The method of science, as stodgy and grumpy as it may seem, is far more important than the findings of science. - Carl Sagan

Much of human history can, I think, be described as a gradual and sometimes painful liberation from provincialism, the emerging awareness that there is more to the world than was generally believed by our ancestors.

Ethnocentrism, xenophobia and nationalism are these days rife in many parts of the world. Government repression of unpopular views is still widespread. False or misleading memories are inculcated. For the defenders of such attitudes, science is disturb­ing. It claims access to truths that are largely independent of ethnic or cultural biases. By its very nature, science transcends national boundaries. Put scientists working in the same field of study together in a room and even if they share no common spoken language, they will find a way to communicate. Science itself is a transnational language. Scientists are naturally cosmo­politan in attitude and are more likely to see through efforts to divide the human family into many small and warring factions. 'There is no national science,' said the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, 'just as there is no national multiplication table.' (Likewise, for many, there is no such thing as a national religion, although the religion of nationalism has millions of adherents.)

Kao što stari mitovi govore, mi smo jednako djeca neba i Zemlje. Kroz vrijeme svog boravka na ovom planetu sakupili smo opasno evolucijsko breme, naslijeđene sklonosti prema agresiji i ritualu, podčinjavanje vođama, mržnju prema strancima, što sve sada dovodi u pitanje naše preživljavanje. Ali stekli smo suosjećanje za druge, ljubav prema djeci i djeci naše djece, želju da učimo iz povijesti i uzvišenu strastvenu inteligenciju – očito oružje našeg preživljavanja i napretka. Koji će oblici naše prirode prevladati nesigurno je, posebno ako su naši pogledi, razumijevanje i vidici vezani isključivo za Zemlju – ili, još gore, za jedan mali dio nje. Ali tamo gore u beskraju svemira očekuje nas neizbježna budućnost. Za sada nema još nikakvih sigurnih signala izvanzemaljske inteligencije i stoga se pitamo da li civilizacije poput naše uvijek srljaju neumoljivo, nepromišljeno, prema samouništenju. Nacionalne granice su nezamjetljive kada Zemlju gledamo iz prostora. Fanatični etnički, religijski, nacionalni šovinizmi teško se mogu održati kada promatramo naš planet kao nježan plavi polumjesec kako se gasi poput sve slabije točke svjetlosti usred zvjezdanog tkanja. Putovanja proširuju vidike.