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Neil deGrasse Tyson - An Interview Conveying the Excitement of Science

Yet another goodie from YouTube which I stumbled on this afternoon.

Suffice to say, everything and I mean EVERYTHING I had previously thought about Neil deGrasse Tyson was not only confirmed but enhanced and celebrated with the playful interaction between Neil and Steven Colbert, who at least attempts to conduct this interview.

Yes, it is a long piece, but it is SO worth your time, particularly the Q&A at the end of the video and particularly the last question and Tyson's comprehensive answer to that question. Please take the time to watch this ... and if you aren't wearing a smile not just from the humor but from the excitement that Tyson has for his field of science and for science in general ... well, I can't help you!

I CAN help you get to the meat of the show, though: skip to 6:15 to get to the business at hand. ENJOY!

Tags: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Steven Colbert

5 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on March 2, 2012 at 8:00pm

Loren! This was splendid! They had me laughing and thinking so hard my head and stomach aches. A great find!

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 2, 2012 at 8:08pm

Utterly agreed! I don't care how much you know or don't know about science. If you can't enjoy this interview, SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOU!

Permalink Reply by AtheistTech on March 2, 2012 at 8:23pm

I love it when Dr. Tyson gets on a roll tearing non-science a new a-hole.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 2, 2012 at 8:29pm

No kidding! He does it with brio and he does it with THE FACTS ... and he's liable to make you laugh even if you disagree with him! Tyson is SUCH A HOOT!

Permalink Reply by AtheistTech on March 2, 2012 at 8:36pm

I have the greatest respect for Dr. Carl Sagan, and now that he is gone, Dr. Tyson more than fills the void. Dr. Tyson has earned more respect from me than Dr. Sagan did.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 2, 2012 at 8:49pm

And as I hear it, Tyson is set to do something akin to an updated version of Cosmos. I ... Can't ... WAIT!!!!

Permalink Reply by annet on March 2, 2012 at 10:02pm

Gilligan's island. LOL.

He was on NPR's Science Friday today and was his usual fascinating self.

Permalink Reply by Tony Carroll on March 3, 2012 at 11:14am

Simply put, the most brillant man in any room he is in. He explains things that a non-scientist like me can actually understand. Splendid!

Permalink Reply by Idaho Spud on March 3, 2012 at 1:41pm

Wonderful! Thanks for posting this Loren. I've loved science all my life, but I learned several new things from Neil in this video.

Permalink Reply by Nontheist Central on March 30, 2012 at 3:07pm

I watched this quite a while ago and I have to say that it's the best Tyson interview I've ever seen! I love that he paid special attention the the little second grader (I think he was second grade) when the boy asked about colliding black holes. I thought that was probably the most fascinating question in the whole interview! Kids are amazing little thinkers! The fact that Stephen Colbert was the interviewer just made the whole video, I think. Colbert is a funny guy IMHO. Tyson's pretty funny too!

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on March 30, 2012 at 3:28pm

I am so glad that Tyson is in the position he's in, where he can work with kids and adults alike and they can all benefit from his comprehensive knowledge and infectious enthusiasm. I'm probably going to have to watch this again, just for the refreshing quality Tyson and Colbert's conversation has!

Permalink Reply by Jessica Berman on April 3, 2012 at 9:40pm

Scientific America blog had a great post about Tyson and Pluto this weekend if you want a funny take on why he wanted to demote Pluto.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/2012/04/01/w...