Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

Sagan delves deeper into the epistemological aspects of the UFO phenomenon. He asks whether we're more prepared to believe solely on the verbal testimony of so-called witnesses that aliens are visiting Earth and abducting humans, or to believe there is some kind of mass hysteria or other psychological phenomenon at work.

To illustrate the squishy relationship with truth involved in the flying saucer claims, Sagan presents an imaginary dialogue between himself and the reader about whether he has a fire-breathing dragon in his garage. When the reader asks to see the beast, Sagan says he's invisible. When the reader suggests putting flour on the floor to mark his tracks, Sagan replies that the dragon floats in the air. When the idea of spray painting the dragon is suggested, Sagan says that won't work as the dragon is incorporeal, and the paint...