---
title: "At the heart of science is an essential tension between two seemingly… — Carl Sagan Quote #77 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "At the heart of science is an essential tension between two seemingly contradictory attitudes - an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or co… — a quote by Carl Sagan."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # At the heart of science is an essential tension between two seemingly contradictory attitudes - an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense.

[Carl Sagan](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan)\#77

[Science](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/science/)[Truth](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/truth/)[Skepticism](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/skepticism/)[Method](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/method/)[Openness](https://quotesby.net/topics/openness/)

[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CAt%20the%20heart%20of%20science%20is%20an%20essential%20tension%20between%20two%20seemingly%20contradictory%20attitudes%20-%20an%20openness%20to%20new%20ideas%2C%20no%20matter%20how%20bizarre%20or%20counterintuitive%20they%20may%20be%2C%20and%20the%20most%20ruthless%20skeptical%20scrutiny%20of%20all%20ideas%2C%20old%20and%20new.%20This%20is%20how%20deep%20truths%20are%20winnowed%20from%20deep%20nonsense.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Carl%20Sagan%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FCarl-Sagan%2F77%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CAt%20the%20heart%20of%20science%20is%20an%20essential%20tension%20between%20two%20seemingly%20contradictory%20attitudes%20-%20an%20openness%20to%20new%20ideas%2C%20no%20matter%20how%20bizarre%20or%20counterintuitive%20they%20may%20be%2C%20and%20the%20most%20ruthless%20skeptical%20scrutiny%20of%20all%20ideas%2C%20old%20and%20new.%20This%20is%20how%20deep%20truths%20are%20winnowed%20from%20deep%20nonsense.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Carl%20Sagan&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FCarl-Sagan%2F77%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FCarl-Sagan%2F77%2F)

## About this quote

What does it mean?Science relies on the tension between openness to new ideas and ruthless skeptical scrutiny to distinguish truth from nonsense.In plain termsScience needs both openness to new ideas and strict skepticism to find truth.What can you take from it?Balance openness with skepticism to separate truth from nonsense.

### Where it applies

- scientific research
- evaluating claims
- innovation

### Putting it to work

- stay open
- scrutinize claims

### Questions to consider

- How do you balance openness and skepticism?
- When is skepticism harmful?

### Another view

The tension between openness and skepticism can sometimes stall progress.

## More from Carl Sagan

1. > Arguments from authority simply do not count; too many authorities have been mistaken too often.

[Permalink to quote \#76](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/76/ "Permalink to quote 76")
2. > Atheism is more than just the knowledge that gods do not exist, and that religion is either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that …

[Permalink to quote \#78](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/78/ "Permalink to quote 78")
3. > Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you can't breathe the air and drink the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something.

[Permalink to quote \#75](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/75/ "Permalink to quote 75")

## Related quotes

1. > The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant…

[Carl Sagan](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan)[Carl Sagan quote \#3](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/3/ "Permalink to quote 3")
2. > It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us…

[Carl Sagan](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan)[Carl Sagan quote \#1](https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/1/ "Permalink to quote 1")
3. > Anything which uses science as part of its name isn't: political science, creation science, computer science.

[Hal Abelson](https://quotesby.net/Hal-Abelson)[Hal Abelson quote \#4](https://quotesby.net/Hal-Abelson/4/ "Permalink to quote 4")

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Quotation",
    "text": "At the heart of science is an essential tension between two seemingly contradictory attitudes - an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense.",
    "url": "https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/77/",
    "spokenByCharacter": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "Carl Sagan"
    }
}
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Authors",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 3,
            "name": "Carl Sagan",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 4,
            "name": "Quote #77",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/Carl-Sagan/77/"
        }
    ]
}
```