Neil deGrasse Tyson

[[File:Neil deGrasse Tyson - NAC Nov 2005.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Neil deGrasse Tyson in 2005.]]{{Astronomy|1}}{{cquote|We are not simply in the universe, we are part of it. We are born from it. One might even say we have been empowered by the universe to figure itself out — and we have only just begun.|||Neil DeGrasse Tyson<ref>[https://neildegrassetyson.com/essays/1998-03-the-greatest-story-ever-told/ The Greatest Story Ever Told] by Neil deGrasse Tyson (March 1998) ''Natural History''.</ref>}}
'''Neil deGrasse Tyson''' {{lived|1958|}} is an [[United States|American]] [[astrophysics|astrophysicist]] and public intellectual. Tyson is one of the most prominent advocates of [[science]] and science education in the United States today. He is also a ginormous dingus on Twitter, including telling kids [[Santa Claus|Santa]] isn't real right before Christmas.<ref>https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1474494340512636930</ref>

Tyson attended [[public school]]s before going on to earn a BA in physics from Harvard University and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia.<ref> [http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/profile Bio and Curriculum Vitae], Hayden Planetarium</ref>

Legend has it Tyson was instrumental in downgrading [[Pluto]] to the status of a [[dwarf planet]]. However, this is vehemently denied by Tyson.<ref>http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/26/2903224/dr-neil-degrasse-tyson-killing-pluto-on-the-verge</ref>

==Carl Sagan==
Tyson met the famous astronomer [[Carl Sagan]] while in high school, and credits him as an important influence. Tyson says that Sagan suggested he attend Cornell University. Tyson describes something of his experience with Dr. Sagan in the first episode of the 2014 television series ''Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey''. Tyson, as host of the series, reprises the role of Sagan from the original 1980 series: ''Cosmos, A Personal Voyage''. Near the end of the episode Tyson casually presents Sagan's 1975 desk calendar to his audience. Written in, on a day in 1975, one might see the name "Neil Tyson". The renowned astronomer had invited Tyson, a Bronx high-school student interested in astronomy, to spend a day with him in Ithaca. Tyson reports that after their day together Dr Sagan drove him to the bus station, and out of genuine kindness, offered to put him up for the night if his bus didn’t come. Dr. Tyson said: that day "I learned from Carl the kind of person I wanted to be."<ref>
{{cite news
|date=March 3, 2014|title=A Successor to Sagan Reboots 'Cosmos'
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/science/space/a-successor-to-sagan-reboots-cosmos.html?_r=0
|accessdate=March 17, 2014|publisher=New York Times
}}
</ref>

==On television==
In 2014, Tyson hosted a sequel to [[Carl Sagan]]'s ''Cosmos: A Personal Voyage'', titled ''Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.''<ref>[http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/cosmos-to-get-a-sequel-hosted-by-neil-degrasse-tyson/ Cosmos Will Get a Sequel Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson], ''Wired''</ref> Unfortunately for viewers and [[historians]] all over the world, Tyson never decided to pursue a minor in history, so he is prone to gaffes like the myth that people in the 'Dark Ages' didn't know the Earth was round<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/44rs9z/neil_degrasse_tyson_or_how_to_fight_the_flatearth/</ref> or that [[lead]] pipes killed the [[Roman Empire|Romans]].<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/23pdkk/raskhistorians_debunks_cosmos_repeating_the_lead/</ref>

He has also hosted the show ''NOVA ScienceNOW'' on [[PBS]], which discusses recent topics in science.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/about/host.html About the Series Host], PBS</ref>

He has also made frequent appearances as a guest on popular television shows, including ''[[The Daily Show]]'', ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', and ''[[Bill Maher|Real Time with Bill Maher]]''.

In an interview on [[MSNBC]], Tyson expressed his worry that we might be witnessing the "unraveling of an informed democracy."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIfc5Oo0hkc Neil deGrasse Tyson: We Are Witnessing the "Unraveling of An Informed Democracy."] MSNBC. September 20, 2017. </ref>

==Religion==
Despite frequent claims that he is an [[atheist]],<ref>Including all of us here for [http://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Neil_deGrasse_Tyson&action=history over a year.]</ref> Tyson professes to being an [[agnostic]] (particularly disliking the "in your face" attitude of [[New Atheism]]), stating: "The only 'ist' I am is a scientist."<ref>[http://bigthink.com/videos/neil-degrasse-tyson-atheist-or-agnostic-2 Neil deGrasse Tyson: Atheist or Agnostic?], Big Think (with transcript)</ref> [[Blasphemy]]! 

However, he still professes methodological [[materialism]] as necessary to scientific advancement:
{{cquote|The day you stop looking because you're content [[goddidit|Goddidit]], I don't need you in the lab. You’re useless on the frontier of understanding the nature of the world.|||Responding to a rather famous mouthspewing from [[Bill O'Reilly]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dSyT50Cs8 Neil DeGrasse Tyson Destroys Bill O'Reilly]</ref>}}

==Public life==
Tyson is well-loved by the [[Internet]], and is the driving force behind a popular [[meme]] sarcastically calling out [[Internet tough guy]]s.<ref>[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/neil-degrasse-tyson-reaction "Neil deGrasse Tyson Reaction"] on Know Your Meme</ref>

He is also all over the [[YouTube]].

Tyson also qualifies for this himself, as he was an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler. He went undefeated in high school and served as the captain of the Harvard wrestling team.<ref name="buzzfeed">[http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamesc60/11-reasons-why-neil-degrasse-tyson-is-a-badass-7r10 11 Reasons Why Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a Badass]</ref>

Neil is also known for occasionally battling [[pseudoscience]], and was targeted by rapper [[B.o.B.]] in January 2016 after Tyson responded to erroneous statements the rapper had made in which he claims the [[Flat Earth|Earth is flat]]. After B.o.B. wrote a song aimed at Tyson, Tyson and his rapper nephew Stephen responded by releasing a song titled "Flat to Fact", which debunked every point made by B.o.B. Tyson also appeared on ''The Nightly Show'', where he stated in response to B.o.B., "It's a fundamental fact of calculus and non-Euclidean geometry. Small sections of large curved surfaces will always look flat to little creatures that crawl upon it… And by the way, this is called [[gravity]]", [[Pwned|dropping his mic]].<ref>
{{cite web |title=Neil deGrasse Tyson fires back at B.o.B with epic mic drop |author=Lauren Said-Moorhouse |work=CNN |date=2016-01-29 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/29/entertainment/neil-degrasse-tyson-bob-flat-earth-twitter-spat/index.html |accessdate=2016-01-29}}
</ref> As such, he is also a common target by Flat Earthers for mockery: Flat Earthers often see Tyson as the "Eric Dubay" of the scientific community as if he were the arbiter of the idea of Earth being a sphere.

==False accounts of history, mathematics, and physics==
Tyson is known for embellishing his stories and making fallacious factual claims. This has resulted in at least one edit war in his Wikipedia page between the regular editors who preferred not to take sides and some of his fans who wanted to safeguard his reputation.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/24/what-makes-an-accusation-wiki-worthy/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3e2b90e99b7e What makes an accusation Wiki-worthy?] ''The Washington Post''. September 24, 2014. </ref>

===Bush and Star Names story===
For eight years Tyson gave an account of President [[George W. Bush]]'s 9-11 speech where Bush "attempted to distinguish we from they."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vfOpZD4Sm8&feature=youtu.be&t=3007 Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson - The Amazing Meeting 6]. ChristopherHitchslap. January 3, 2012. </ref> When Bush's actual speech was a call for tolerance and inclusion.<ref>[http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.html "Islam is Peace" Says President]. Remarks by the President at Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. September 17, 2001. </ref> It turns out that Tyson conflated Bush's eulogy for the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts with his 9-11 speech. However in neither speech did Bush attempt to distinguish Christians from Muslims.

At first Tyson was adamant his eye witness account was accurate. However with some arm twisting he admitted his error and apologized to Bush.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-admits-he-botched-bush-quote/</ref>

===Story about Newton===
Tyson tells a story about Sir [[Isaac Newton]] where a friend asked Newton about elliptical orbits. Newton went home, invented integral and differential calculus and the returned two months later with the answer. And then Newton turned 26.<ref name="man-Newton">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danYFxGnFxQ Neil deGrasse Tyson: My Man, Sir Isaac Newton]. Big Think. June 3, 2011. </ref> Edmund Halley's question about elliptical orbits is famous and well documented. When Halley visited Newton at his home in Woolsthorpe, one of the topics they discussed was whether or not an inverse-square law gives rise to elliptical orbits. Newton confidently said yes, and stated that he proved it, but could not find his proofs. He promised Halley he would find them and publish his findings, which he did.

This conversation between Halley and Newton occurred in the summer of 1684.<ref>https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsnr.1991.0013</ref> Newton was born in late 1642 according the Julian calendar or early 1643, according to the Gregorian calendar, which we now use. It seems Newton was a little older than 26 when this happened.

Tyson also credits Newton with discovering the laws of optics.<ref name="man-Newton"/> While Newton did demonstrate white light can be split by a prism, creating a rainbow, and studied Newton's rings, he did not discover the laws of the optics. Uncovering these laws had been going on for millennia prior to Newton and laws were discovered by many individuals.{{cn}}

===Orders of infinity===
When talking about orders of infinity, Tyson told Joe Rogan there are more transcendental numbers than irrational numbers.<ref name="infinity">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHtBqsGAoA&feature=youtu.be&t=1125 Joe Rogan Experience #919 - Neil deGrasse Tyson]. February 21, 2017. </ref><ref group="note">This is especially hilarious because the set of real transcendental numbers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_number#Properties is in fact contained] in the set of irrational numbers.</ref> An irrational number is one that cannot be represented as a quotient of two integers; a transcendental number is one that cannot be represented as a solution to an algebraic equation with integral coefficients. However, the set of irrational numbers and the set of transcendental numbers have the same cardinality.<ref>{{wpl|Cardinality_of_the_continuum#Sets_with_cardinality_of_the_continuum|Sets with cardinality of the continuum}}</ref> The correct statement would be, the cardinality of the set of transcendental numbers is greater than that of the irrational algebraic numbers.

He also stated there are five orders of infinity.<ref name="infinity"/> This is not true. The greatest order of infinity does not exist.

===Deflategate===
Tyson accused the New England Patriots of cheating by under inflating their footballs. However, Tyson plugged gauge pressure into the ideal gas equation instead of absolute pressure.<ref>https://news.avclub.com/neil-degrasse-tyson-bungles-science-of-deflate-gate-sca-1798276120</ref> This was a serious and public accusation and Tyson had plenty of time to review his physics and check his work. Another noted scientist who is not a Patriots Football fan to have made false statements about Deflategate is Bill Nye,<ref>http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2015/01/bill-nye-drops-ball-on-deflategate.html</ref> who also dropped the ball.

===Evolution and biology===
In May 2016, Tyson tweeted: "If there were ever a species for whom sex hurt, it surely went extinct long ago."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181111184726/https:/twitter.com/neiltyson/status/708427052433678336</ref> This simplistic view of [[evolution]] is questionable, and indeed there exist some examples of species having sex that can involve pain, body damage, or death. ''Wired'' compiled a list of candidates in response to Tyson's tweet.<ref>{{cite web|title=[https://www.wired.com/2016/03/hey-neil-degrasse-tyson-animals-not-great-sex/ Hey, Neil deGrasse Tyson, These Animals Have Sex That Hurts]|source=Wired}}</ref> Less seriously, Tyson also tweeted, "If Batman wants so badly to be a bat, he might be more intriguing if (like Marvel’s Daredevil) he were also blind, like a Bat."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190202121853/https:/twitter.com/neiltyson/status/713432818865418240</ref> But bats are not blind, and their sight can be up to three times better than that of humans.<ref>{{cite web|title=[https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141031-bats-myths-vampires-animals-science-halloween/ 6 Bat Myths Busted: Are They Really Blind?]|source=National Geographic}}</ref>

==Accusations of sexual misconduct==
In 2018, Tyson received allegations of sexual misconduct on a blog post published on Patheos.<ref name="patheos2">[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nosacredcows/2018/11/two-more-women-accuse-neil-degrasse-tyson-of-sexual-misconduct/ Two More Women Accuse Neil deGrasse Tyson of Sexual Misconduct]. Patheos. Blogs. No Sacred Cows. November 29, 2018. </ref> He was investigated by Fox and National Geographic Networks, which broadcast the show ''Cosmos''.<ref>[https://www.apnews.com/e309d92d0737475391d2878d52b9d2d1 Neil deGrasse Tyson investigated by Fox, NatGeo Networks]. Associated Press. November 30, 2018. </ref>

Three women have accused Tyson of sexual misconduct:

*Tchiya Amet, a "musician, healer, and teacher"<ref>https://tchiya.wordpress.com/about/</ref> said she studied Galactic Astronomy in the graduate program at the University of Texas in Austin and she wanted to become the first black female astronaut. She claimed she was a grad student at the same time Tyson was there, and that he drugged and raped her. She also said Tyson was the reason she failed to realize her dream of becoming an astrophysicist, and accused him of telling students they could pass Astronomy 101 if they gave him a [[oral sex|blow job]].<ref name="patheos1">{{cite web|title=[https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nosacredcows/2017/10/neil-degrasse-tyson-accused-of-rape/ Neil DeGrasse Tyson Accused of Raping a Former Student]|work=Patheos|date=October 25, 2017}}</ref>  She filed a police report 30 years after when she said the incident took place.<ref>https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-woman-who-accused-neil-degrasse-tyson-of-sexual-assault-shares-her-story/</ref>  This was beyond the statute of limitations, which she likely knew, and the case wasn't further investigated by authorities.

*Dr. Katelyn N. Allers, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Bucknell University<ref>https://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~kna003/</ref> said that she was "felt up" by Tyson at an after-party following a meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in 2009. Precisely, she said that: "Tyson was there, and he was dancing and drinking and all of that at the party, so a friend and I decided to get pictures with him [...] After we had taken the picture, he noticed my tattoo and kind of grabbed me to look at it, and was really obsessed about whether I had Pluto on this tattoo or not… and then he looked for Pluto, and followed the tattoo into my dress." AAS didn’t have a mechanism for reporting sexual harassment at the time, but Dr. Allers says she probably would report the incident if it had happened today.<ref name="patheos2"/>

*Ashley Watson, a former assistant and driver of Tyson said she quit her job due to what she considered to be inappropriate behavior on his part.<ref name="NPR"/>

*An anonymous woman told BuzzFeed News that in January 2010, she joined her then-boyfriend at a holiday party for employees of the American Museum of Natural History and Tyson, drunkenly approached her, making sexual jokes and propositioning her to join him alone in his office.<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/azeenghorayshi/neil-degrasse-tyson-sexual-allegations-four-women Nobody Believed Neil deGrasse Tyson's First Accuser. Now There Are Three More]|work=BuzzFeed News|date=December 5, 2018}}</ref>

After these accusations, Fox Entertainment Group and the producers of the television series "Cosmos" said they were investigating the celebrity astrophysicist.<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2018/12/01/neil-degrasse-tyson-under-investigation-after-accusations-sexual-misconduct/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3d5e0b1772dc Neil deGrasse Tyson under investigation after accusations of sexual misconduct]|work=Washington Post|date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> Tyson denied the accusations<ref>{{cite web|title=[https://www.facebook.com/notes/neil-degrasse-tyson/on-being-accused/10156870826326613/ On Being Accused]|work=Neil deGrasse Tyson's Facebook page|date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> and said he would cooperate fully with an "impartial investigation."<ref name="NPR">[https://www.npr.org/2018/12/02/672643776/neil-degrasse-tyson-responds-to-claims-of-sexual-harassment Neil DeGrasse Tyson Rejects Claims Of Sexual Misconduct]. NPR. December 2, 2018. </ref> No evidence for any of these accusations has been presented.<ref name="patheos1"/> Tyson was eventually cleared and ''Cosmos'' would premier in fall of 2020.<ref>https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/07/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-cleared-nyc/</ref>

==See also==
{{div col}}
*[[Richard Feynman]]
*[[Stephen Hawking]]
*[[Lawrence Krauss]]
*[[Carl Sagan]]
*[[Bill Nye]]
*[[Mike_Bara#Opinions_of_working_scientists|Mike Bara's opinion]] of Tyson
{{div col end}}

==External links==
*[http://www.amnh.org/our-research/hayden-planetarium The Great Sphere], go visit
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEl9kVl6KPc Tyson] on [[Intelligent design|stupid design]]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aadYN5OPKN8 Tyson opens up a Saturn V replica]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU The Most Astounding Fact]

==Notes==
{{notelist|1}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Neil deGrasse}}

[[Category:Agnostics]]
[[Category:Astronomers]]
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[[Category:Physicists]]
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[[Category:Popular science]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
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[[Category:Academia]]

Categories: Agnostics, Astronomers, Authors, Physicists, Living people, Popular science, Scientists, Skeptics, Academia