Like other mammals, they are capable of strong emotions. They have certainly committed no crimes. I do not claim to have the answer, but I think it i… - Carl Sagan

Scientists are intent on testing [our] theories to the breaking point. They do not trust what is intuitively obvious. That the Earth is flat was once obvious. That heavy bodies fall faster than light ones was once obvious. That blood-sucking leeches cure most diseases was once obvious. That some people are naturally and by divine decree slaves was once obvious. That there is such a place as the centre of the Universe, and that the Earth sits in that exalted spot was once obvious. That there is an absolute standard of rest was once obvious. The truth may be puzzling or counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held beliefs. Experiment is how we get a handle on it.

Mengenai manusia, kita adalah pendatang baru. Kita muncul pada detik-detik terakhir waktu kosmik. Sejarah Alam Semesta hingga sekarang telah 99,998 persen selesai sebelum spesies kita muncul. Dalam rentang waktu yang mahaluas itu, kita tidak mungkin memiliki tanggung jawab khusus apa pun untuk planet kita, kehidupan, atau apa pun itu. Kita belum ada di sini.

Under Communism, both religion and pseudoscience were systematically suppressed — except for the superstition of the state ideological religion. It was advertised as scientific, but fell as far short of this ideal as the most unselfcritical mystery cult.