Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World

THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD
the unconscious . . . They have this in common with dreams;
for dreams, too, are statements about the unconscious . . . The
present state of affairs gives us reason enough to wait quietly
until more impressive physical phenomena put in an appearance.
If, after making allowance for conscious and unconscious
falsification, self-deception, prejudice, etc., we should still find
something positive behind them, then the exact sciences will
surely conquer this field by experiment and verification, as has
happened in every other realm of human experience.
Of those who accept such testimony at face value, he remarked
These people are lacking not only in criticism but in the most
elementary knowledge of psychology. At bottom they do not
want to be taught any better, but merely to go on believing -
surely the naivest of presumptions in view of our human failings.
Perhaps some day there will be a UFO or alien abduction case that
is well attested, accompanied by compelling physical evidence,
and explicable only in terms of extraterrestrial visitation. It's hard
to think of a more important discovery. So far, though, there have
been no such cases, nothing that comes close. So far, the invisible
dragon has left no unfakable footprints.
Which, then, is more likely: that we're undergoing a massive
but generally overlooked invasion by alien sexual abusers, or that
people are experiencing some unfamiliar internal mental state
they do not understand? Admittedly, we're very ignorant both
about extraterrestrial beings, if any, and about human psychology.
But if these really were the only two alternatives, which one
would you pick?
And if the alien abduction accounts are mainly about brain
physiology, hallucinations, distorted memories of childhood, and
hoaxing, don't we have before us a matter of supreme importance,
touching on our limitations, the ease with which we can be misled
and manipulated, the fashioning of our beliefs, and perhaps even
the origins of our religions? There is genuine scientific paydirt in
UFOs and alien abductions - but it is, I think, of a distinctly
home-grown and terrestrial character.
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