![]() In particular, Sagan claims, many of the worst symptoms of irrational belief have been encouraged, or at least ignored, by entrenched power structures because they deflect attention from real problems in society. He points out parallels between medieval witch mania and our own UFO abduction mania, as well as similarities between posthypnotic memories of physically invasive examination during abduction and similar ``memories'' of abuse by satanic cults. ![]() As an astronomer, Sagan is especially plagued by reports of UFO visitations and abductions, so that is what he focuses on, analyzing these reports in detail, starting with the origins of the ``flying saucer'' craze in the pulp science fiction of the '30s and '40s. Despite the proven power of science to change the world, pseudoscience thrives-claiming as its adherents bright, inquisitive people who, according to Sagan, have not learned the basic techniques of careful inquiry. ![]() He starts with an anecdote of a cab driver who, upon learning that his passenger was ``that scientist guy,'' insisted on quizzing him on UFOs, Atlantis, the shroud of Turin, and similar topics from the fringes of rational discourse. ![]() ![]() Sagan (Pale Blue Dot, 1994, etc.) takes it as his mission to defend the worth and importance of science against the irrational crossfire of New Age philosophies and religious fundamentalism. Alarmed by the rise of superstition and pseudoscience, a leading science writer rallies the forces of reason and scientific literacy. ![]()
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