Public Intellectual: Neal Degrass Tyson

It's tough to argue against Neal Degrass Tyson's position as a public intellectual in modern society. Rounding 65 years of age, Tyson has been active in scientific public discourse for over two decades and still has a strong influence today. His unique ability to communicate complex scientific concepts has propelled him to the center of pop culture as a trusted educator and pushed Tyson to the prestige of household recognition. A New York City native, Neal Degrass Tyson graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1976. He furthered his education at Harvard receiving a BA in physics, following up with a master's in astronomy from the University of Texas, and finally obtaining a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Columbia. Tyson started as a writer for the American Museum of Natural History magazine's “Universe” column, but shortly after was appointed by President Bush to join the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. He would later be invited back by the Bush administration to 2004 to assist on their “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” mission and in 2006 would be appointed by the head of NASA to serve on their Advisory Council. During his time working for the US government Tyson would also begin his tenure in the public eye. In 2004 Tyson published Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution accompanied by a four-part PBS NOVA mini-series called Origins. Tyson continued filming with PBS, hosting 5 seasons of NOVA ScienceNOW which was widely popular throughout pop culture and the American public education system throughout the 2000’s. However, Tyson's most notable project in the intellectual sphere came in 2014, when Tyson became the host and narrator of a reboot of extraordinary astrophysicist Carl Sagan's hit show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. Tyson’s Cosmos revival went on to win 4 Emmy awards, played in 141 countries, and was converted into 45 languages. I personally viewed NOVA ScienceNOW and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey as I made my way through the California public school system. While I didn't follow a career path in any scientific field, I was always captivated by Tyson's direct yet embracing dialect while discussing matters of such a complex fashion. Like me, many of my peers recall Tyson also making striking impressions on their educational upbringing, often explaining concepts clearer in videos than our teachers could in person. Tyson has continued to uphold his relevancy, even to those not in the scientific industry by catering to the media standards of young adults today. Frequenting many popular media outlets like Twitter, podcasts, talk shows, and national television Tyson has been able to continuously connect with all of those whom he indirectly inspired years before. In a dynamic world where the standard public intellectual is constantly altering, Tyson stands out as an indispensable communicator of critical topics and information between the average person and the greatest minds of science.

Neil Degrasse Tyson began his journey to becoming a world-renowned public intellectual at a young age. Growing up in New York’s urban Brox neighborhood, Tyson was shielded from viewing the universe organically, rather first exposed to the cosmos artificially. At age nine, Tyson recounts going with family to the local Planetarian in New York City and seeing a depiction of an unblemished night sky for the first time. Tyson was stunned by the exhibit but rejected what he saw, thinking the setup was a “nice hoax”, and over-exaggeration of what the stars really looked like. It wasn't until a few years later in rural Pennsylvania that Tyson truly saw an unblemished night sky and the sheer enormity and beauty of the cosmos. Here, Tyson realized that the planetarium exhibit was no trick, and the universe was truly just as infinite as in the manmade planetarium. Tyson was instantly hooked and began his lifetime journey of studying and racializing the secrets of science and space.

As Tyson shaped his ideas and views on science in the modern world, he was heavily influenced and mentored by famous scientist Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and author known for his extraordinary ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to the general public. Widely referred to as “the scientist who made the Universe clearer to the ordinary person", Sagan completed a host of different careers during his life. Sagan wrote multiple books, worked for NASA, was a professor at Cornell, consistently partook in talk shows and debates, and created the original PBS television series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey reaching more than 500 million people in 60 different countries. Sagan also supported research on planets like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter and was a heavy advocate both in the public and political fields to raise funding and support for space exploration. Neal Degrass Tyson first met Sagan while still in high school, taking a bus to Cornell in order to meet his idol and learn directly from him. During this visit, Sagan supported Tysons' love for astrophysics, inspired Tyson to become a communicator of science, and motivated Tyson to become the scientist he is today. Much of Tyson's ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to the public was learned through examples set by Carl Sagan. Sagan's unique ability to captivate his audience was thanks to his ability to explain scientific concepts in a clear and straightforward way while simultaneously drawing on human elements of curiosity and wonder while discussing complex scientific concepts. This balancing act allowed the audience to understand the science at hand while fostering imagination, stirring emotion, and evoking a sense of wonder and enthusiasm for understanding the universe around them. Tyson has emulated Sagan's tactics and successfully plays the strings of human connection and curiosity when communicating science to the public, captivating followers throughout the 21st century and widely being dubbed as “this generation’s Carl Sagan” (Hassard 2014). Tyson also furthers Sagan's journey of science education advocacy and discovery. Like Sagan, Tyson’s work pushes for the contemplation of strong existential questions science brings to the surface. Tyson has emphasized questions of the origins of life on Earth, cosmic insignificance, and extraterrestrial activity, all topics Caral Sagan debated heavily and outwith traditional scientific empirical data. Furthermore, Tyson emulates Sagan's thinking by prioritizing science in the political and public health world. Guaranteeing government officials made informed decisions based on science literacy and discoveries was one of Carl Sagan's top priorities and something Tyson has continued to support. Lastly, Tyson led the reboot of Carl Sagan's famous PBS Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey TV show, further making science accessible to more people around the world and tributing Sagan's legacy. Carl Sagan's contributions to science, his advocacy for space exploration, and the promotion of scientific literacy undoubtedly made Sagan “the most famous scientist in America—the face of science itself” (Achenbach 2014) throughout the late 20th century and left an enduring impact on the way in which humans interact with the world around us. Neal Degrass Tyson developed and shaped his scientific prowess from the lessons he learned from Caral Sagan. He has continued to further his mentor's mission, pushing science literacy, communication, and space exploration.

As the image of public intellectuals contrasts and conforms to the time and nature of its existence, Neal Degrass Tyson continues to create a blueprint for what the modern intellectual should look like in the United States. Tyson has bridged the gap between the old generation and the new, alive to witness and absorb crucial knowledge from the generation of intellectuals before him, but mature enough to lead the next generation of individuals while recognizing the media channels and technology modern information is disseminated and consumed through. Stephen Mack concludes his article “Are Public Intellectuals A Thing of the Past” by bringing forth the argument that in a democratic society, “all participants in self-government are duty-bound to prod, poke, and pester the powerful institutions that would shape their lives And so if public intellectuals have any role to play in a democracy—and they do—it’s simply to keep the pot boiling. The measure of public intellectual work is not whether the people are listening, but whether they’re hearing things worth talking about.”(Mack 2012). Mack argues that it's not just a public intellectuals' job to captivate an audience but it is also to be a catalyst pushing its followers to further question the discourse at hand. Neal Degrass Tyson particularly backs up this claim due to his extensive work in promoting advocacy for critical thinking and heightened public awareness. Tyson specifically spent the bulk of his public career promoting and nurturing scientific curiosity in youth, with Tyson's TV shows and movies promoting science education on the surface, but inadvertently disseminated important lessons in critical thinking, questioning, and existential questions. By pushing youth to question the universe around them and constantly seek knowledge, Tyson helped create a culture of lifelong learning and collective consciousness through the thousands of novice scholars exposed to his content. Furthermore, Mack raises to question of how we conceptualize a true public individual in the modern area, where mass information and technology lead to the ever-gowning number of headstrong individualists yearning for self-reliance. Mack argues the fate of public intellectuals demands a rebranding of category, which “needs to begin with a shift from “categories and class” to “function..to focus less on who or what a public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it.” (Mack 2012) Tyson fits this idea of a Public intellectual having a function rather than a category. He is not a part of any elitist class nor is he specifically involved with any high-level or global contracts. He rather serves as a communal expert and authority on media and technology platforms globally. With nearly 15 million active Twitter followers Tyson can directly interact with a global audience from a seamless and straightforward channel, able to debunk myths and answer questions in real-time. Tyson can also further the discussion on controversial subjects such as climate change with fresh evidence-based perspectives and research to his global audience without the traditional barriers faced by his predecessors. In the technological age of mass information, misinformation can all too easily get swept under the rug, and this is where the function of intellectuals like Neal Degrass Tyson comes in to set the course of discourse straight.

Neal Degrass Tyson's activity in scientific public discourse for over two decades has proven him an indispensable public intellectual. Mentored by the world-renowned astrophysics Caral Sagan, Tyson has continued to expand science literacy throughout global society by connecting the raw facts of science with the natural wonder of the universe. His role as a sage of wisdom and voice of reason will continue to guide our generation as we shape the future of mankind and continue to push the boundaries of existential questions that have mystified mankind since the start of time.

Works Cited

Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Role of Mentors in Science: The Takeaway. WNYC Studios. (2014, March 10). https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/carl-sagan-neil-degrasse-tyson-and-role-mentors-science

CBC/Radio Canada. (n.d.-a). Why Neil deGrasse Tyson embraces his cosmic insignificance. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1962438723573

Hassard, J. (2014, March 11). The Art of Teaching Science: Science is a Way of Thinking: So, Why Do We Try and Standardize it?. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/science-way-thinking

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Magazine, S. (2014, March 1). Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable. Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-carl-sagan-truly-irreplaceable-180949818/

NASA. (2018, November 6). Carl Sagan (1934-1996). NASA. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/people/660/carl-sagan-1934-1996/

National Academy of Sciences - http://www.nasonline.org. (n.d.). News from the National Academy of Sciences. 2015 Neil deGrasse Tyson to Receive Public Welfare Medal. http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/feb-26-2015-NASawards.html

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Course Author: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/seminars-on-science/about/faculty/neil-degrasse-tyson#:~:text=at%20Princeton%20University.-,Dr.,popularizing%20astrophysical%20concepts%20and%20discoveries.

The New Democratic Review: Are Public Intellecuals a thing of the Past? (Repost). (n.d.). http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/2012/08/are_public_inte.html

Profile. Neil deGrasse Tyson. (n.d.). https://neildegrassetyson.com/profile/

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). NOVA | Origins | Are We Alone?. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/origins/ward.html

Welsh, J. (n.d.). The inspiring story of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s life-changing first encounter with Carl Sagan. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-degrasse-tyson-met-carl-sagan-2015-11

YouTube. (2011, November 27). Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson at Montclair Kimberley Academy - 2010-Jan-29. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg#t=1597s

YouTube. (2014, December 26). How Life Began w/ Neil deGrasse Tyson NOVA Origins. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCQi1wwDVkM