“Just before I said I wanted to be an astronomer I said I wanted to be a baseball player. I was quite athletic at the time, probably because I was bigger than other kids, and if you're bigger than other kids and you're 11 you win everything.” IfsSaidKidsWantedWinningPlayerBaseballBiggerAthleticBaseball PlayerAstronomers Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“I can tell you that in my modern life I enjoy language. I enjoy words, their meaning, what they sound like to the ear, what they sound like to the listener. I strive to write the perfect sentence in all that I do, and when I write [the] perfect sentence I know it. If I had a second life I'd be a librettist for Broadway musicals.” IfsKnowsWritingI CanLanguageEnjoySoundPerfectModernEarsStriveSentencesListenersBroadwayModern LifeBroadway Musical Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“I try to write in a way where you care deeply what the next paragraph will be. I hear the rhythm of prose and that, to me, distinguishes great writing from ordinary writing. By the way, I don't even claim that I'm good. I claim that I value it.” WayWritingTryingCareValuesNextOrdinaryClaimsRhythmProseParagraphGreat Writing Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“I'm not writing for myself. I'm writing as an educator, I'm writing to stimulate others.” WritingEducator Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“There's nothing a teacher likes better than ten minute videos. It's not the whole class, but it's not too short, it's enough to wrap a lesson plan around.” EnoughWholeClassTeacherPlansMinutesLessonsTenLikesVideoToo ShortWraps Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“There are two kinds of comments that I get. One is, oh, you're such a natural up there, and the other one is, you're working hard up there. And the ones who say I'm working hard are teachers, they're the educators; they're the people who are the performers. It's a huge investment of my psycho-emotional energy to pull that off and to make it look smooth.” PeopleLooksKindTwoHardEnergyNaturalTeacherEmotionalHugeInvestmentCommentPerformersSmoothEducatorPsychoEmotional Energy Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“In the first year of a child's life we teach them to walk and talk. And then for the rest of their lives we want them to sit down and be quiet.” WantYearsFirstsChildrenWalksTeachQuietDown And Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Curiosity is missing. Curiosity in particular is something that the system, not only the educational system but, the parental... what you do as a parent at home.” HomeParentMissingParticularCuriosityEducationalParentalEducational System Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Curiosity is unknown. All adults were once kids and once curious, but as adults you don't remember that and you see curiosity when it's expressed in children as a pathway to household disaster. They're simply exploring their environment, manifesting their curiosity. So what you need to do is create an environment where curiosity is rewarded rather than punished, or thwarted.” NeedsChildrenKidsRememberEnvironmentAdultsCuriosityDisasterCuriousManifestHouseholdExploringPathways Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Curiosity is a self-driven motivation to explore and to learn. Learning is like... you know, you have to take your medicine. And that is what it has become. And that's unfortunate.” KnowsSelfMotivationLike YouMedicineCuriosityDrivenUnfortunate Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
