The history of exploration across nations and across time is not one where nations said, 'Let's explore because it's fun.' It was, 'Let's explore so that we can claim lands for our country, so that we can open up new trade routes; let's explore so we can become more powerful.'
Neil deGrasse TysonThere are books on my shelf that I'm not into. They are things I don't know anything about yet. It's going to lead me off into a new place. The books don't represent an interest; they represent a source of my ignorance.
Neil deGrasse TysonScience is not there for you to cherry pick ... You can decide whether or not to believe in it but that doesnโt change the reality of an emergent scientific truth.
Neil deGrasse TysonBut to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of twenty miles per second, required a fraction of a second. No offense to Grand Canyon lovers, but for my money, Meteor Crater is the most amazing natural landmark in the world.
Neil deGrasse TysonDoing what has never been done before is intellectually seductive, whether or not we deem it practical.
Neil deGrasse TysonThe school system is constructed to praise you if you get high grades. And if you get straight A's, you're the one that everyone puts forward, and they prognosticate that the straight-A person is the one most likely to succeed, because that's the way the school system is constructed and conceived.
Neil deGrasse Tyson