Chapter 12 Summary and Analysis

Fed up with charlatanism, hucksterism, unqualified quackery, pseudoscience, and baloney in a thousand different flavors, Sagan is eager to share with the reader his tools for skeptical thinking. These tools may not necessarily soothe, but the user at least has a shot at understanding the truth. They include seeking independent verification of any claim that is presented as self-evident, and trying to find serious discussion about the evidence by those who are well versed in every viewpoint. He also cites rejecting "ex cathedra" arguments, or those based on authority as there are no real authorities in science, and arriving at multiple hypotheses by thinking of many different ways that something could be explained. The one thesis that survives this test is most likely to be the correct answer; staying detached from the various hypotheses so that your emotions don't cause you...