Both [P. T.] Barnum and H. L. Mencken are said to have made the depressing observation that no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public. The remark has worldwide application. But the lack is not in intelligence, which is in plentiful supply; rather, the scarce commodity is systematic training in critical thinking. Carl Sagan
About This Quote

In this quote, John Kenneth Galbraith talks about the lack of critical thinking skills in our society. This is a very real problem because without critical thinking skills we will ignore facts that should be carefully considered. If we do not critically think about the facts we are seeing and hearing, we will make many bad decisions based on faulty assumptions. With a lack of critical thinking skills, we could make very bad decisions that could have a negative impact on our lives today and in the future.

Source: Brocas Brain: Reflections On The Romance Of Science

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More Quotes By Carl Sagan
  1. Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.
  2. The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.
  3. The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a...
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