The Dragon in My Garage

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"The Dragon in My Garage" is a famous illustrative chapter by Carl Sagan that uses the idea of an invisible, undetectable dragon to explain the importance of skepticism and the scientific method in evaluating extraordinary claims.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf essay
illustrative chapter
thought experiment
alsoAvailableAs audiobook chapter
author Carl Sagan
countryOfOrigin United States
emphasizes importance of empirical evidence
responsibility of the claimant to provide proof
explains why claims that cannot be tested are scientifically meaningless
field philosophy of science
science education
genre popular science
science communication
hasForm narrative dialogue
illustratesConcept ad hoc hypotheses
difference between belief and evidence
rational evaluation of paranormal claims
skeptical inquiry
testability of hypotheses
unfalsifiable claims
includedIn chapters of The Demon-Haunted World
influenced discussions of pseudoscience
modern skeptical movement
language English
mainTheme burden of proof
critical thinking
extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
falsifiability
scientific method
scientific skepticism
medium print
notableFor being widely cited in skeptical literature
popularizing the phrase about invisible, undetectable dragon
partOfWork The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
publicationYear 1995
publisherOfContainingWork Random House
relatedConcept Occam's razor
Russell's teapot
paranormal claims
pseudoscience
setting a garage containing an alleged dragon
targetAudience general audience
teaches how to distinguish testable from untestable claims
usesExampleOf invisible dragon
undetectable dragon
workIn non-fiction literature

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
The Demon-Haunted World
hasChapter

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