Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson at RNASA 2008 part 1

[Mutherzmilk]

i have a man crush on him lol

[rongenaw]

I love this guy. Is it just me or is it obvious he hit some weed before he got up there? I mean damn, he starts off by saying he just wants his desert and wrote his notes on a menu.

[antipodeandreason]

The reason nothing is happening anymore is because control of the economy is lead by greedy arse holes with no oversight. All the money is going in their pockets and they don't give a shit about their country. Business men and politicians are so interwoven that profit is all that matters without thinking of the future.

Until banks and business pay there share of taxes the money for investment will always fall short of what is required.

[longfootbuddy]

i dont like something about america too.. its a mockery of freedom, and nothing more than a group of dumb numbskulls that have no rights that arent permitted by their mob rule government...why you people think you have the right to force me to obey you and hand over the products of my labors for you to play with, is beyond my understanding...your whole system is based on forced participation, because its unwanted by the minority.. america is a mockery of liberty and freedom of individuals

[GreatImperium]

@longfootbuddy

what a terrible generalization and a biased accusation. while i do agree that a multitude of americans are mentally degenerate to say the least, there are actually people within the U.S.who are working tirelessly to overturn the current asinine status quo. also, all nations/states force their citizens to participate in their systems. and participation in the government is not forced/coerced, unlike other countries who offer incentives.

[longfootbuddy]

@GreatImperium i dont mean forced participation, as in holding an office or getting a government job... im saying we're forced into being ruled by the government...we are supposed to, as free americans, be governed only by consent of the governed, this does not mean the majority must consent, it means each individual must consent....and i sure as hell dont...i dont know what kind of non generalization youre expecting from me, talking about american governmnent, but i have to generalize some..

[beardedbeard]

Never give Neil DeGrasse Tyson a mic if you are on a time table

[Rut267]

Um, he's a horrible communicator. He trips over his own words, is lost for words, and is prone to theatrical hand movements.

He's a smart cat, no doubt, but I don't think he's a very articulate man.

[puncheex]

@Rut267:Did you learn anything?

[GodlessMorality]

A much deserved award! Congrats Neil! He is such a wonderful communicator, right on par with the late, great Carl Sagan. I love watching Neil videos!

[bugilt]

Tyson needs his own show.

[XXXXNanoXXXxxx]

@bugilt He does have his own show!!!!! its call NOVA scienceNOW Also he is the Director of the Hayden Planetarium and take part of American Museum of Natural History.. He also appears in the Colbert shows here and there same as the daily show He has a lot of lecture on youtube He wrote a lot books great lecture is with Richard dawkins!! He also advise Nasa This guy is frigging everywhere Hes the "BLACK" Carl Sagan

[CCTV9]

@bugilt

He has his own show..kinda.NovaScienceNow

[TazMags]

Tyson is a gift from human evolution.

[AtheistPR]

I wish he was a professor in my college, I would be at his class on schedule, never miss it, and maybe repeat it to learn more xD

[jacksawild]

I think there should be a law enabling the slapping of stupid people

[mutedmakequiet]

STOP COASTING!

[ragnarocks0]

very good speech

[ashy6793]

Unfortunately, we don't have enough people like Tyson,,,articulate, smart, intelligent, visionary...

[xcircaxriderx]

he really is a great communicator, i wish i could have him as a professor.

[dannypbass]

Welcome on earth Dhr Tyson.

[acr08807]

The dumbest 25% of China also exceeds the US population.

[8DX]

Now now... don't be nasty.

The dumbest 25% of China works on rice paddies - their intelligence is not crucial.

[acr08807]

@8DX, did you not bother to listen to the video before commenting on my comment, or are you just that clueless about logic and sarcasm?

[8DX]

Yes I did watch the video. Sounded like you meant to say that there are more dumb people in China than in the US (in contrast to what Tyson said in the vid). And I was just pointing out something ignored in both ideas, namely that China has a large proportion of people living in poverty and in harsh agricultural labour.

Anyways, words are slippery bedfellows sometimes.

[acr08807]

@8DX, OK, you just don't understand what I was driving at, but it has nothing to do with people in China. Sorry, but I don't have time to explain it to you.

[820423]

In this speech, so far, he reminds me why I thought America was so great, when I was a dumb little kid.

[evilflynn]

Dr.Neil is a true patriot and he's correct!

[ubuibiok]

***** Way past time for a couple of Moon Bases and Asteroid Belt exploration !

[murozman]

Tyson is a gift from god!

(Of course, I mean that in the most metaphorical and least superstitious way possible!)

[str3nth23]

i agree lol ;^D

[ViperRob42]

the best gift the random chance of the universe gave us lol

[khoavuong]

in my mind he's a bigger celebrity than any actor, musician, or athlete

[Antiks72]

Unfortunately a majority of people would disagree with you, because they're too busy paying attention to People Magazine. Sad.

[stonedcommander]

you can see that he has much passion in what he believes.very smart man.

[AsG1989]

8:34 = slap owned

[burnhippiesforfuel]

his excitement is contagious.

[jtbovis]

"his excitement is contagious."

Couldn't have said it better.

[ChavezNChampagne12]

This is amazing. He gave this speech on improv.

[puncheex]

Yes.  That's why he's being awarded the title of best science communicator.

[goodmd516]

This guy is awesome, I can watch anything he does, truly great person

[biggie514]

I really like how this guy explains things. For one of the first times it feels like we can hear, think & learn about the Universe without feeling bad for not being having a PHD or being @ the University. I'm glad he received this award.

[Mrmoc7]

I'd just like to note that Self-recrimination never advanced any civilization, so enough of the abject self-hatred, Americans! Yes, you've got new competitors now, but that's good. It's an opportunity to flex your inventive muscles. Get to work!

[Supernova12034]

This man signaling the decline of an empire....you dont need me to tell you who the future belongs to.

[seanhy7]

This guy is awesome. Forget Obama. Forget McCain and Palin. Tyson for President! This is a man with true vision.

[keelorenz]

It's true. Though, I would still like to think of him as our Executive Astrophysicist-and-Chief.

[nutty01]

i love this man he is good

[synchbite]

Yeah leave science and technology to republicans and the religious right. Those two bastards will destroy this country for abortion and bible while China and India will eat us live science and technology.

[PathoftheStrong]

Haha, he's buzzed

[tobitege]

I saw several of his Nova programs and some conferences/speeches and admire him for what he does and his sharing of his passion for the universe. Thanks for posting this vid!

[Intiminator99]

Dr. Neil degrasse Tyson has definately taking the reins from Dr. Sagan as every mans scientist! Nobody was a better candidate to do this! Now that Dr. Sagan is gone we still have a champion for science and reason with lots of influence in any direction one chooses to look. I can't wait to see what else Dr. Tyson has in store!

[Zotoaster]

Tyson isn't as poetic as Sagan, but he still gets me (almost) as high. He certainly deserves the reward - it's always better if you are funny!

[darkkodiak001]

Oh man, I love this man. He can truly get people interested in the sciences again.

[moneybags512]

Its a shame, there are only 9 comments as i post this.

This is a wonderful speech, so many need to hear, and GET IT. not just shrug it off.

I think the apathy of the citizenry of the United States will be our downfall

[Intiminator99]

Hey moneybags, those that know.... know. We may be a minority but we still "know". You are right about average American though... they are worried about celbrities, price of gas and really nothing more. We may fall but only for the ignorant masses. Not the enlightned like us. Yeah a shame so few posts. People are looking up Britney spears preganant sister! (I think she had it but i really don't care)

[wilmracer]

Thanks for posting!

[revtyson]

Embedding disabled by request?

WHY? I like posting Neil's vids on myspace :)

[gmcneel]

What amazes me is how few people have watched this since 15 May and how many have have watch American Idal Finale.  This is statement of the way our culture thinks and were we are headed as a nation.

More amazing to me still is the lack of knowledge in the areas of History, Science and areas exhibited by our youngsters. Without this knowledge, we begin to loose site of anything of depth. Too bad for us. I agree with him completely. The next Carl Sagan? We need one. Be the Candle, Neil.

[Ihumpthings]

I certainly agree with you, however I believe that the lack of a conscious effort to help those in suffering, either by genocide or poverty or a natural disaster is a bigger example of how we, as humans are headed to De-evolution. How many of us on Youtube have said good morning to a neighbor this morning?

[hypatia2001]

I agree. All of the foreign exchange students from Europe and China at my college told me that they stereotype Americans as naive ignorant cowboys...I guess that is the case! It's an inconvenient truth!

[hypatia2001]

I am only kidding. There are lots of brilliant people in the USA. :p Neil deGrasse Tyson is awesome. :)

[puncheex]

Tyson tells of his contact with Sagan. He was a graduate to the Science HS of teh Bronx, and sent his application to a number of universities, including Cornell where Sagan taught. Sagan wrote him a letter, asking him to come out and visit. He arrived on the bus in the snow, and Carl met him at the school, spent some hours touring him around, signed one of his books for him, and then took him to the bus station. ...

[puncheex]

...Carl observed that the snow might get too bad, so he wrote his phone number on a scrap and told Neil to call him is there was any trouble, that he could spend the night with them.

Neil says that this made one life lesson very firm: that if anyone appeals to him for help in educational terms, that he will drop research, museum business and whatever else he may be doing in order to help that person out.

[xdir]

Nice speech, wrong audience. This speech should be given to Congress and industry chiefs.

[Raycheetah]

Problem is, they would all applaud, then go back to whatever it is that they were doing. Congress has no interest, as a body, in the advancement of science, and industry is profit-driven, which means they would prefer research which produced a salable product, not abstract knowledge. -RC ='[.]'=

[Birdtrooper]

Yes, I believe I should have been somewhat more concerned about the lack of professionalism involved in that crane collapse but instead I chalked it up to being just a normal instance of collateral damage and so I didn't think much else about it but in actuality those sort of overtly high risk incidences we're accustom to shouldn't have happened if the manufacturers & operators understood simple mechanics/physics before putting lives in danger. I suppose it could have been a matter of frugality

[Apogeebooks]

Excellent talk. Watch part two as well. Nice one Neil!

[sabeltann]

Thanks!