An Astrophysicist Sounds Off

In this interview in American School Board Journal, editor Lawrence Hardy questions astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City and former NOVA scienceNOW host) about the level of scientific literacy in the nation. “Now I don’t want a law saying someone has to be scientifically literate,” says Tyson. “I want people to want to be scientifically literate because they feel empowered by it, enlightened by it, and it’s something that will stimulate a curiosity in them that they once had, or never knew they had, in their youth.” 

What about head-in-the-sand positions on evolution by prominent Americans? asks Hardy. “It’s the combination of being a scientifically illiterate person and gaining cultural or political power,” says Tyson. “That’s a combustible combination, because then you end up making decisions that affect countless other people based on ideas and thoughts that are missing the fundamentals of how the natural world works.” 

Tyson also hears from students. After the Hayden Planetarium declared that Pluto was not a planet, Tyson received a torrent of mail. One third grader wrote, “Dear Scientest [sic], Why did you make Pluto not a planet anymore? If that’s people’s favorite planet, then they’ll no longer have a favorite planet. And if there’s people on Pluto, then they’ll no longer exist.” 

“Q&A with Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson” by Lawrence Hardy in American School Board Journal, March 2013 (Vol. 200, 33, p. 6), www.asbj.com

From the Marshall Memo #474