Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science
by Carl Sagan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Carl SaganEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1986-02-12
ISBN: 0345336895
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science
Book Review: Can we know a grain of salt?
Summary: 5 Stars
The beauty of Broca's Brain, and indeed any of Carl Sagan's works that I am aquainted with, is his remarkable ability to inspire the reader with a sense of awe and excitement about the universe. Sagan demonstrates in his work that one can still have a magical, or even religious, perspective on life through the use of reason and scientific scrutiny. "Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." Sagan puts this principle into action when he asks us, not to what extent we can understand the galaxy or a star, but the more modest question, "Can we know, ultimately and in detail, a grain of salt?" It is not through observation of every single atom in the grain of salt in which we understand it (Indeed it is impossible for humans to do so by that method!), it is through observing the underlying regularity within the grain of salt that we can make claims of it as a whole.Sagan makes the case for science quite well and persuasively, extending it miracles, hoaxes, and unusual phenomona. Unlike many scientists of today, Sagan is not content with brushing off claims that he is skeptical of on first glance. He takes the claim head on, knowing that in the end, the truth is the ultimate goal. But confidence in science is only increased as skeptical inquiry leads one to see that there is often a simpler solution to a rare phenomenon than the posulate of a supernatural force or entity.
If you enjoy thinking and desire truth, this is a helpful and enjoyable book. If you fear becoming infected with an awe and sense of wonder towards the universe, do not read this book--Sagan is contagious.
Summary of Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science
Carl Sagan, writer and scientist, returns from the frontier to tell us about how the world works. In his delightfully down-to-earth style, he explores and explains a mind-boggling future of intelligent robots, extraterrestrial life and its consquences, and other provocative, fascinating quandries of the future that we want to see today.Cosmology Books
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