What do you get when you ask astronomer Neil Tyson what he thinks the most astounding fact about the Universe is?
An awesome answer.
Y’know, I’ve been doing this astronomy and space outreach thing for a long time now, and on my best days I might get close to an answer like this. But Neil cranks them out effortlessly. He’s really, really good at this.
Related Posts:
- Colbert on Tyson
- In which I disagree with cartoon Neil Tyson
- Great Tyson’s ghost!
- Our Future in Space – panel at TAM 9
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March 6th, 2012 at 2:07 pm
I wouldn’t have thought to use the word “crank” in a post about Neil Tyson.
March 6th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
We are stardust…
I’m not thrilled with the metaphor of “star guts”, but the rest gets pretty close to channeling Sagan.
March 6th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Grrr, can’t watch YouTube at work. Now I won’t be able to concentrate until I get home to watch this. Is this the Daily Show bit? Yes, he was incredibly inspiring there.
Again, when will you be on the Daily Show or The Colbert Report?
March 6th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Phil,
You’re right, Neil Tyson is an incredibly gifted communicator. And what a cool thing to communicate!
March 6th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
What did he say? Those of us who can’t or won’t watch youtube videos are curious.
March 6th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Absolutely inspiring.
March 6th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
A very poetic extension of Feynman’s statement when asked what he would say if we could pass on only one sentence to future generations:
“All things are made of atoms.”
March 6th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Wow.
March 6th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I ‘d like to adopt his words as mine. I almost couldn’t finish to watch the video due to the tears. As a phisics teacher I’ll use his words in my classes. Beautiful…
March 6th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
The man has a way with words, that is for certain.
March 6th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
A lot of this comes from an essay he wrote previously, that you can read here:
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2007/04/02/the-cosmic-perspective
And you’re right, he is really, really good at it!
March 6th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
When Neil (where’s the deGrasse) Tyson says we are made from star stuff he gets celebrated. When Miley Cyrus tweets that, many of her fans turn against her.
March 6th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Don’t be so hard on yourself, Phil. Tyson gets a lot of practice. That response he gave was seriously almost identical, word-for-word, to responses he’s given in the past to similar questions.
March 6th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
When I turned 58 and lost my last job to a computer program, and couldn’t get another to save my standard of living, I began surfing the internet seriously, because I had the time;
In the intervening 6 years I have learned more about the cosmos, and my place in it, than I had in the previous 58 years; to learn that I am made up of Atoms, that were only theory just over 100 years ago, and that those Atoms are made up of smaller particles, where the space between is empty, and make up the majority of an Atom’s composition, is humbling;
To learn that the very Atoms are the remains of Stars at the end of their life cycle, and how that all came about and was discovered, from the curiosity of scientists and their ingenuity in researching that curiosity, over less than 100 years, is awe inspiring;
For me, I have determined one of the things I want to do in the next 6 years, is learn the mathematics and the method of thinking that produced this Physics/Cosmology, with no other reason in view, than to see the beauty of the Cosmos, and the near future, that this beauty will be used to create by the next few generations;
We are a young civilization, barely nine thousand years old; where will we be in another nine thousand years; it boggles the mind;
March 6th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Awesome. How about that time lapse photography?
March 6th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
I like his words, to be sure. But his delivery (knowing when to pause, when to emphasize, when to accelerate or decelerate his pace, and when to summon gravitas) is why he works for me. He often treads the fine line between prose and poetry. Plus, he’s got a great sense of humor, and unflinchingly expresses opinions that may ruffle feathers. What’s not to like?
March 6th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
@12 – Because they’re idiots? Not really kidding here. Anyone who watches or listens to NDGT probably already knows something about him and is predisposed to agree with him, generally speaking (believes in scientific method, etc.). Miley Cyrus fans are probably from a wider spectrum of belief systems since her primary social outreach is not in astrophysics, but is instead….what again?
March 6th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
@ 17 artbot
it gives me hope for the future when someone of celebrity status, goes public with science;
I have heard it postulated that 50 % of western society still believes the PRE-Dawinian roots of Humanities origins, and a large percentage of people distrust anyone with a university degree, as over educated; it is little wonder at the reaction of Miley Cyrus’s Fan Base; in contrast, I am happy to have heard that she is at least open to the idea; perhaps she has influenced a few who were on the edge of reason
March 6th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
What a wonderful perspective!
March 6th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
@18 – Agreed!
March 6th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Is Mr Tyson still involved in the sequel to Cosmos? I sure hope so. I love how he talks about the universe. Amazeballs.
March 6th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
[...] wishes that on his best day he could be the kind of inspirational figure that Sagan was. In turn, Phil Plait said that on his best days he wishes he could say something like this quote from [...]
March 6th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Okay, so not the video I thought, but still a good one.
@21 Michelle, yes, Neil deGrasse Tyson is collaborating with Ann Druyan and Seth McFarlane (yes, that Seth McFarlane) on a modern update to Cosmos.
March 6th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I remember when I first learned we were made from the “guts” of stars, and I was so amazed I wrote it down so I could tell people later.
@D. Cadman (14). I like that response;that eagerness to learn, that love for learning. Were that more people displayed that love. I found your response almost as inspiring as Neil’s (maybe if you included a sound track with it…. )
March 6th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I can remember Carl Sagan saying we are made of “star stuff”.
My other favorite fact is that all people are Africans.
March 6th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Obviously not completely original, but very well said. Dr. Tyson is indeed very good at this. Dr. Plait ain’t all that bad at it either.
@12 – Kinda odd to see Miley Cyrus mentioned here.
March 6th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
@5: People who *won’t* watch YouTube videos? Where do you find such strange creatures?
March 7th, 2012 at 1:04 am
Well said, Dr. Tyson. As a human being who is now much closer to death than my birth in the distant past, this is a sentiment I’ve always hoped would be a comfort to me if I have to face the prospect of my demise. I’m not sure how I’ll react to impending death, but I sincerely hope the fact that the make-up of my body will be eventually returning to my natural state as star dust will help ease the anxiety of the grave. Being a part of this beautiful universe in any manifestation is a very cool thing. And I will thank science for giving me that small favor, I hope.
March 7th, 2012 at 2:30 am
There’s a great book for those who want the full current view of where the elements came from:
The Magic Furnace: The Search for the Origins of Atoms by Marcus Chown.
Brilliant.
March 7th, 2012 at 2:48 am
Brian (11) said:
Maybe.
But he seriously needs to learn some biology before he starts rabbiting on about the significance or otherwise of the genetic differences between us and chimps.
And the phrase “we are stardust” was Heather Couper’s trademark long before anyone had ever heard of Neil deGrasse Tyson.
March 7th, 2012 at 2:56 am
D. Cadman (14) said:
I don’t know what you are trying to say here.
Atoms are still “only” theory, since there exists no such thing as absolute empirical proof of a positive statement. (Consider, if you will, how to set about proving that the sun will rise tomorrow, or that you exist).
However, in science there is no such thing as “only” a theory.
A theory, in science, is an explanation for a phenomenon or set of phenomena that is logically consistent and is supported by observation and/or experiment. Atomic theory is supported by immense amounts of evidence, and is contradicted by none, but it will never change from being a theory, because “theory” is pretty much the pinnacle of achievement in science.
Laws, by contrast, describe how phenomena behave but do not explain them.
If you will, a law is the “how” and a theory is the “why”.
March 7th, 2012 at 5:00 am
@ 18 D Cadman
“I have heard it postulated that 50 % of western society still believes the PRE-Dawinian roots of Humanities origins”
If you mistakenly wrote “western society” when you really meant “the U.S.”, that’s almost correct; only about 40% believes evolution to be correct. In most of Europe (and last I checked we’re still part of “western society”) though, the percentage is about 80%.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_support_for_evolution:
“The US has one of the highest levels of public belief in biblical or other religious accounts of the origins of life on earth among industrialized countries”
“A study published in Science compared attitudes about evolution in the United States, 32 European countries (including Turkey) and Japan. The only country where acceptance of evolution was lower than in the United States was Turkey (25%). Public acceptance of evolution was most widespread (at over 80% of the population) in Iceland, Denmark and Sweden.”
March 7th, 2012 at 6:55 am
Excellent, excellent answer! When I taught 7th graders, I always made sure to make time to talk about this, despite the fact that it was not covered in the curriculum for Physical Science.
And does anyone else see Master Chief (Halo) in the reflection of that human eye? Pure awesome!
March 7th, 2012 at 7:17 am
I liked that he used the analogy, “their enriched guts,” contrary to BJN #2 misquoting by saying “star guts.” One of guts definitions is: essence. From its bowels, now enriched. I think Tyson stated how we are connected to the universe simply and succinctly, which is what he is good at since he mainly speaks to the non-scientist audience through public outreach.
I’d like to hear him talk about neutrinos passing through everything too. Phil, you do do this as well too, it’s just you don’t make videos with this Saganesque documentary type of speaking in a very designed video. You come off more in a kind of fun way, and that’s your style.
A nice video to wake up to in the morning. I am an atheist because it’s this type of feeling connected that comforts me enough…that we are part of the continuum of Nature. The awe of our understanding these things helps me have faith in the self-directed nature of humans. There’s always more to learn; some of us will progress in our thinking, others won’t. Thank you Dr. Tyson!
March 7th, 2012 at 7:44 am
[...] came across this video through Bad Astronomy and, wao… I thought it was great. See video below the jump, with transcript. The song is [...]
March 7th, 2012 at 8:25 am
Beautiful. As if I really needed another reason to love Neil deGrasse Tyson. I can forgive him for Pluto, because he does so much good; we need more people to listen to him!
There was a similar sentiment expressed also on Babylon 5. Delenn (Minbari ambassador) said on more than one occasion that “we are star-stuff”, and apparently it was a common sentiment among her species, which had become spacefaring long before we did. I don’t know what the most astounding fact for me is, but Tyson has picked a damn good one here. Knowing that our atoms were born in the Big Bang and in the hearts of stars and the roaring destruction of supernovas . . . that’s pretty incredible. The long journey that our constituent particles have been on, of which we are but a tiny portion. Or, the long journey that we, as this collection of particles, will continue to live, as our particles move onwards. When we have children, we gift them a small measure of ourselves, of our particles. So our particles continue on in an endless journey, and it is beautiful.
March 7th, 2012 at 9:15 am
@ Nigel:
Aww, I thought you were going to chastise him for thinking atomic theory is “only” 100 years old!
That would be news to a handful of Greeks yammering about atomoi back in the 5th Century BC!
March 7th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Tyson ’12 !!!
If more people put importance and funding into science, the world would be such a better place. We are connected on the grandest scales of the universe, yet we sit and bicker about the unbelievably small.
March 7th, 2012 at 10:47 am
Interesting, although I could’ve done without the craptastic music at the end. Coldplay, was it?
Anyway, so my question is: I know I came from the stars but where will my atoms end up? After I die and I’m cremated, my molecules will disperse and decay. And then where will my atoms go? Will they exist forever? Will they end up back in the stars somewhere?
That is truly my idea of heaven, to have a few of my atoms end up living eternally
March 7th, 2012 at 11:16 am
@ 30. Nigel Depledge and 34. kuhnigget Says:
in my uneducated way, (I have heard about those Greeks btw
) I was trying to say, that just over a hundred years ago, the “idea” of atoms was all we had, there was no experimental proof that they existed at all; it took the 20th century and the great minds of physics to determine the fact of their existence, if only by inference (Heisneburg ?) please cut me some slack eh! I didn’t get past high school, which was 1964 
when you think of the strides we have made in that 100 years, in all areas of science, and the cuts that have been made in investment in the past 30-50 years, not just in the US, (I am in Canada) but the rest of the western world, since the west won the cold war, it is still amazing the scope of change that has occurred, and will occur in the near future;
while I hope to be around for another 30 years, I believe that in my life so far, we have seen an acceleration of change that is comparable to the innovations of the Neolithic Farming revolution, 9000 years ago; I look forward to the future with great anticipation;
and no, there will be no sound track LOL but I am as passionate about the future as I am about the past, being self “educated” in both; one’s education should never need to be tied to a piece of paper, but be a life long passion; the worst thing we can do is tie a child’s mind to a piece of paper, and say, this is the sum total of your education; a child’s mind is naturally inquisitive and will roam where ever it will, unless put in a box by narrow minded individuals;
March 7th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Try listening to it again and picture the same words coming from…
William Shatner!
HA! I’ve ruined it for all
Pete
March 7th, 2012 at 11:35 am
@ Peter Eldergill:
You…must be made…to…PAY for…that!
March 7th, 2012 at 11:36 am
@ D. Cadman:
Εντάξει. Σας συγχωρώ.
March 7th, 2012 at 11:47 am
@Peter Eldergill = You sir, win teh internets. All of them.
March 7th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
People like my aunt ought to see this video, to understand that we ARE connected to the universe, despite what we may think or what dogma may say.
March 7th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Phil, if you are the “Bad Astronomer”, it must make Neil Tyson the “Awesomely Bad Astronomer”?
What a great anti-depressant.
I am privileged to be able to see it even though I am on, literally, the other side of the world to Neil.
March 8th, 2012 at 5:48 am
@ Kuhnigget (37) -
If I read comment #14 aright, that commenter was not claiming that atomic theory was 100 years old, but was saying that until 100 years ago, atoms were “only” theoretical. It is, of course, this latter point with which I take issue.
March 8th, 2012 at 5:55 am
@ D Cadman (40) -
Fair enough.
For your further edification, then:
Through much of the 19th century, there was sufficient evidence to accept the existence of atoms. In fact, it could be argued that the first convincing evidence for atoms was acquired by Antione Lavoisier in the latter half of the 18th century.
Furthermore, the first sub-atomic particle, the electron, was discovered as a discrete entity in 1896, although it had been known (as “cathode rays”) since about 1870. So it has been known for over 100 years that what we know of as atoms are not indivisible.
March 8th, 2012 at 7:01 am
Really great video!
Btw. Greeting from Poland to Phil.
March 8th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Cute video. Very beautiful images in there. What a shame that the comments are a neverending religious flamewar, though I guess that’s hardly surprising coming from Youtube comments…
March 9th, 2012 at 9:10 am
absolutely love this. Ive seen this 20 times already. I get chills everytime. NDT 2012
March 9th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
[...] Phil Plait, this completely wonderful clip from Carl Sagan’s intellectual [...]
March 10th, 2012 at 10:04 am
[...] Speaking of Science, Neil DeGrasse Tyson answered the most important question. [...]
April 13th, 2012 at 10:22 am
@2, BJN “I’m not thrilled with the metaphor of “star guts”…”
It could be worse; you could just as legitimately say, “We are all star poo.”