In the first year of a child's life we teach them to walk and talk. And then for the rest of their lives we want them to sit down and be quiet.
Neil deGrasse TysonJust before I said I wanted to be an astronomer I said I wanted to be a baseball player. I was quite athletic at the time, probably because I was bigger than other kids, and if you're bigger than other kids and you're 11 you win everything.
Neil deGrasse TysonI'm not writing for myself. I'm writing as an educator, I'm writing to stimulate others.
Neil deGrasse TysonAs a child, I was aware that, at night, infrared vision would reveal monsters hiding in the bedroom closet only if they were warm-blooded. But everybody knows that your average bedroom monster is reptilian and cold-blooded.
Neil deGrasse TysonSome claim evolution is just a theory. As if it were merely an opinion. The theory of evolution, like the theory of gravity, is a scientific fact. Evolution really happened. Accepting our kinship with all life on Earth is not only solid science. In my view, itโs also a soaring spiritual experience.
Neil deGrasse TysonImagine a life-form whose brainpower is to ours as ours is to a chimpanzeeโs. To such a species, our highest mental achievements would be trivial. Their toddlers, instead of learning their ABCs on Sesame Street, would learn multivariable calculus on Boolean Boulevard. Our most complex theorems, our deepest philosophies, the cherished works of our most creative artists, would be projects their schoolkids bring home for Mom and Dad to display on the refrigerator door.
Neil deGrasse Tyson