There are photons that have been traveling for 30,000 years, and I'm... snatching them from this journey and planting them into my digital detector. And then I started feeling bad for the photon, and I said maybe it wanted to continue but I got in its way. But then I said, no, those are probably happier photons than the one that slammed into the mountainside that will go unanalyzed and will not contribute to the depth of our understanding of the universe.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

empowering knowing thinking

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

bad-ass science believe

The problem in society is not kids not knowing science. The problem is adults not knowing science. They outnumber kids 5 to 1, they wield power, they write legislation. When you have scientifically illiterate adults, you have undermined the very fabric of what makes a nation wealthy and strong.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

strong writing kids

I love being wrong because that means in that instant, I learned something new that day.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

something-new love-is mean

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And along the way, lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

motivational philosophy happy-life

We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

atoms nature important

Claiming there is no other life in the universe is like scooping up some water, looking at the cup and claiming there are no whales in the ocean.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

whales ocean water

The molecules that comprise our body are traceable to the crucibles of the centers of stars.These atoms and molecules are in us because, in fact, the universe is in us. And, we are not only figuratively, but literally, stardust.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

molecules crucible stars

God displayed a sense of humor when he configured the region between our legs an entertainment complex built around a sewage system.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

sense-of-humor legs entertainment

Knowledge of the natural world and how it works should be counted as fundamental to informed governance. You can't have a functioning democracy, if the electorate is under-informed or, worse, mis-informed.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

democracy fundamentals world

The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

chalk i-hate-you inspirational

One thing in life is for certain, the more profoundly baffled you have been in your life, the more open your mind becomes to new ideas.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

things-in-life science ideas

People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey schoolteacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah's ark carried dinosaurs. This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it's about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

bad-ass teacher people

I know of no time in human history where ignorance was better than knowledge.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

humans ignorance knows

Need a distraction today? Not only does 12 + 1 = 11 + 2, but the letters "twelve plus one" rearrange to give you "eleven plus two."

Neil deGrasse Tyson

mind-blowing giving two

If you're really successful at bullshitting, it means you're not hanging around enough people smarter than you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

liars mean lying

The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars that manufactured them in their cores and exploded these enriched ingredients across our galaxy, billions of years ago. For this reason, we are biologically connected to every other living thing in the world. We are chemically connected to all molecules on Earth. And we are atomically connected to all atoms in the universe. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

molecules stars years

If factual information upsets you, then you are creating a world that is not embracing objective truths, and that's not how you advance a democracy.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

upset creating democracy

We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

molecules energy beauty

There are no wild, seedless watermelons. There's no wild cows... You list all the fruit, and all the vegetables, and ask yourself, is there a wild counterpart to this? If there is, it's not as large, it's not as sweet, it's not as juicy, and it has way more seeds in it. We have systematically genetically modified all the foods, the vegetables and animals that we have eaten ever since we cultivated them. It's called artificial selection.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

vegetables animal sweet