Stephen Colbert interview of Astrophysicist Niel Degrasse Tyson

1/23/2014

Today we watched a video in which Stephen Colbert interviewed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about science and it's relationship with our society and culture. Here is the video:

In the comments section below. Please share any thoughts, questions, or things that struck you, including the quote that you wrote in class. Feel free to post as much as you want, or to respond to your peers.

Note: You cannot post a quote that someone else has already posted. If needed, watch again to get another one. There are plenty!

70 Comments

Gerardo Flores

1/23/2014 07:52:17 am

My favorite quote from this video was also quoted and it is "You think education is expensive, well what is the cost of ignorance?"

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:46:39 pm

A very interesting quote - to wonder how much we lose from not having things we do not know or aware of. It really makes a case for education and learning.

Victoria Delgadillo

1/23/2014 08:18:10 am

"Part of who we are is what we know."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:49:44 pm

I enjoyed the dialogue this quote came from, namely the part about how people need to re-evaluate their identities if they learn something that "doesn't jive" with what they know.

Rodrigo Perez

1/23/2014 09:02:51 am

"At the end of the day, it's not the discovery that's mortal, but the application."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:37:37 pm

immoral?

Michael Uppenkamp

1/23/2014 09:14:56 am

My favorite quote was " Its the beginning of the end of our culture"

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:41:25 pm

"It's" a bold statement, but relevant.

Jessica Hoffman

1/23/2014 09:17:59 am

my favorite quote he said was "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's bad for you." This really struck me because it is something you can take into the real world. It isn't just for science. It is more about your perspective on life.

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:37:04 pm

It's great that you made that connection!

Elena Hoffman

1/23/2014 09:23:31 am

Here is a paraphrased version of a quote that didn't necessarily change my manner of thinking, or my perspective on science, but is one I found highly amusing, and rather true: "If the asteroid hits Earth in 2036, lands in the Pacific Ocean, and causes a tsunami that destroys the West Coast, it's likely people won't die because they will have had enough warning ahead of time to evacuate. Only two people are likely to die. One will be the idiot surfer who will attempt to surf the tsunami, and the other will be the weatherman trying to broadcast in front of it!"

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:43:33 pm

Humor usually requires a bit of truth, no?

Erica

1/23/2014 09:52:07 am

A quote that Dr. Tyson said that stroke me was, "I don't want to blame the knowledge, I want to blame their reactions in the presence of knowledge."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:42:23 pm

I like this quote a lot also. It really emphasizes the connection of science to society - how we collectively share responsibility for our actions.

oscar hernandez

1/23/2014 09:53:42 am

we found methane on mars and water on the moon

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:40:10 pm

Nice paraphrase. Do you think there is life on Mars?

Krystal

1/23/2014 10:10:37 am

"Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it's not true."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:53:49 pm

so true

Paul Is not my name

1/23/2014 10:18:03 am

"Celebrate don't fear"

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:51:23 pm

Could be a philosophy in itself.

Tiffany La

1/23/2014 10:26:16 am

Steven Colbert: "Is it better to know or not to know?"
Dr. Tyson: "I think it's better TO know."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:54:20 pm

agreed

Drew Dagley

1/23/2014 10:37:45 am

My favorite quote was "The world is not this or that, its not just a planet"

Andrew

1/23/2014 01:04:34 pm

? was that the quote?

Melody

1/23/2014 10:51:18 am

My favorite quote from this interview was, "We are not just part of the universe; the universe is in us."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:59:30 pm

So profound! I believe this fact was made popular by Carl Sagan, who wrote the original Cosmos series. Later this semester we'll watch the new Cosmos series, hosted by none other than Niel Degrasse Tyson!

Nikki

1/23/2014 11:32:55 am

I don't remember the exact quote but I really liked when he said, "Discounting is just as lazy as accepting" and "If you start wielding a hammer, all your problems start to look like nails" and "Just cause you don't know how it works, doesn't mean it's bad for you"

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:57:49 pm

Great quotes! Each of these could be a seminar debate. I picked out the first and second one as my choices last semester. Good work.

Diego Ruiz

1/23/2014 11:45:26 am

I dont remember the exact quote but i liked when he talked about the kids ''experimenting'' by getting dirty etc it struck me because i really didn't think about that till i saw the interview

Andrew

1/23/2014 01:02:56 pm

A testament to the fact that we learn all the time, everyday, no matter what we are doing. You are in control of your learning - not school, teachers, or anything else. All you need is curiosity. We're just here to help.

Sofia Angulo

1/23/2014 12:01:32 pm

"The beauty in it that was so simple, you take it for granted." - Dr. Tyson

Andrew

1/23/2014 01:03:56 pm

Poetry and Science - that could be a cool project!

Sam Merino-Herzog

1/23/2014 12:26:27 pm

"You can draw your own conclusion, not just have them handed to you."

Andrew

1/23/2014 12:38:18 pm

here here!

Amanda

1/23/2014 01:00:09 pm

"...Shows you the beauty in the simplicity of something you take for granted"
I really connected to this quote because now when I look at a simple object for example; a pencil or piece of cloth, and think about the science in it, it makes it look like a whole new thing. Kind of like an art piece that is in every object around us.

Andrew

1/23/2014 01:06:00 pm

Dorothy R.

1/23/2014 01:03:46 pm

"They blame the scientists for [the bad things that happen from discoveries]! They are part of the same society!" "Every scientist has a politician funding them."

Andrew

1/23/2014 01:07:29 pm

Again - an emphasis that we are all in this together, and we share a collective responsibility.

Sophie Rickless

1/23/2014 01:38:04 pm

Well, practically everything that comes out of Neil deGrasse Tyson's mouth is a profound statement, but I'll try to pick my favorites that haven't been mentioned:
-"Science is magic to those who don't understand"
-"[Science] is a way of equipping yourself to determine what happens in front of you.... It's a utility belt"
-"[Science is a] vaccine against the charlatans of the world"
The first was my favorite of all, because the truth rings so clearly there. Think of any science fiction book you've ever read. What if I Robot were real? What if you were in the second Back to the Future? Science IS a kind of magic. This computer is magic. My phone is magic. My shower, my laundry machine, my tv--all magic. I don't really understand any of it, I just accept it quietly and get on with life. But what would my phone look like to Isaac Newton? To Amerigo Vespucci? To Nefertiti? I am carrying little bits of magic around with me every day like it's nothing.

One thing the video really got me curious about though, was what if gaining this knowledge requires human rights infringements, like experiments on diseases completed by the Nazis? We gained incredibly useful knowledge from this, but of course those experiments could never be completed in modern-day america due to the pain, suffering, and even death that was their conclusion. What, then, is our course of action? Isn't it better then NOT to know? Could the benefits ever outweigh that awful sacrifice?

Deryk

1/23/2014 01:43:23 pm

where he said something along the lines of "E=mc^2 is so simple but it applies to extremely complex things".

Sabrina San Vicente

1/23/2014 02:05:35 pm

My favorite quote was actually said within the first few minutes of the video. Stephen Colbert was explaining why he enjoys interviewing Niel Degrasse Tyson and said, "I love that he loves what he doesn't know." I immediately realized that that is what I think every scientist should have in the back of their mind, to take what they don't know and let that drive them to figure it out. I think that you should use what you do know as a tool to help you investigate what you don't yet understand.

jose vizcaino

1/23/2014 02:10:26 pm

"Not only will they not be on that frontier making discoveries, their not in a position to enhance their life for having access to those discoveries themselves

Areanna

1/23/2014 02:12:58 pm

One of my favorite quotes from this interview is "That absence of understanding or misunderstanding of the power of science is what makes people afraid of it.", and I really think this statement captures the mentality of a lot of ill-informed people. Sometimes, when a concept is very complex it can be intimidating, which makes people scared to know more because the truth of science can be very different from your everyday lifestyle. I believe that this is where, for some, the learning stops and people turn to ignorance for security.

Jonathan Worley

1/23/2014 02:33:14 pm

Referring to e=mc^2:

Colbert: "But what is beautiful about it to you?"

Tyson: "It's simple. It's simple, yet it accounts for hugely complex things, and for me, that is where the beauty lies in the truth."

Becca Jones

1/23/2014 02:52:57 pm

My favorite quote from Tyson's interview was in the beginning when he was asked, "Is it better to know or not to know?" Tyson's response was blunt; stating it is better to know, although it's debatable. But it intrigued me when he added, "It empowers you to react and possibly even do something about it if something about it needs to be done".

Monica S.

1/23/2014 03:00:58 pm

"Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean its bad for you."

Victor Velez

1/23/2014 10:23:47 pm

I really thought that was a fascinating quote it gets your mind really thinking

Victor Velez

1/23/2014 10:22:14 pm

Can Knowledge be a bad thing?
Answer: No

Monica B.

1/24/2014 12:54:31 am

I forgot exactly he said it. "I don't want someone who goes of facts, I want someone who can figure something out"

Richard C.

1/26/2014 07:04:44 am

"just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that it's bad for you"

Torrey Haselbeck

1/27/2014 04:54:48 am

“The chemist has no understanding of the periodic table of elements without quantum mechanics”

This is the quote I picked because I also don't have a good understanding of the periodic table at all and I want to learn more about it. I honestly never payed attention when we talked about the periodic table of elements in middle school so I really don't know how we are going to start. The questions that were brought up in my mind when I heard this quote in the video were "what are quantum mechanics?" and "how do you learn the periodic table and how to add together elements.

Matt Wurth

1/27/2014 05:51:46 am

My favorite quote was when he said "Just because you don't understand it does not mean it's not true.

Kristine

1/27/2014 09:36:44 am

My favorite quote was when he said "We knew that we are stardust at the middle of the twentieth century that connects us to be the universe like no other fact.... that's beautiful" Another quote that I liked was "Knowledge empowers you to react."

Noah Baker

1/27/2014 12:40:55 pm

My favorite quote is definitely "Just because you dont understand it doesn't mean it's not true." definitely have said this a few times

Tiger

1/29/2014 11:11:01 pm

I don't remember it word for word, but it was something like "It's better to know, rather than not to know, so that we can brace ourselves for the future"

Amichai Alpert

1/30/2014 01:07:12 am

There must be a multiverse.

Andrew

2/5/2014 04:09:49 am

Did he say this?

Jake Schroeder

1/30/2014 01:08:14 am

"If they are at maximum comfort with their ignorance, they will become disenfranchised."-Neil Tyson

Jake

1/30/2014 01:11:36 am

I chose this quote because a lot of people are ok with not knowing, and that is fine seeing as it is their loss.

Jazzay Buncom

1/30/2014 01:11:59 am

"Not only are we in the universe, the universe is in us."

Alan Rivera

1/30/2014 01:16:10 am

'Discoveries that have changed our point of view of our universe that we are not aware of"

Julian

1/30/2014 01:25:20 am

"Go to the points of your exploration and go further, You are bound to find something new."

Jazzay Buncom

1/30/2014 01:25:45 am

"I think we as a society, as a democracy, should come to some understanding of what the prevailing social morals are and science should not cross those barriers."

Brian Dominguez

1/30/2014 01:30:12 am

" You think education is expensive, well what is the cost of ignorance? "

Jorge Cortez

1/30/2014 01:37:44 am

The quote that stuck me the most from the interview was this one: "So the first step for the parents is to get out of the way allow the child to explore".

Nicholas Maciel

1/30/2014 03:17:34 am

Steven Colbert: "What is the most beautiful thing that you know in science?"
Neil DeGrasse Tyson: B=mc2
I like this quote because he was able to answer the question that Mr.Colbert had asked. I was surprised that Mr.Tyson would answer the question with that, knowing all the things that he knows

Kiara Spann

1/30/2014 05:39:26 am

My favorite quote was "We are not just in the universe, the universe is in use"

Kiara Spann

1/30/2014 06:03:04 am

I like this quote because he talked about how the universe has a lot of molecules floating around and how some of the molecules make up us as in humans. So we are literally in the universe as the universe is in us.

Uziel Barrientos

1/30/2014 11:21:14 am

"Who we are now is what we know"

Lulu

3/4/2014 12:49:41 pm

"The more we learn about the universe, the smaller we get."
I love this quote because it really does make me think and feel and realize that we are really not that big.

Stephen Colbert interview of Astrophysicist Niel Degrasse Tyson

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