Quote

This fear factor, this war driver is a very strong one and it's been with the species ever since the beginning and it motivated the Great Wall of China. War can be aggressive or defensive, right? So it motivated the Great Wall of China. Our space program was reactive to Russia.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Neil deGrasse Tyson
Age: 65
Born: 1958
Born: October 5
Actor
Astronomer
Astrophysicist
Cosmologist
Non-Fiction Writer
Philosopher
Physicist
Science Communicator
Science Writer
Teacher
Trekkie
The Bronx
New York City
Neil Tyson
Ever
Program
Factor
Right
Beginning
Drivers
Great
Wall
Motivated
Since
Aggressive
Space
Factors
War
Russia
Reactive
Fear
China
Defensive
Strong
Species
Driver

More quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Image
If cosmological theory were dominated by women, who are no strangers to cycles, how can we know for sure that we wouldn't then be told that the oscillating universe is the more aesthetically fulfilling alternative?
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
You like to explore things, and your parents don't like it because it gets the pots and pans dirty, and because it's noisy - but for you it's fun, you're resting. You're actually doing experiments... Just tell your parents that they're experiments, and you want to become a scientist, and then they won't stop you from doing anything you want.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
Because we all just function, the rest of us, just go to work and come home artists make life bearable. They give perspectives on things we never knew you could have. They bring joy. They explore inner human emotion, and at its best, the full dynamic range of that emotion.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
You don't need to be a scientist to know Earth's age or that life evolved. You just need be one who embraces objective truths
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
For the film to 'earn' the right to be criticized on a scientific level is a high compliment indeed.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
Science is like an inoculation against charlatans who would have you believe whatever it is they tell you.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
Wow, monitor lizards are pretty gnarly creatures. I want to go with the monitor lizard. That's just weird enough to be true. No?
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
No one is dumb who is curious. The people who don't ask questions remain clueless throughout their lives.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
The Earth is just one place of many that we could hang our hats.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
The theory of evolution, like the theory of gravity, is a scientific fact.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't mean just whether a politician is scientifically literate, but people who vote politicians into office.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
95, 96 percent of all that drives the universe has no known origin.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
If God to you is where science has yet to tread, then God is an ever-receding pocket.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
If you are that person, you are more likely to believe that God cured you, this invisible force, creator of the universe, cured you, than that you had three idiotic doctors diagnose you. ... I taught physics to pre-med students who became doctors. Not all of them are smart, I assure you.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
The dinosaurs never saw that asteroid coming. What's our excuse?
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
We live in a world where not everyone has the urge to help others... It is OK to encourage others to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, but if you do, just remember that some people have no boots.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
When asked about which scientist he'd like to meet, Neil deGrasse Tyson said, Isaac Newton. No question about it. The smartest person ever to walk the face of this earth. The man was connected to the universe in spooky ways. He discovered the laws of motion, the laws of gravity, the laws of optics. Then he turned 26.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good at science in school. Science is around you. Once you know and embrace that fact, it might stimulate curiosity within you to learn more about the natural world.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In fact, we hold our highest rewards for those scientists who can prove others wrong. And by the way, they are famous in their own lifetimes. We don't wait until they're dead.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Image
The methods and tools of science perennially breach barriers, granting me confidence that our epic march of insight into the operations of nature will continue without end.
Neil deGrasse Tyson