Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium. He has become a very public figure, frequently speaking out on topics of science education and scientific literacy, in the mold of Carl Sagan from the 1980s and, more recently, Richard Dawkins. He has become a very public figure, having been featured on various popular media programs such as the History Channel, where he has promoted his scientific worldview. He is the director of the Hayden Planetarium and a member of the Planetary Society, but is not a professor. In 2014, Tyson was the host of Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, which is an updated version of Carl Sagan's 1980 documentary entitled Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

Neil Degrasse Tyson on the origin of the universe

See also: Atheism and the origin of the universe

Neil deGrasse Tyson when asked about the origin of the universe and how things went from nothing to something said: "We have no idea. Next question?".

Speaking Out about Scientific Literacy and Science Education

Since about 2015, Mr. Tyson has been very vocal about science education and scientific literacy. He believes that, for the United States to maintain its preeminence as a nation, it must maintain preeminence in science. He is particularly concerned about denial of evolutionary science and denial of anthropogenic climate change. He produced a video, published on Facebook on April 19, 2017, that states his concerns very directly.

“	Science is not something to say 'I choose not to believe E equals mc2.' You don't have that option. When you have an established scientific emergent truth, it is true whether or not you believe it.	”
—Neil deGrasse Tyson, April, 2017

On April 21, 2017, no doubt in connection with "Earth Day" and the various pro-science rallies to be held around the nation on April 22, he issued another Facebook essay.

“	When Einstein derived his equations, I’d bet neither he nor anyone else was thinking “Barcodes!” or “Lasik Surgery!” or “Rock Concerts!”	”
—Neil deGrasse Tyson, April, 2017

In this latter essay, he listed 9 Presidents—5 Republican and 4 Democratic—that made wise choices about national science policy.

Quote Fabrication Controversies

Fabrication of a George W. Bush quote

Tyson has been repeatedly accused of fabricating quotes that he uses in his presentations. The most damning accusation is that he fabricated a quote that he attributes to President George W. Bush. Tyson claims that Bush said, "Our God is the God who named the stars" in the week shortly after 9/11 as a way of separating Christians and Jews from radical Muslims. However, there is zero evidence that George W. Bush ever uttered that phrase. He had a similar line in a February 2003 speech given after the Columbia space shuttle disaster: "The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today." The quote had nothing to do with Islam, nothing to do with 9/11 (it happened a year and a half after 9/11), and no reasonable observer could conclude that the line was meant to separate Jews or Christians from Muslims. Every aspect of Tyson's story about Bush and the quote about stars was found to be false.

Fabrication of a newspaper headline

Tyson was also accused of fabricating a newspaper headline that he regularly uses to question the numerical illiteracy of journalists. The quote he uses in his presentations is, "Half the schools in the district were below average." He attributes that quote to "Newspaper Headline." However, extensive research using Google and Nexis records has revealed that such a headline does not exist. Although a small handful of news articles contain similar phrases, none contains the verbatim phrase that is quoted extensively by Tyson.

Even if such a headline did occur, it might well be sensible if it were a shortened form of saying that half the schools in the district were below the state average. But without the story, it is impossible to say whether there was some mathematical stupidity.

Fabrication of a Member of Congress quote

In addition to using a newspaper headline that does not appear to exist, Tyson has also been accused of fabricating a quote which he says was uttered by a "Member of Congress." Tyson uses this quote in his presentations to illustrate the mathematical illiteracy of politicians. The quote cited by Tyson is, "I have changed my views 360 degrees on that issue." Tyson has also used this line in college commencement addresses.

As with the other quotes which Tyson is accused of fabricating, there is also zero evidence that this particular quote has ever been uttered by a member of Congress. Extensive searches of Google, Nexis, and the Congressional Record found no instance of the quote spoken by a member of Congress. A similar quote was spoken by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) in 1998, but she was attacking a colleague, not referring to her own views.

“You have done a 360-degree turn," Waters said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "I’m a little disappointed. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that you would have such a conflict in views about perjury and lying.” If Tyson was referring to Waters' quote, it is unclear why he mangled it and then refused to cite her as the quote's source.

Nor it is clear why Tyson objects to the term "360-degree turn". A politician might well reverse his views on an issue twice, and that could be described as a 360-degree turn.

Tyson's bad history, bad math, and bad physics

Tyson is becoming known as a source of misinformation. This is in spite of Tyson's fans actively censoring news they don't like.

Tyson's Bush and Star Names story

For eight years Tyson gave an account of President Bush's 9-11 where Bush "attempted to distinguish we from they." When Bush's actual speech was a call for tolerance and inclusion. 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.

Tall tales about Newton

Tyson tells a story about Newton where a friend asks Newton about elliptical orbits. Newton goes home, invents integral and differential calculus and the comes back two months later with the answer. And then Newton turns 26. Halley's question about elliptical orbits is famous and well documented. Halley asked Newton this question when Newton was 41. Newton came back two years later with the rough draft for Principia and Principia was published when Newton was 45.

It is thought that Newton developed his calculus ideas when he was in his twenties. But if not because of a "dare" from Halley, what prompted him? More likely it was his colleague Isaac Barrow. Barrow, Fermat, Cavalieri and others and already laid the foundations of calculus in the generation before Newton and Leibniz.

See Thony Christie disembowel Tyson's bad history.

More transcendentals than irrationals

Tyson told Joe Rogan there are more transcendentals than irrationals. Since the set of transcendental numbers is a subset of the set of irrationals, this is not possible. Both sets are thought to have the same cardinality.

Deflategate

Tyson accused the New England Patriots of cheating by underinflating their footballs. However, Tyson plugged gauge pressure into the ideal gas equation] instead of absolute pressure. Perhaps forgivable from a freshman physics student taking a pop quiz. But this was a serious and public accusation and Tyson had plenty of time to check his work.

The above are not isolated incidents. There are many examples of Tyson speaking with an air of confidence and authority on subjects he knows little about.

See also

• Theory of relativity
• E=mc²
• Counterexamples to Relativity
• Essay:Rebuttal to Counterexamples to Relativity
• Irreligion and superstition
• Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation
• Age of the earth