Neil deGrasse Tyson — How to Dream Big, Think Scientifically, and Get More Done (#389)

“What matters is: Are you a good problem solver? Are you moral? Are you a hard worker? Are you a good leader? Do you have insights into the field? These are the questions that matter.”

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) was appointed the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium in 1996. Dr. Tyson’s professional research interests are primarily related to the structure of the Milky Way galaxy, and the formation of stars, supernovas, and dwarf galaxies.

Dr. Tyson graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, received his BA from Harvard, and earned his PhD in astrophysics from Columbia University in 1991. In 2001 he was appointed by President Bush to serve on the 12-member Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. In 2004 Dr. Tyson received a second appointment from President Bush, this time to the nine-member President’s Commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy (dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission). In 2016 he was appointed by the US secretary of defense to be an advisor to the DoD on the future of sci-tech innovation.

Dr. Tyson has been awarded 21 honorary degrees as well as the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, and he has authored multiple books on the universe, including Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status.

His newest book is Letters from an Astrophysicist, a companion to his 2017 bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Since 2006 Dr. Tyson has appeared as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW. He also hosts a popular radio show and podcast called StarTalk in addition to the Emmy-nominated StarTalk TV show on National Geographic.

In 2014 Dr. Tyson hosted a reboot of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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Want to hear another episode with a curious mind dedicated to science? — Listen to my conversation with Bob Metcalfe, the man behind ethernet, Metcalfe’s Law, and more. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Connect with Neil deGrasse Tyson:

Website | StarTalk | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

• Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
• The American Museum of Natural History
• The Hayden Planetarium
• List of the Constellations, in-the-sky.org
• Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Mom Explains How to Raise a Brilliant Child, WNYC
• Light Pollution Map
• Van Cortlandt Park
• Escape from New York
• ‘I Lived in New York in the ’70s. Is NYC Safe These Days?’ StreetEasy
• The Legacy of the 1968 Riots, The Guardian
• Carl Sagan on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, May 20th, 1977, YouTube
• Cassini Spacecraft, NASA
• Neil deGrasse Tyson on Today with Matt Lauer, YouTube
• ChapStick
• You Can Watch Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ Marathon Right Now, for Free, Big Think
• Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
• Life’s Work: An Interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Harvard Business Review
• Why Do People Say the Moon is Made of Cheese? Mental Floss
• Oxford English Dictionary
• Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks by Ben Goldacre
• Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson
• How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff and Irving Geis
• The Pulitzer Prizes
• The Inspiring Story of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Life-Changing First Encounter with Carl Sagan, Business Insider
• Coin Pusher, The Gameological Society
• Spinning Plate Tricks, Juggling World
• StarDate Magazine
• Merlin’s Tour of the Universe: A Skywatcher’s Guide to Everything from Mars and Quasars to Comets, Planets, Blue Moons, and Werewolves by Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Just Visiting This Planet: Merlin Answers More Questions about Everything under the Sun, Moon, and Stars by Neil deGrasse Tyson
• Starman: Neil deGrasse Tyson, the New Guide to the Cosmos, The New Yorker
• Timothy Ferriss Wants You to Be Better, Faster, Stronger, The New Yorker
• Harvard University
• Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, January 18th, 2011, Comedy Central
• Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Colbert Report, June 29th, 2009, Comedy Central
• On Not Having a Mistress in Argentina, The Trek
• Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, May 1st, 2017, Desus & Mero
• Wu Tang Clan
• Stonehenge
• The Almagest: Introduction to the Mathematics of the Heavens by Claudius Ptolemy
• Who Exactly Was Dom Perignon? VinePair
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
• In Search of Desiderata, Poetry Foundation
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Dancing with the Stars, YouTube

SHOW NOTES

• As a naturally curious teenager already on track to pursue a career in science, who influenced young Neil to excel at communicating and sharing what he learned with the world in such an engaging way? [07:05]
• When Neil and his siblings were growing up, how did their ambitious parents actively encourage their intellectual development through free expression of interest — and what were the results? [11:07]
• City life versus suburban life: Why Neil is glad he grew up in the “learning laboratory” of New York City — even when it was at its statistically unsafest — instead of the suburbs. [16:42]
• “Active in professionally relieving the suffering of others,” how did Neil’s parents relate to and nurture their son’s budding interest in astrophysics? [25:50]
• The bookstore’s remainder table is great for parents who want to buy their kids something to read at a fabulous discount. But how is an author supposed to feel when his or her books wind up there? [27:48]
• On Carl Sagan and his magnificent ability to communicate complex ideas to the layperson, and how Neil strives to do the same — especially when faced with morning talk show hosts who try to stump him with “gotcha” questions. [29:16]
• The links between Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and Neil’s own 2014 follow-up, and why they’re atypical of what people usually think of as documentaries. [35:46]
• How can schools and workplaces emphasize curiosity so that learning becomes a lifelong pursuit? [38:26]
• Books or resources Neil recommends for people who would like to develop their ability to look at the world through a more intellectually curious lens. [45:16]
• The problem with Pulitzer Prize-driven journalism in the “ratty, bloody, bleeding” research frontier of science where most things are wrong. [50:10]
• When happened when 17-year-old Neil’s application to Cornell was forwarded to Carl Sagan, and how the meeting that followed codified what kind of scientist Neil would aspire to become, and the humanity he would endeavor to carry with him in his interactions with others. [53:47]
• What lesson does Neil hope to most instill in students, why is it better to take a harder class even at the risk of a lower grade than an easy class for a guaranteed A, and what book of his own would he sign for them in “homage to Carl?” [57:49]
• With so many potential projects on his desk at any given time, what inspired the decision for Neil to write his latest book, Letters from an Astrophysicist, now? [1:01:33]
• Neil’s “overbooking” method of dealing with projects, his time management techniques for minimizing selfie requests on the subway and answering emails during interstices, and what his wife does to help him filter out the unessential. [1:09:00]
• What does the communication process look like when Neil has to back out and break the bad news to one of his overbooked commitments? [1:13:55]
• Neil and I agree that being written about should have, in addition to a fact-checking phase, an impression-checking phase. [1:17:17]
• Why Neil used a spreadsheet to decide on Harvard for his undergraduate studies. [1:19:07]
• How Neil studied past episodes of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to prepare for his first appearance and ensure the information he was trying to deliver didn’t get lost between the comedy. [1:19:32]
• Neil shares a few of his favorite failures and awkward pauses. [1:22:35]
• Neil may not have had the highest GPA in his high school class, but he was far from being the “mediocre” student some sources claim. And if you want to fight him about it, just be aware that he was an undefeated wrestler (until college). [1:28:10]
• A few of Neil’s favorite quotes. [1:35:38]
• Parting thoughts. [1:43:47]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

• Sunchita Tyson
• Cyril D. Tyson
• Stephen J. Tyson
• Lynn Tyson
• Redd Foxx
• John Lindsay
• Alice Young
• Carl Sagan
• Albert Einstein
• Isaac Newton
• Stephen Hawking
• Johnny Carson
• Jay Leno
• Jimmy Fallon
• Ann Druyan
• Steve Soter
• Bertrand Russell
• Ben Goldacre
• Barack Obama
• Jon Stewart
• Beyonce
• Stephen Colbert
• Mark Sanford
• GZA
• Claudius Ptolemy
• Zeus
• Galileo Galilei
• Dom Perignon
• Scott Fitzgerald
• Max Ehrmann

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