American - Scientist | October 5, 1958 -
I have a personal philosophy in life: If somebody else can do something that I'm doing, they should do it. And what I want to do is find things that would represent a unique contribution to the world - the contribution that only I, and my portfolio of talents, can make happen. Those are my priorities in life.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
LifeWorldPrioritiesDoingUnique
Asteroids have us in our sight. The dinosaurs didn't have a space program, so they're not here to talk about this problem. We are, and we have the power to do something about it. I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy, to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not, and end up going extinct.
PowerScienceSpaceEndProblem
It may be that our cosmic curiosity... is a genetically-encoded force that we illuminate when we look up and wonder.
CuriosityLookWonderUpForceMay
The only way you can invent tomorrow is if you break out of the enclosure that the school system has provided for you by the exams written by people who are trained in another generation.
SchoolTomorrowPeopleGeneration
Those who see the cosmic perspective as a depressing outlook, they really need to reassess how they think about the world. Because when I look up in the universe, I know I'm small but I'm also big. I'm big because I'm connected to the universe, and the universe is connected to me.
PerspectiveMeWorldSmallThink
The problem is not scientifically illiterate kids; it is scientifically illiterate adults. Kids are born curious about the natural world. They are always turning over rocks, jumping with two feet into mud puddles and playing with the tablecloth and fine china.
CuriousWorldFeetProblemRocks
You've never seen me debate anybody. On anything. Ever. My investment of time, as an educator, in my judgment, is best served teaching people how to think about the world around them. Teach them how to pose a question. How to judge whether one thing is true versus another. What the laws of physics say.
TimeBestPeopleMeWorldThink
Physics is the only profession in which prophecy is not only accurate but routine.
PhysicsRoutineOnlyProphecyWhich
We live on this speck called Earth - think about what you might do, today or tomorrow - and make the most of it.
LiveTodayTomorrowThinkYouEarth
Innovations in science and technology are the engines of the 21st-century economy; if you care about the wealth and health of your nation tomorrow, then you'd better rethink how you allocate taxes to fund science. The federal budget needs to recognize this.
TechnologyScienceHealthTomorrow
Science is basically an inoculation against charlatans.
ScienceAgainstCharlatansBasically
Mars once was wet and fertile. It's now bone dry. Something bad happened on Mars. I want to know what happened on Mars so that we may prevent it from happening here on Earth.
BadEarthKnowNowWantMars
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