Scientific literacy is an intellectual vaccine against the claims of charlatans who would exploit ignorance. Neil deGrasse Tyson More Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson More Quotes From Neil deGrasse Tyson Kids are never the problem. They are born scientists. The problem is always the adults. They beat the curiosity out of kids. They outnumber kids. They vote. They wield resources. That's why my public focus is primarily adults. Neil deGrasse Tyson mind-blowingfocuskids Everything we do, every thought we've ever had, is produced by the human brain. But exactly how it operates remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries, and it seems the more we probe its secrets, the more surprises we find. Neil deGrasse Tyson mysterysecretbrain Doing what has never been done before is intellectually seductive, whether or not we deem it practical. Neil deGrasse Tyson practicalsseductivedone But the moment the politicians start saying they are in denial of what the scientists are telling them, of what the consensus of scientific experiments demonstrates, that is the beginning of the end of an informed democracy. Neil deGrasse Tyson denialdemocracymoments Once you have an innovation culture, even those who are not scientists or engineers - poets, actors, journalists - they, as communities, embrace the meaning of what it is to be scientifically literate. They embrace the concept of an innovation culture. They vote in ways that promote it. They don't fight science and they don't fight technology. Neil deGrasse Tyson technologycommunityfighting ... there is no shame in not knowing. The problem arises when irrational thought and attendant behavior fill the vacuum left by ignorance. Neil deGrasse Tyson mind-blowingignoranceknowing The day we stop exploring is the day we commit ourselves to live in a stagnant world, devoid of curiosity, empty of dreams. Neil deGrasse Tyson dreaminspirationalscience Many people feel small because they're small and the universe is big, but I feel big. Neil deGrasse Tyson night-skybigspeople Perhaps we’ve never been visited by aliens because they have looked upon earth and decided there’s no sign of intelligent life. Neil deGrasse Tyson intelligentaliensearth I would teach how science works as much as I would teach what science knows. I would assert (given that essentially, everyone will learn to read) that science literacy is the most important kind of literacy they can take into the 21st century. I would undervalue grades based on knowing things and find ways to reward curiosity. In the end, it's the people who are curious who change the world. Neil deGrasse Tyson curiosityknowingpeople My view is that if your philosophy is not unsettled daily then you are blind to all the universe has to offer. Neil deGrasse Tyson technologyphilosophyscience ... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of nothing have neither looked for, nor stumbled upon, the boundary between what is known and unknown in the cosmos. Neil deGrasse Tyson ignorancebelievepeople The universe has really never made things in ones. The Earth is special and everything else is different? No, we’ve got seven other planets. The sun? No, the sun is one of those dots in the night sky. The Milky Way? No, it’s one of a hundred billion galaxies. And the universe - maybe it’s countless other universes. Neil deGrasse Tyson specialskynight Where ignorance lurks, so too do the frontiers of discovery and imagination Neil deGrasse Tyson ignoranceimaginationdiscovery One should not be too distracted by definitions. Ideas transcend definitions. Neil deGrasse Tyson definitionsshouldideas The day that you stop looking - because you're content God did it - I don't need you in the lab. You're useless on the frontier of understanding the nature of the world. Neil deGrasse Tyson labsi-dont-need-youunderstanding If you find life on Europa [Jupiter's moon], like, what would you call it? Would it be, like, Europeans? Neil deGrasse Tyson jupitermoonifs When scientifically investigating the natural world, the only thing worse than a blind believer is a seeing denier. Neil deGrasse Tyson blindnaturalworld The greatest of people in society carve niches that represent the unique expression of their combinations of talents. If everyone had the luxury of expressing the unique combination of talents in this world, our society would be transofrmed over night. Neil deGrasse Tyson uniqueexpressionnight It's quite literally true that we are star dust, in the highest exalted way one can use that phrase. ...I bask in the majesty of the cosmos. I use words, compose sentences that sound like the sentences I hear out of people that had revelation of Jesus, who go on their pilgrimages to Mecca. Neil deGrasse Tyson duststarsjesus
