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/sci/ - Science & Math

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6550020 No.6550020[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Why has this guy gotten so much attention in the last few year or even the last decade? What has he done that any other ivy league graduate couldn't do? Which scientific theory/discovery even bear his name?

He only authored a mere 13 research papers in 23 years (I've seen undergraduate researchers with that amount of publication) yet he has gotten more than 25 medals by various universities and institutions including several honors and a large media following.

So why has this black atheist gotten so much massive attention lately?

>> No.6550021

>>6550020
because hes black science guy

>> No.6550025

Winner of the Award: Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive, People Magazine

>> No.6550028

>>6550020
He's a black atheist, what do you expect?

>> No.6550031

>>6550020
He had a meme.

>> No.6550034

>>6550020
>What has he done that any other ivy league graduate couldn't do?
>He only authored a mere 13 research papers in 23 years (I've seen undergraduate researchers with that amount of publication) yet he has gotten more than 25 medals by various universities and institutions including several honors and a large media following.

ass blasted HYP grad detected.

>> No.6550040

He's a science spokesman, just like Carl Sagan or Bill Nye. Great scientists are not also great PR men. This guy has mostly respectable science credentials, and he's charismatic and good at PR.

I like him and I like his shows.

>> No.6550041

He used political power play to gain friends in the right places. He got a nice job at the planetarium and used that as a vehicle to sell his image to the masses. He became famous and any university that gives him a title will get free publicity.

>> No.6550044

Let me explain as simple concept to you OP...

He is interesting...

He is a black scientist who isn't an autistic sprog who looks good in front of a camera.

How many of them exist? There is your answer....plus having a black scientist in the public eye gives young poor inner city kids a more positive role model.

Or would you rather then look up to niggers instead?

>> No.6550045

>>6550040
Carl Sagan did a lot of science before becoming a PR for it. He worked on Nasa on many projects.

Bill Nye isnt a scientist, his is an engineer that got into acting and made a living out of it.

>> No.6550047

>>6550044
But back in the good old days there were good scientists that also had the PR skills to popularize it.

>> No.6550051

>>6550040
>>6550044
>Hurr durr he is good at talking, now i understand science a lot more because of him!!

Let's face it, the only reason why he is ever on the spotlight is simply because he's black and an atheist, you will never see a 'charismatic' white christian scientist extolled by the media.

>> No.6550057
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6550057

Who is the greatest astronomy educator of all time? Not Sagan, it's Patrick Moore. He inspired more academic astronomers than Eddington or Hoyle despite never studying the subject in an academic setting. If you don't know who Eddington or Hoyle are then you can shut up because you don't know shit about astronomy.

Publications don't make you a good science communicator.

>> No.6550070
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6550070

>>6550025
>Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive, People Magazine
That, right there is an accomplishment.
Being an actual scientist who has done serious research and still being charismatic and convincing enough, to, as some completely unknown nigger go on Fox News and convince the population not to panic, just to watch the Northern Lights is a spectacular accomplishment.
That right there is more impressive and almost as far reaching and important as his work regarding extinction-level impact events in our solar system this century.
The man explained hard science to G.W.Bush.
What more do you want from the guy?
>>6550020
>Why so much attention lately?
Because he uses all the attention he gets to popularize basic concepts that are generally unknown and smart, socially minded, right thinking people support that shit.
Why do we talk about it?
Because /sci/ is summerfag popsci and Black Science Man is highly visible.
Your asking why Chris Evens is getting so much attention and not Victor Raider-Wexler.

>> No.6550075

>>6550020
He's the Great Explainer,but yeah, I think it's going to his head a little now.

>> No.6550077

>>6550044

John Dabiri, Kwabena Boahen, Jim Gates, Arlie Petters, Lonnie Johnson, etc, don't act autistic at all. They speak fine in front a camera, are actually black(Tyson is half Puerto Rican), and their research credentials mop the floor with Tyson's. Then again, they're all busy doing research.

Also, Tyson does go full autism when the subject of string theory is brought up.

>> No.6550097
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6550097

>yfw Tyson wants to build a time machine

>> No.6550098

Not this shit again

>> No.6550105

>>6550051
>you will never see a 'charismatic' white christian scientist extolled by the media

Believe me, Fox will trumphet the shit out of him.

>> No.6550113

B-but he's agnostic, not atheist.

>> No.6550118

>>6550113

Did you even watch the video? He basically says, "Some Internet atheists annoyed me so much that I won't calling myself an atheist."

He says nothing about his beliefs regarding deities in the video.

>> No.6550119

>>6550118
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU1bheQT5kE

No, I watched this video a while ago where he speaks solely about his belief system.

>> No.6550154

>>6550045
What the hell is your point?
>>6550047
>But back in the good old days there were good scientists that also had the PR skills to popularize it.
When? Who?
>>6550051
>you will never see a 'charismatic' white christian scientist extolled by the media.
What? Most scientists I hear talked about in popular media are white and unless it impacts their field in some way, certainly talk like they are Christian. "God's plan," and what-not.
Heck, I'm watching a white "scientist" on basic cable, right now talking about scientific-creationism. He's got to be a Christian.
I wouldn't have suspected NDT wasn't if you hadn't called him an atheist, he goes so far out of his way to point out when a scientist he is talking about was especially devout he almost sounds like Christopher Kaczor.
Who fucking cares if he's black, anyway. How does that affect his job?
Maybe >>6550044 is right and he gives a few black kids the idea that it is alright to grow up to be scientist working in "impractical" fields instead of rappers? That wouldn't exactly be the end of the World.
Fuck, it could prevent the end of the World.
>>6550070
Is there any proof that Bush actually understood?
>>6550075
What? Is NDT mad with power now?
Why haven't I heard about this? What's he done? Share with us.
>>6550077
Only S.J. Gates is in a related field, his work is even harder for a layman with no science background to wrap their head around, so his credentials as a physicist are a harder sell-you are seriously trying to push Jim Gates because
>Tyson...go full autism when...string theory is brought up.
Seriously? Have you ever listened to Gates talk? Do you know anything about his work at all?
So, even if we ignore all that, we pretend their fields study is the same ("because they are both physicist who do something to do with telescopes, right?") and say that in a career that is a decade longer, SJG blows NDT out of the water...is there some sort of limit on the number of black physicists allowed on tv?

>> No.6550159

>>6550154
"Since there are only so many tv spots available for physicists in specific, and scientists in general we demand that the next time PBS wants someone to talk about supergravity the job goes to a woman of either European or Hispanic heritage."

>> No.6550164

>>6550097
>not wanting a time machine

>> No.6550184

>>6550105
>white christian scientist
>christian scientist
/pol/ pls go

>> No.6550193

>>6550070
What's so "spectacular" about a large muscular young black nerd convincing a group of anti-science racists not to riot?
Tyson fails as a Astrophysicist, he hasn't even invented one planet. Hell, he destroyed a perfectly good planet we used to have.

>> No.6550206

>>6550193
You are joking right?

Also if Pluto is a planet then the solar system has hundreds if not thousand of planets thanks to the kuiper belt.

>> No.6550209
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6550209

>>6550193
>he hasn't even invented one planet
He invented planet Black back in the 80s you massive racist.

>> No.6550210

Why do we have threads demanding validation for NDT's credentials?

His public record pretty much speaks for itself.

>> No.6550213

>>6550119
Um, that video is the Aussie Union party being pissy about their national budget.

>> No.6550215

>>6550210
>Why do we have threads demanding validation for NDT's credentials?
He's black.

>> No.6550218

>>6550215
You'd think that /sci/ of all people would tend to be more liberal.

>> No.6550222

>>6550210
We have threads talking about how Sagan did very little of note as an academic.

Myself, I don't know why people think public education of science is the same job as being a scientist, and judge the two jobs with the same criteria.

>> No.6550228

>>6550222
Carl Edward Sagan (/ˈseJɡən/; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. His contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of Venus. However, he is best known for his contributions to the scientific research of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. Sagan assembled the first physical messages that were sent into space: the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them.

He published more than 600 scientific papers

>> No.6550229
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6550229

What is the big deal that NDT decided to have a more public career instead of continuing his research? He has scientific publications and has a PhD in Astrophysics.

Does a physicist or a chemist that decides to work in industry stop being a scientist?

>> No.6550231

>>6550228
>hagiography

>> No.6550233

>>6550020

Because Sagan took interest in him. And he's black.

But mostly just that he's black.

>> No.6550236

>>6550228
Sagan's contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of the planet Venus. In the early 1960s no one knew for certain the basic conditions of that planet's surface, and Sagan listed the possibilities in a report later depicted for popularization in a Time–Life book, Planets. His own view was that Venus was dry and very hot as opposed to the balmy paradise others had imagined. He had investigated radio emissions from Venus and concluded that there was a surface temperature of 500 °C (900 °F). As a visiting scientist to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he contributed to the first Mariner missions to Venus, working on the design and management of the project. Mariner 2 confirmed his conclusions on the surface conditions of Venus in 1962.

Sagan was among the first to hypothesize that Saturn's moon Titan might possess oceans of liquid compounds on its surface and that Jupiter's moon Europa might possess subsurface oceans of water. This would make Europa potentially habitable.[17] Europa's subsurface ocean of water was later indirectly confirmed by the spacecraft Galileo. The mystery of Titan's reddish haze was also solved with Sagan's help. The reddish haze was revealed to be due to complex organic molecules constantly raining down onto Titan's surface.[18]

He further contributed insights regarding the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter as well as seasonal changes on Mars. He also perceived global warming as a growing, man-made danger and likened it to the natural development of Venus into a hot, life-hostile planet through a kind of runaway greenhouse effect.[19] Sagan and his Cornell colleague Edwin Ernest Salpeter speculated about life in Jupiter's clouds, given the planet's dense atmospheric composition rich in organic molecules. He studied the observed color variations on Mars' surface and concluded that they were not seasonal or vegetational changes as most believed but shifts in surface dust caused by windstorms.

>> No.6550237

>>6550233
Its not that he's charismatic and knowledgeable, right?

>>>/pol/

>> No.6550238

>>6550228
>His contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of Venus.
I dispute that "central". Is that from wikipedia?

>He published more than 600 scientific papers.
Maybe 3 or 4 that were of note.

As >>6550222 says though, we should judge him as an educator, not a scientist. he was a brilliant educator.

>> No.6550240

>>6550236
Sagan is best known, however, for his research on the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.[20]

He is also the 1994 recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences for "distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare".[21] He was denied membership in the Academy, reportedly because his media activities made him unpopular with many other scientists.[22][23][24]

>> No.6550243

>>6550237

He's charismatic and a good speaker, yes that's a big part, but come on, you can't deny the fact that him being black doesn't give him some points in the "progressive" society we have today.

>> No.6550244

>>6550228
>He published more than 600 scientific papers

NDT has also published quantities of scientific papers:
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/curriculum-vitae#research

>> No.6550247

>>6550236
There will never be a dispassionate assessment of Sagan's status as a scientist. He was too much loved.

My own view is he was a solid, but not exceptional, astronomer.

>> No.6550249

>>6550240
Just provide a fucking link instead of spamming quotes.

>> No.6550251

>>6550243
NDT himself would probably disagree. It's kind of sad that you think this contributed meaningfully to his accomplishments, and not his actual intelligence and charisma.

>> No.6550253

>>6550247
He was a good astronomer that worked at NASA and saw the need to popularize science because he knew that science needs public support in order to get funding for research.

>> No.6550261
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6550261

>>6550218
>>6550222
Are you trying to see logic in posts trash talking some dude because he dared to promote science education on Fox?
Do you really think there is anyone checking us as we log in?
Do you have any idea how lucky we are and how hard our janitors work that this board isn't entirely "BURN IN HELL ATHEISTS" and "our purple goat-extract is scientifically proven to taste g-g-great"?
You realize we are camped out in a public park sharing space with a Klan rally, a fedora convention and the most famous "where the bad kids sit" on the interwebs, right?

>> No.6550276
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6550276

>>6550261
>how hard our janitors

>> No.6550283

>>6550154

Arlie Petters works is in a related field. In fact, his work is much closer to that of Tyson's that S.J. Gates' work is.

>> No.6550288

>>6550047
did you get a physics PhD from Harvard? then you are in no place to say Tyson isn't a 'good' scientist.

>> No.6550293

>>6550288
>did you get a physics PhD from Harvard?
Yes I did.

>> No.6550294

>>6550293
ok anonymous 4channer.

>> No.6550295

>>6550218

/sci/ is full of people who were rejected from good schools. Instead of blaming themselves for being shitty students, they whine about affirmative action.

They also like to shout "IT'S JUST BECAUSE HE'S BLACK!" all while ignoring the fact that there are many black scientists are are far more accomplished than Tyson.

>> No.6550297

There is more attention for me than there are stars in the universe

~ Black science guy

>> No.6550306

Well, Cosmos is only the best show I've ever seen and all.

>> No.6550314

>>6550294
Exactly my point.

>> No.6550320

>>6550295
>there are many black scientists are are far more accomplished than Tyson.
But how many former exotic dancers are there who are as accomplished at science and as good at non-threatening presentation of radical ideas?
He was a pretty good man for the job, more importantly, he stepped up.
Racists are going to be upset that any "undesirable" has a high-profile position as a member of the educated elite.
Anti-science activists will find some fault with any public education project. They will particularly like any supposed fault that draws others to their cause.

>> No.6550341

>>6550314
So if you are really this >>6550047 anonymous 4channer, tell us about these good old days and all the charming cutting edge scientists who the public loved.
When and where was this Golden Age and how exactly do you feel Neil Tyson is unworthy to follow in the footsteps of these greats.
What advances have you made that measure up to Neil's with your Harvard education?

>> No.6550353

>>6550154
>What? Is NDT mad with power now?
>Why haven't I heard about this? What's he done? Share with us.

"Black Science Man destroys Pluto in fit of gamma-irradiated rage.
Asks terrified citizens of Earth, "where is your hero, God, now?"

>> No.6550368

>>6550341
I'm not.

I was mocking that anyone would ask the question "did you get a physics PhD from Harvard?" on an anonymous image board. Even though you were only asking it to make a point. So my mockery was misplaced.

But, you know, who cares?

>> No.6550389

>>6550294
>>6550368
>>6550341
>>6550314
>>6550293
>>6550288

I think you're all missing the point.

Neil doesn't have a Ph.D. from Harvard, either.

>> No.6550407

>>6550020
He's Carl Sagan Jr.

>> No.6550421

>>6550389
I think the point is, he has had an impact on his field, so most of the people criticizing him should shut-up.
Maybe you're right and the point is that he should have stayed at Harvard after he graduated and that Columbia and Princeton suck.
If that was the point, is that you Bill? Shut the fuck up.

>> No.6550445

>>6550421
>tfw this autist literally thinks differences between Harvard and Columbia matter

Is your anus sore because you finally decided to remove your fancy diploma from your rear end?

>> No.6550466

Hes got swiggy-swiggy-swaaaaag!

>> No.6550475

>>6550445
Why are you replying to me?
I said "if what was meant by that post was that the particular school he went to matters, an additional fuck you, to you."
From your post you evidently agree with me on this point, yet you accuse me of being particularly asshurt and elitist.
Do you think that all formally educated people are worthy of scorn?
Is my meaning unclear?
Do you not have much practice understanding written English?
What are you telling me?

>> No.6550503

itt: the OP learns a hard lesson of life, that it's not what you know but how you market yourself

welcome to real life kiddo

>> No.6550782

>>6550253
> that science needs public support in order to get funding for research

Am I to understand that he was proven wrong by now?

>> No.6550840

>Dat loaded phrasing

Tyson is a damn good spokesman for science; when's the last time we had the limelight and general public people were discussing real science?
Science, real science, is cool and being advertised to the public, getting more kids interested in it.

>> No.6550958

>>6550840

I'd love to see something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL6-x0modwY in cosmos or future pop-sci shows.

>> No.6551077

>>6550958
Oh man, me too.

Feynman was a damn good advocate himself, he even tried to bring it to the people, like his artist friend and his time on a school board for selection of books for physics classes.
I suspect that then as now, the failure is also on our end, where some members of the board voted for books that were just blank pages, many modern "science advocates" say a lot but walk little.

Science outreach is hard, confusing, and a mix of hard workers and lazy prestige-seekers.

>> No.6551126

>>6550047
>But back in the good old days there were good scientists that also had the PR skills to popularize it.

No there weren't

Pop scientists is a completely new thing.

Oh sure, "Einstein was famous in his day" i hear you cry, but he wasn't delivering speeches and radio shows to laymen. He wasn't the pinup boy of his day's equivalent to reddit. He was just a minor celebrity.

Feynman is only famous among scientists (mainly only physicists in fact).

>> No.6551151

>>6551126
>Feynman is only famous among scientists (mainly only physicists in fact).

Dawkins? Hawking?

>> No.6551958

>>6550034
I am HYP undergrad, and I find these popularizers annoying

>> No.6552224

>>6550045

Bill Nye is a scientist. Some people are limited to more then one education. Simple google search shows what he's done scientifically in a biography.

Who are you any way fucking Rush Limbaugh?

>> No.6552225

>>6552224

Pardon me. Aren't*

>> No.6552235

>>6550288
Caltech actualky

>> No.6553477

>>6550251

Different poster here than the one you're replying to, but, don't be naive. There's a political message behind Black Science Man that can't be denied unless you are oblivious to the way opinions are tailored.

IMO NDT is a cool guy and I'd definitely enjoy hanging out with him just to hear him talk. But the Black Scientist aspect does more for his career than you realize or give credit for.

>> No.6553549

>>Why has this guy gotten so much attention in the last few year or even the last decade? What has he done that any other ivy league graduate couldn't do?

Affirmative action and nothing, respectively.

>> No.6553589

>>6550020
>Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive, People Magazine
he has accomplished alot of fancy things that are difficult to explain

in short though he hasn't really participated in anything

he is pop-science-black-guy, and is actually a good person with intelligent things to say

>>6550840
this guy gets it, tyson is good for US OP, his television show wasn't bad and probably inspired lots of kids to search the internet for science material instead of tits

>> No.6553600

>>6553589
>he has accomplished alot of fancy things that are difficult to explain

Black science guy.

YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN IT!

>> No.6553617

>>6553589
>his television show wasn't bad

That's why his ratings dropped from a 4.3 to a 1.4.

>> No.6553623
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6553623

>>6550020
Because he's a big astronomer.

>> No.6555168

>>6553617

Source?

>> No.6555863

>>6553617

Looking it up shows Cosmos is fluctuating between 4 and 3 million.

>> No.6555897
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6555897

???

>> No.6555943

>>6555897

Go on...

>> No.6556039

>>6555863

A show like this doesn't get it's buzz immediately, in a decade the series will be remembered fondly like the first. Carl's cosmos didn't pick up in popularity until after he died, like 20 years later.

>> No.6556059
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6556059

He has charisma and he is not autistic or socially awkward (which is quite rare amongst most scientists).

>> No.6556113

>>6550154
>>>6550047
>>But back in the good old days there were good scientists that also had the PR skills to popularize it.
>When? Who?

Asimov.
He was Sagan before most people had a TV. He's best known for fiction but most of his 200 books were text books or pop sci.

>> No.6556133
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6556133

>>6555897
BILL?

>> No.6556878

>>6556133
What about that water chip...

>> No.6556977

>>6550057

Plus he was the Gamesmaster.

>> No.6557384

>>6550020
he ass fucked pluto

>> No.6557456

He promotes science to make more people science. He is like the mother of science forming children into sciencers.

>> No.6559098

>>6550077
>Tyson is half Puerto Rican
Because there can't be black Puerto Ricans

>> No.6559128

>>6550020
2000 Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive, People Magazine[87]
2001 asteroid named: 13123 Tyson, renamed from Asteroid 1994KA by the International Astronomical Union
2001 The Tech 100, voted by editors of Crain's Magazine to be among the 100 most influential technology leaders in New York
2004 Fifty Most Important African-Americans in Research Science[88]
2007 Harvard 100: Most Influential Harvard Alumni Magazine, Cambridge. Massachusetts
2007 The Time 100, voted by the editors of Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons in the world[89]
2008 Discover Magazine selected him as one of "The 10 Most Influential People in Science"[90]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson#Awards

How does someone with 13 research papers get that much awards unless his work was groundbreaking which I doubt.

>> No.6559134

>>6550020
If he has only published 13 science papers despite decades of science, what has he been doing the entire time?

>> No.6559192

>>6559128
all the awards you listed have absolutely nothing to do with any scientific work. It's all "influential persons", Hitler was a pretty influential person too.

>> No.6559194

>>6559192
are you seriously comparing black meme science gorilla to Adolf Hitler? take a step back and realize how fucking stupid that is. literally 100% of people don't give a fuck about meme science gorilla, while Hitler's accomplishments obviously speak for themselves

>> No.6559197

>>6559128
>Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive
>"awards"

>> No.6559230

>>6550020

Because he's charismatic an black.

Ever meet an actual scientist? Talk to one of your more influential professors? They're either antisocial as fuck, barely speak English, or are WAY too jittery and enthusiastic for people to be comfortable.

Hi being black helps inspire minorities who are avoiding STEM majors.

It's incredibly rare to come across someone who can ACTUALLY dumb difficult concept down enough so that the average person doesn't feel like an utter dumbass. It's why so many "scientific" news articles are complete and utter fucking bullshit -- the people don't know how to read actual scientific articles, and the scientists are too socially awkward to make sense during interviews and make their points clear to an average person outside their field of study.

If you have charisma and science, people flock to you because you're a fucking diamond in the rough.

This guy just ALSO happens to be black, on top of it, and knows how to play the game with the media.

>> No.6559234

Where were you fuckers when he has narrating nova for like 5 years?