The Sagan standard is the aphorism that "extraordinary claims require
extraordinary evidence". It is named for Carl Sagan (pictured), who used
the phrase in his 1979 book Broca's Brain. The standard has been
described as fundamental to the scientific method and is regarded as
encapsulating the basic principles of scientific skepticism. The Sagan
standard is similar to Occam's razor in that both prefer simpler
explanations to more complex ones. The Sagan standard is often invoked
to challenge data and scientific findings, or to criticize
pseudoscientific claims. Similar statements were previously made by
figures such as Thomas Jefferson in 1808, Pierre-Simon Laplace in 1814,
and Théodore Flournoy in 1899. The formulation "Extraordinary claims
require extraordinary proof" was used a year prior to Sagan, by
scientific skeptic Marcello Truzzi. It has also been argued that
philosopher David Hume first fully characterized the principles of the
Sagan standard in his 1748 essay "Of Miracles".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_standard>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1881:
Andrew Watson captained the Scotland national football team
against England, becoming the world's first black international
footballer.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Watson_%28footballer,_born_1856%29>
1947:
Cold War: U.S. president Harry S. Truman proclaimed the Truman
Doctrine to help stem the spread of communism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Doctrine>
1952:
British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary
general of NATO.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Ismay,_1st_Baron_Ismay>
1971:
The Turkish Armed Forces executed a "coup by memorandum",
forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Turkish_military_memorandum>
2006:
U.S. Army soldiers gang-raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and
murdered her along with her family members.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmudiyah_rape_and_killings>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fluster:
1. (transitive)
2. To throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle,
to confuse.
3. (dated) To make (someone) feel flushed and hot through drinking
alcoholic beverages; also, to make (someone) slightly drunk or tipsy.
4. (intransitive)
5. To be agitated and confused; to bustle.
6. (Britain, dialectal) To catch attention; to be showy or splendid.
7. (obsolete) To boast or brag noisily; to bluster, to swagger.
8. (obsolete) Of a seed: to produce a shoot quickly.
9. A state of agitation or confusion; a flutter.
10. (obsolete)
11. A state of slight drunkenness or tipsiness; also, the excitement
caused by this state.
12. (uncertain) Showiness, splendour.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fluster>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want
and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.
--Edward Albee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Albee>
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