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Title of the book: The world haunted by demons: the science that attacks dark; Author: Carl Sagan; Translator: Damaring Tyas Wulandari Palar; Publisher: Gramedia Popular Library, 2018; Thickness: xvi + 512 pages
Although the number of pages is thicker than other Carl Sagan books that have been translated into Indonesian.Cosmos (Gramedia Popular Library2016) book The world haunted by demons: the science that attacks dark this gives rise to other perspectives easier to understand or badimilate by the reader than by Cosmos. However, this does not become a serious problem. Each reader will have an interpretation that may be different from each other when reading each book.
Carl Sagan was a student who was a student in the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago, United States. He is an astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist and popular science writer who has been involved in various space studies, including expeditions of Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo towers to the planets of the solar system.
This book has become important at a time when one can not deny that there are peaks of phenomena endangering the existence of science. As in the case of the presence of pseudoscience, superstitious maneuvers under the guise of science, the dominance of mysticism, the tsunami of information and hoaxes in the real and virtual universe until the end. to the alienation (self-alienation) to many people rocked by advances in science and technology.
As an initial reflection, we must depart from what a philosopher said ejaculate Astronomer Karlina Supelli at his scientific conference at Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, September 22, 2017. Threats to scienceHe opened by stating, "Science does not teach certainty, science leads to dare to doubt." Of course, this is also relevant when it is related to one of the scientific fields of science.
The idea conveyed by Sagan in relation to science is that it's not just a body of knowledge, but science is a way of thinking. "Science develops precisely because of errors, which are corrected one by one, always drawing erroneous conclusions, but conclusions are actually drawn experimentally.The hypothesis is conceived in such a way that it can be rejected. A series of alternative hypotheses confronts experiments and observations.Science gropes and and stumble toward a better understanding. "(Pp. 23-24).
This corresponded to the idea of a German philosopher, Karl Raimund Popper, through his book titled Logic of scientific discovery (Student Library, 2008). He introduced the principle of falsifiability. All expressions, statements, ideas, badumptions or even theories can fundamentally prove to be false, thanks to evidence in the form of tests and experiments that give rise to a new hypothesis. It can not be denied, therefore, that in science there is no absolute truth, but science imposes relative truth.
Carl Sagan then revealed the importance of scientific methodology. "The method of science, although it looks boring and boring, is far more important than the discoveries of science." (page 25). Sagan suggested that readers be better off by the public and policy makers to apply the method of thinking to science. The two attitudes presented by Sagan in the book were critical thinking and skepticism.
Critical thinking is about understanding that science is not just knowledge with a variety of facts and data. However, it is also a way of thinking. The critical attitude is nothing but a mechanism for correcting errors in what happens to science. "No matter what your intelligence, authority or love is, you need to prove your reasoning in the face of hard ground-based criticism, diversity and debate are valued, and we are encouraged to express opinions thoroughly and thoroughly." (p.36).
In chapter 17, Sagan often refers to related skeptics. Skepticism and wonder. Expected skeptical thinking is able to work in synergy with creative thinking in order to keep science in the right path. Because even if it is only skepticism, what happens is only a suspicion and what is only perceived as nonsense. "Skepticism and wonderment are skills that need to be perfected and put into practice." (350).
It is nothing more than an effort to create scientific reasoning by using scientific methods to solve problems and make decisions from time to time.
It is undeniable that the hoax and belief in pseudoscience continue to be a shadow of the development of science. As Sagan also explained in one of the sections of this book. "Each branch of science has the pseudoscience of its own partner.Geophysicists face flat lands, hollow lands, lands with extremely fluctuating axes, continents that spring up and sink quickly, not to mention forecasters earthquakes … Pseudoscience-pseudoscience it sometimes intersects, adds to the complexity of searching for hidden treasures of Atlantis using telepathy, or economic predictions using astrology. "(p.49).
Sagan also cited several examples of pseudoscience and false news circulating in the United States in the 90s era. What problems were solved by science thousands of years ago? However, in reality, in various events and phenomena, it is easy to explore in society, even if it is in the development of the 21st era. This phenomenon can not be separated from the effort to scare, to seek a profit, to seek glory to make the community turbulent.
Science is the answer. At least this sentence was actually transmitted by Sagan through this book. When it is used to meet the challenges of life, another important element is related to scientific communication. The meaning is in the form of a bridge between scientists and society. Scientists have a scientific responsibility at the community level. Because, if science belongs only to a group of scholars and scientists, it is limited to being an acclaimed ivory tower.
Through this book containing twenty-five chapters, Sagan gave the example of an attempt to present scientific knowledge easily digested, understood and infused by anyone, regardless of its context. Science is in fact an experience lived and felt by all in everyday life. It provides stimulus and stimulation in various perspectives on how to understand science in itself to manage life.
Joko Priyono eknow, author of the book Physics ball
(mmu / mmu)
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