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Jamaal510

(10,893 posts)
Sat Apr 18, 2015, 10:36 PM Apr 2015

"Neil deGrasse Tyson: Politicians Denying Science Is Beginning Of The End Of An Informed Democracy"

More: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/18/3647978/neil-degrasse-tysons-new-show-will-blow-your-mind-on-4-20/

What will you be doing on Monday, 4/20, at 11 p.m.?

Perhaps watching the premiere of acclaimed astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson’s new show StarTalk. Tyson, who may be best known for hosting the reboot of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series in 2014, will now be appearing weekly on the National Geographic Channel in what may be the first late-night science talk show. Along with a trusty cast of comedians and science-minded folks like Bill Nye, Tyson hopes the adaptation of his popular podcast to a broadcast format will make getting a regular dose of science as pain-free as possible. He thinks that by embedding it between pop culture discussions and entertaining asides, the science will go down easy, and even leave you wanting more. And he’s right.

The first episode features an interview with George Takei, who requires no introduction to any Star Trek fans: he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. Takei has also become known for his activism surrounding human rights. Other guests this season include President Jimmy Carter, director Christopher Nolan, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Ariana Huffington.

ThinkProgress was lucky enough to snag a few minutes of Tyson’s time to ask him about his new show, his feelings on how the media covers science, what we can do about climate change, and more.
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"Neil deGrasse Tyson: Politicians Denying Science Is Beginning Of The End Of An Informed Democracy" (Original Post) Jamaal510 Apr 2015 OP
Does he mean like drug warriors vastly overstating the dangers of say cannabis? Fumesucker Apr 2015 #1
The worst kind of hypocracy - denying people their drug while they use MUCH worse ones. Elmer S. E. Dump Apr 2015 #6
That sounds like it would be a great show!! arcane1 Apr 2015 #2
I sincerely hope episodes come on line quickly. silverweb Apr 2015 #3
Very much what Carl Sagan said in his latter interviews: freshwest Apr 2015 #4
I pray Neil is right. Enthusiast Apr 2015 #5
K & R !!! appalachiablue Apr 2015 #7

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
1. Does he mean like drug warriors vastly overstating the dangers of say cannabis?
Sat Apr 18, 2015, 10:41 PM
Apr 2015

Because both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of that, then they go out together for a nice adult beverage to celebrate sticking it to all the druggies.

That science denial has been going on for many decades now.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
4. Very much what Carl Sagan said in his latter interviews:
Sun Apr 19, 2015, 12:49 AM
Apr 2015

Carl Sagan wrote The Demon Haunted World (© 1995) as “...a personal statement, reflecting my love affair with science.

But there’s a second reason...

Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues;

when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness...”


If we want to know how did we get to this state of affairs, he said:

This world as we know it is only just one brief moment that appears to us to be an endless horizon of time... this time grants comfort... and this comfort breeds complacency... and from complacency stems ultimate stupidity and eventual destruction.


There was too complacency after the success of the New Deal and the return home of the WW2 veterans. People thought the merit of public education, public infrastructure, the spirit lifting national park system, research into all forms of science, was proven and could never be discarded. Little did they realize that dark forces like the Koch brothers and other plutocrats planned otherwise and took over the media and the political arena with their Trojan horses. They have transformed a great deal of the USA into the state it was before the United States Constitution was passed, and hate all the Amendments that were designed to correct the flaws within the original document.

It has been said that the expectation of the philosophers who created the system, was for it to continue to be reformed. George Washington said he hoped 'America would become the most liberal of all nations.'

Now the wealthy forces of plutocracy, theocracy, oligarchy or feudalism has been very effective. They have over the last half centure turned the people against the ideas of the Enlightenment and New Deal, using media, religion and conspiracies for the other side of the political spectrum to ensure they get power from all sides. It's worked brilliantly. We've also worked against ourselves, constantly:

“The chief deficiency I see in the skeptical movement is its polarization: Us vs. Them — the sense that we have a monopoly on the truth; that those other people who believe in all these stupid doctrines are morons; that if you're sensible, you'll listen to us; and if not, to hell with you. This is nonconstructive. It does not get our message across. It condemns us to permanent minority status.”

But Sagan said specifically on how we lose democracy:

“If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness.”


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