The universe is large and old, and the ingredients for life as we know it are everywhere, so there's no reason to think that Earth would be unique in that regard. Whether of not the life became intelligent is a different question, and we'll see if we find that. Neil deGrasse Tyson earthfindingredient share on social
My parents didn't know much science; in fact, they didn't know science at all. But they could recognize a science book when they saw it, and they spent a lot of time at bookstores, combing the remainder tables for science books to buy for me. I had one of the biggest libraries of any kid in school, built on books that cost 50 cents or a dollar. Neil deGrasse Tyson bigbookbookstore share on social
'Cosmos' wouldn't deserve its place in primetime evening network television were it not a landscape on which compelling stories were told. People, when they watch TV in the evening, want to see stories, and science simply tells the best stories. Neil deGrasse Tyson compelcosmosdeserve share on social
I like to believe that science is becoming mainstream. It should have never been something that sort of geeky people do and no one else thinks about. Whether or not, it will always be what geeky people do. It should, as a minimum, be what everybody thinks about because science is all around us. Neil deGrasse Tyson geekymainstreamminimum share on social
Let's say intelligence is your ability to compose poetry, symphonies, do art, math and science. Chimps can't do any of that, yet we share 99 percent DNA. Everything that we are, that distinguishes us from chimps, emerges from that one-percent difference. Neil deGrasse Tyson abilityartchimp share on social
In nature, when you conduct science, it is the natural world that is the ultimate decider in what is true and what is not. Neil deGrasse Tyson conductdecidernatural Change image and share on social
Rational thoughts never drive people's creativity the way emotions do. Neil deGrasse Tyson creativitydriveemotion Change image and share on social
The history of exploration across nations and across time is not one where nations said, 'Let's explore because it's fun.' It was, 'Let's explore so that we can claim lands for our country, so that we can open up new trade routes; let's explore so we can become more powerful.' Neil deGrasse Tyson claimcountryexploration share on social
If your ego starts out, 'I am important, I am big, I am special,' you're in for some disappointments when you look around at what we've discovered about the universe. No, you're not big. No, you're not. You're small in time and in space. And you have this frail vessel called the human body that's limited on Earth. Neil deGrasse Tyson bigbodycall share on social
It may be that our cosmic curiosity... is a genetically-encoded force that we illuminate when we look up and wonder. Neil deGrasse Tyson cosmiccuriosityencode Change image and share on social