Comments on: Colbert on Tyson

By: KEVIN

KEVIN — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:01:08 +0000

To Julian

π (sometimes written pi) is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. π is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve π, which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants.[1] For instance, the area of a circle is equal to π times the square of the radius of the circle. (copied from wiki;)

He said “take a circle of any size and divide it by it’s own radius = PI”, (he never said circumference or diameter) I know he was talking about the circumference when referring to a circle being able to be any size though.

I don’t play with protractors or care about circles LOL, but it seems to me you would need something to be dividing something into. I know a circumference is the length around one, the diameter is a straight line through one, and the radius is from it’s center out to the edge.
Anyways, you cannot find pi from only using the radius and diameter (1inch divided by .5inch does not = pi LOL, meaning it’s circumference has to be used when finding pi.
Therefore it’s the circumference and diameter that are used when finding pi as wiki says, so I guess he confused radius with diameter on accident I would hope. LOL.

Now I can make a living from betting uninformed people that the diameter of any circle any size, divided by it’s circumference = pi (3.14) oh the joy. I find it strange that it’s true, however it probably makes perfect sense to the guy who first realized it. My question would be if you already know the answer, why ask the question? So when in school, when they told me here’s 100 circles divide the circumferences with their diameters, I would question what’s the point, they are all pi, then I would get an F for not showing work.

Also; the circumference and diameter are directly related to each other which explains why it is always 3.14 on any sized circle. When one # changes so do the rest. Making it not so strange, but still amazing it works that precise. It’s certainly is not magic.

By: pat k

pat k — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:00:59 +0000

Hey out of curiosity what was Carl Sagan’s record in research when was his last paper published? When was the last paper published before he died? Was he an astronomer? What about the nuclear physicist who builds bombs instead of doing research is he still a physicist I mean come on what else can we argue about…….lol

By: Abe

Abe — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:19:39 +0000

Wasn’t it Leonard Susskind who theorized that information about what goes into a black hole is not lost?

By: JohnW

JohnW — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:06:46 +0000

Great. Thanks for posting. But E=MC^2 beautiful? Meh.
Now e^(pi*i)=-1 now THAT’S beautiful.

By: Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson at Montclair Kimberley Academy – 2010-Jan-29 | Blog.CarlRobitaille.org

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:43:19 +0000

[...] Via: Bad Astronomy: Colbert on Tyson [...]

By: thaneb

thaneb — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:12:18 +0000

The school is the Montclair Kimberley Academy or MKA. It comprises three part, lower, middle and upper schools subsequent to the merger of Montclair Academy (boys/now upper); the Kimberley School (girls/now middle) and the Brookside School (K-6) in 1974.

By: pavium

pavium — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:15:43 +0000

Did the Headmaster describe Romeo and Juliet as the two most famous ‘star-crossed lovers in all of American literature’ ?

It’s a little more than that.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:34:45 +0000

love the interview but i have to point out…..Romeo and Juliet…American Litrature….really?

By: Defensive Al

Defensive Al — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:47:00 +0000

I’m a bit surprised at the negative posts. Seems to me that his message is that science is cool and people would be better off scientifically literate. As a longtime science teacher, he makes me proud. Most engaging and relevant interview I have ever seen. Watching it will become an assignment for my preservice teachers.

By: Bob F.

Bob F. — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:32:55 +0000

I’m surprised nobody mentioned Dr. Tyson’s other career. He was a hoot on The Big Bang Theory.

By: Georg

Georg — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:08:58 +0000

Its a real fun to listen to such educated and humorous people.
Georg

By: Takeru K

Takeru K — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:14:44 +0000

Why does it matter if Tyson has a “real research record” or not? Astronomers and astrophysicists like us need educated people (e.g. PhD, and better yet, some research experience beyond that) to help educate others and help inspire others to study astronomy.

People who do science education and science outreach are doing just as important work as people doing science research.

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 04:08:21 +0000

320p, we meet again! ಠ_ಠ

Ahem… Sorry, do we not do that here?

By: Adrian Lopez

Adrian Lopez — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:56:50 +0000

hoot56:

“Tyson is not an astrophysicist.”

You’re thinking of Mike Tyson. This one is Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist.

By: Julian

Julian — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:18:35 +0000

Am I the only one that noticed that he got pi wrong? Around 23mins in,he said “…dividing a circle['s circumference] of any size by it’s radius is equal to those numbers [pi].” Sure the ratio he described is fixed but it isn’t pi. Confusing radius and diameter is a small slip up, but if I was there I would of screamed bloody murder.

Other than that, I like the interview.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:15:02 +0000

So Phil – when are you going to do an AMA on reddit? Don’t let Neil steal all the glory!

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:14:06 +0000

Did I hear correctly? The Master of Ceremonies referred to “Romeo and Juliet” as “American Literature”. I don’t recall annexing England …

By: Steve Metzler

Steve Metzler — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:52:15 +0000

12. hoot56 Says:

Tyson is not an astrophysicist (as he claims).

What Blargh said. Geez hoot56, way to demonstrate how on the web today, everyone can have their own ‘opinion’, and send people off on tangents that are just not even worth bothering to investigate.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on. – Churchill, Twain, et. al.

ETA: Montclair, NJ happens to be the town of my birth And that reminds me of another one of my fav quotes:

Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth. I want to be ready. Jim Morrison, Celebration of the Lizard, 1970

By: Blargh

Blargh — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:25:40 +0000

hoot56:

Tyson is not an astrophysicist (as he claims).

He’s got a Ph. D. in astrophysics. That makes him an astrophysicist in my book.

From the International Astronautical Federation’s web page:

He began his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his M.A. in Astronomy in 1983. He earned a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics from Columbia University in 1991.

By: hoot56

hoot56 — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:53:22 +0000

Tyson is not an astrophysicist (as he claims). On the one hand, this might not be a problem for a “popularizer,” but the problem lies in the fact that he claims to be an astrophysicist. Perhaps this is not a big deal, as hopefully most aspiring student scientists would not know that he doesn’t have a real research record.

By the way, the reason that we don’t have many “popularizers” is because most astrophysicists want to be astrophysicists. That’s why they went into it in the first place. Also, there are few such funded positions as “popularizers.”

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:10:38 +0000

He did an AMA on reddit today (and one last month). When will you do yours? http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ngd5e/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ama/

By: John Nouveaux

John Nouveaux — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:04:12 +0000

Not to get pedantic or anything, but this talk was recorded (according to the Hayden website) in January of 2010, no earlier this year.

Just sayin’.

And it *is* a most wonderful interview!

By: tacitus

tacitus — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:48:21 +0000

The most recognisable astronomer on Earth? In the US maybe, but Tyson is pretty much unknown in the UK.

Well, Americans do tend to get “America” and “the world” mixed up sometimes. After all, the Cardinals are the World Series champions, and Mavericks the NBA World Champions, in spite of the fact that only one or two teams in those leagues are not actually located in the USA…

By: Navneeth

Navneeth — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:43:52 +0000

Thanks for posting, Phil. Loved it.

By: Sindragosa

Sindragosa — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:43:35 +0000

Does the Higgs boson have anything to do with gravitons?