extends beyond merely what I think. Science is not just an individual experience - it is the devlopment and sharing of tools for allowing the universe to tell you what it is. The idea that we create our own observations is hard to maintain, since science has brought us so many surprises. What physical scientists would have expected observer dependence? Does the "uncertainty principle" sound like something a stereotypical scientist would expect to find? You cannot help but be surprised constantly, when the source of truth is outside of yourself. People trapped in their illusions, however, are never surprised. They already know everything, and reality, for them, does not exist. They fit every statement, idea, and event into a tiny box, a preconceived structure from which nothing escapes. Only the outside world, the not-them, has the potential to shake that structure down.
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