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Carl Sagan with a mock-up of a Viking lander

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". (Full article...)

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-{{Main page image/TFA|image=Sagan large.jpg |caption= <!-- if caption is the same as the title of article use only |title= --> }}
+{{Main page image/TFA|image=Sagan large.jpg |caption=Carl Sagan with a mock-up of a [[Viking program#Viking landers|Viking lander]]<!-- caption based on description in source of image (note: description on commons does not state that the device is a mock-up) -->}}
-The '''Sagan standard''' is the [[aphorism]] that "'''extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence'''"  It is named for science communicator [[Carl Sagan]], who used the phrase in his 1979 book ''[[Broca's Brain]]'' and the 1980 television program ''[[Cosmos: A Personal Voyage|Cosmos]]''. 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 [[heuristics]] prefer simpler explanations of a phenomenon to more complicated ones. In application, there is some ambiguity regarding when evidence is deemed sufficiently "extraordinary". The Sagan standard is often invoked to challenge data and scientific findings, or to criticize pseudoscientific claims. Some critics have argued that the standard can suppress innovation and affirm [[confirmation biases]]. 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]]".{{TFAFULL|Sagan standard}}
+The '''[[Sagan standard]]''' is the [[aphorism]] that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". It is named for [[Carl Sagan]] ''(pictured)'', who <!-- removed "first" to confirm with article body, which states that sagan first used it in a washington post interview in 1977 (note: article lead does not state that sagan first used it in his 1979 book) -->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]]". {{TFAFULL|Sagan standard}}
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