Carl Sagan, author of “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection”, contemplates the possibility of a supernatural reunion. Carl Sagan believes that he can feel the same connection with his deceased parents. It is not the death of loved ones that we can’t accept, but it is what we must do. Humans make the mistake of not acknowledging that we have lost someone or that they are gone forever.
Sagan includes other scholars who are in agreement with his points to emphasise the point even more. Sagan doesn’t believe mediums can channel spirits from the deceased. He knows that there are many fraudulent mediums out there who will trick people into believing their loved ones will communicate with them in the afterlife. J. C. Knight, a scholar, allegedly channels Rathma (35,000 years old). Because Knight must be telling the truth, he won’t believe anybody else than Knight. His argument is that if the deceased were really speaking to us, why wouldn’t we get verifiable data? Alexander the Great doesn’t give us his burial location. John Wilkes Booth should tell us the story of Lincoln’s assassination. He believes people want the mediums to be true because it would mean life after death or immortality. B. S. Haldane, a British scientist, suggested a type of immortality known as “Consolation of Haldane”. He saw a future where the stars will go dark and space will be filled by a thin, cold gas. This gas will over time fluctuate in its density. The fluctuations will create a universe that is very similar to ours over “immense amounts of time” (Haldane pg2). The Universe will have infinitely many reconstitutions if it is infinitely long. This would mean that there will be infinitely many appearances of stars and planets in the Universe. Life would also appear on an infinite amount of galaxies. Sagan said that, if such a thing happened, he would still be able to see the parents over and again. But, he doesn’t feel it’s as comforting than religion. However, if we can’t recall our previous lives, how will we be able to remember the next? Sagan informs the reader that his parents have died and that he hopes they are still alive somewhere. He wonders where his parents are. Sometimes he dreams about them and then wakes up to grieve. He understands the reason someone would visit a graveyard and speak to them like they are there.
More than a third believe they have communicated with the dead on some level. He stated that scientists receive a “baloney detector kit” as part of their training. The kit contains baloney tests that will determine if the idea is valid. However, this does not guarantee acceptance. Some tools confirm facts independently. You should encourage discussion among experts. You may have to come up with multiple hypotheses, as yours could be stronger or disproven. You don’t have to be attached to a particular hypothesis. It doesn’t matter if it is true, because other people will. Quantify the evidence so that it can be compared and contrasted with other hypotheses. Sagan would love to see evidence of life after death presented to him, but that data must be scientifically backed up and not based on personal experiences or accounts. Sagan encourages us not to believe everything we see or hear from others.
