Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

At what point do the normal manifestations of an active imagination become hallucinations? When do curiosity and inquisitiveness turn into gullibility and paranoia? Carl Sagan doesn't tell the reader where the line is, but asks that it be considered when trying to sort out the claims of those involved with UFOs, alien abductions, the paranormal and other pseudoscientific phenomena.

It's not an accident that a recent random copy of UFO Universe magazine contains a plethora of ads directed at the gullible, according to Sagan. Such ads are rife with amazing ancient and cosmic advice on love, psychic healing, wealth and the secrets of the universe—for a price. These advertisers know something about the magazine's readers that the readers may not know about themselves: they easily fall prey to fantastic, unfounded and mostly unbelievable claims. They know its readers are...