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

No Such Thing as a Dumb Question
found that under suitable conditions make copies of themselves in
the test tube. Some of these molecules are, like DNA and RNA,
built out of nucleotides; others are not. Some use enzymes to
hasten the pace of the chemistry; others do not. Sometimes there
is a mistake in copying; from that point forward the mistake is
copied in successive generations of molecules. Thus there get to
be slightly different species of self-replicating molecules, some of
which reproduce faster or more efficiently than others. These
preferentially thrive. As time goes on, the molecules in the test
tube become more and more efficient. We are beginning to
witness the evolution of molecules. How much insight does this
provide about the origin of life?
• Why is ordinary ice white, but pure glacial ice blue?
• Life has been found miles below the surface of the Earth. How
deep does it go?
• The Dogon people in the Republic of Mali are said by a French
anthropologist to have a legend that the star Sirius has an
extremely dense companion star. Sirius in fact does have such a
companion, although it requires fairly sophisticated astronomy to
detect it. So (1) did the Dogon people descend from a forgotten
civilization that had large optical telescopes and theoretical astrophysics?
Or, (2) were they instructed by extraterrestrials? Or, (3)
did the Dogon hear about the white dwarf companion of Sirius
from a visiting European? Or, (4) was the French anthropologist
mistaken and the Dogon in fact never had such a legend?
Why should it be hard for scientists to get science across? Some
scientists, including some very good ones, tell me they'd love to
popularize, but feel they lack talent in this area. Knowing and
explaining, they say, are not the same thing. What's the secret?
There's only one, I think: don't talk to the general audience as
you would to your scientific colleagues. There are terms that
convey your meaning instantly and accurately to fellow experts.
You may parse these phrases every day in your professional work.
But they do no more than mystify an audience of non-specialists.
Use the simplest possible language. Above all, remember how it
was before you yourself grasped whatever it is you're explaining.
Remember the misunderstandings that you almost fell into, and
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