An Inspirational Human

“We live in a four dimensional world, that may sound a little flakey and freaky, but consider the following fact, you have never met someone at a place. unless it was also at a time. and you have never met someone at a time. unless it was also at a place. That requires four dimensions of ordinance”

Science has always been something I've found enjoyably fascinating. Finding an understanding of the way the universe works is an intriguing, extremely important and difficult pursuit that many undertake but few do so effectively to the degree of Neil Degrasse Tyson, this is why he inspires me so much. He is an astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author of over thirty books and a renowned science communicator, as well as having nine honorary doctorates and the NASA distinguished public service medal (the highest honour that can be bestowed by NASA to a civilian). He achieved all this growing up in 1950s-1960s New York City despite the challenges he experienced during the time and is highly regarded in his dream job and his achievements speak for themselves, however since shall elaborate on how he has inspired me specifically, as that is the only thing I am qualified to elaborate on.

He is so passionate about the subjects he educates the masses about, and a passionate teacher is something to be admired and cherished for the opportunities they bring. He is able to take a seemingly incomprehensible and intangible concept and explain it under such simple and refined ways, while maintaining engagement, then expands based upon his audience and adapts his approach depending on their level of understanding, all while cracking jokes, is an amazing skill that leaves me in wonderment and is truly a mark of his intelligence as well as his deep comprehension of his interests. I have learnt so much from his online seminars and discussions, what a fourth dimensional creature would be like in a third dimensional world, reaching absolute zero degrees and how a what occurs during a collision of black holes just to name a few.

Without Neil Degrasse Tyson this world would have been much more ignorant than it currently is on not just physics related topics but philosophical and political topics as well where he offers some great input. A quote I particularly like was on the topic of race “when I think of people talking about race, it’s being evoked here in Australia as far as I can tell, as a means to figure out who belongs and who does not, yet, I as an astrophysicist, when I think about race I think about it as something that unites us all. I think about it as the human race.” And another of mine Neil Degrassi Tyson is also a great lover of art, his favourite piece being one by Vincent Van Gogh, ‘Starry Night’ “you know why I like Starry Night so much, it’s not what Van Gogh saw that night, it’s what he felt… anything that is deviates from reality is reality that filters through your senses, and I think art at its highest is exactly that.”

Neil Degrasse Tyson inspires me and I’m sure many others will pursue their goals, whether that be their dream job, deepening their understanding of the universe's rules, or gain a new perspective on the normalised such as congratulating the successful “Curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not.”

These are the reasons I appreciate and am inspired by Neil Degrasse Tyson, A knowledgeable and passionate educator of people on a large and diverse group of subjects and topics, and member of the Human race.