Carl Sagan was a famous astronomer, astrophycist and writer who showed some interests in science at a very young age. He was famous for his TV Show ” The cosmos,” which was on of the top rated TV shows. About 500 million people in 60 countries viewed this show. Sagan believed that Americans did not know the real meaning of science because they tend to mix it with pseudoscience. He used statistics, and a sense of humor to get his points over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jod7v-m573k&list=PLH4ySQzATqrydYAQ_qWdehnRosYSIZ_Xf A video of Carl Sagan talking about science.
Pseudoscience is a collection of beliefs that are considered as being based on the scientific methods. It lacks supporting evidence and cannot be tested. Sagan talked about a conversation he had with a guy called, William F. Buckley. Buckley wanted to talk about science. He started talking about all these things he considered science but according to Sagan, they were pseudoscience because there was not that much evidence to support it. For example, when Buckley started talking about ” channeling, Sagan responded with ” the evidence is crummy.” I found this kind of funny because Buckley thought that he mastered the topics he was discussing except his evidence and explanations were not good enough.I also believe that this paragraph was meant to hook the reader, which are more likely to be adults; parents, politicians, teachers and teenagers because they can make a difference little by little. Even though this paragraph was humorous, it was a way for Sagan to describe what many Americans are experiencing when it comes to science. I also believe that this paragraph was meant to hook the reader.
Sagan demonstrated surveys and statistics, showing that Americans are way behind in math and science, compared to students from other countries. ” In tests of average 17 year olds in many world regions, the United States ranked dead last in algebra.” This proves that the United States need to focus more on math and science in school because these are two fundamental subjects we depend on for our everyday lives ( technology, medicine.) According to Sagan, the reason for our failure is because teaching and learning are considered to be unexciting, dull and boring. He suggested that on way to raise interest in science is to use television. I remember watching this cartoon called “Sid the Science Kid” with my little siblings and they used to love to predict the results of Sid’s experiment. This cartoon is what inspired them to love science.
I find Sagan’s argument to be persuasive due to personal experience. Back in high school, I remember my AP Biology teacher telling us that we can’t conduct certain experiments because we did not have the necessary tools needed. So instead of doing the experiment, we would depend on the videos posted by other people. I believe that this can factor to students losing interest in science. Even though I loved that class, I hated watching other people conduct the experiment because it is not the same. So if there are more funding in math science, I believe that more people would show much more interests then expected.
WRT 102.22: Science & Society 
You make a detailed analysis about the hook and also point out what skill does the author uses in the essay. But your reflection is kind of departure from your title.
I also agree that the introduction of more hands-on science experiences will gain a greater understanding in science among people. This would motivative people to understand through interaction. It would be a much more successful way to teach students than having them read from the book because it increases interest.