This video gave me goosebumps. Not only am I a supporter of NASA and all they do, I am a long time admirer of Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson and his enormous ability to communicate science in a charismatic, succinct, approcahable way. That is a skill that is lacking in a great deal of the scientific community but it’s an important one. We need people to care about what we do. We need people to feel comfortable walking up to scientists, astronauts, teachers, professors and talking with them and even more importantly perhaps we need the “specialists” in the scientific fields to be equipped and proficient at responding.
Perhaps that can go someway towards chipping away at the misperceptions the public might have about science, it’s importance and it’s cost. Dr. Tyson touches on how many people are unaware of exactly how much it costs to have a “NASA” for example. Why isn’t this more commonly known?
I know one thing though: Nobody listening to Dr. Tyson giving this presentation left without knowing in a few short minutes the unique ability NASA has to inspire, the direction the agency is currently taking and the comparitively tiny cost of all that we get out of the “space program”.
Nicely done, Dr. Tyson. Kudos.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by tavianne and Gene J. Mikulka, Glenn Gonzales. Glenn Gonzales said: RT @CatherineQ: New blog post — The Power of Inspiration (part one) http://is.gd/bYsLm @bethbeck @genejm29 @neiltyson [...]
I love this video. Thanks for posting it, and your comments. Keep those space posts coming!
Nice job. I have met Dr. Tyson twice. He is absolutely electrifying. You can feel the energy emanating from him when he speaks.
Nice post.
Great site and excellent post! Thanks for sharing. Keep ‘em coming also!
Catherine!
I was thinking of you tonight when I saw some meteorites from the Perseid Meteor Shower. I looked you up on Twitter (which, as you know, I closed my account on)… and, lo and behold, I found that you had a site listed on your Twitter account (this one)! So here I am!
I found this video very interesting and I love the way he explained just how little NASA costs in the big picture!
Happy to find you again, Catherine!
Jeanne
(aka the woman formerly known as @jeanneendo many moons ago – no pun intended)
Nice post! Two points arising…
I think it was the way in which the IAU (or rather the orbital dynamicists) rigged the vote that upsets me. Indicative of the elitism in science that all too often drives the public perception of science and scientists. However IMHO the planetary scientists will have the last laugh: a/ when the results from New Horizons and Dawn show that these are planetary bodies with planetary processes; b/ when the nature of exoplanetary systems reveals that ‘clearing its orbit’ is a poor definition in a chaotic just past the post proto-planetary system.
Narrow vision in astronomy is perhaps only to be expected!
Mars Rover half full:
http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/61hsgl76q4fmhi3nxpo5.jpg
(Fingers crossed for the little guy!)
This is a superb post and may be one that should be followed up to see what happens
A colleague emailed this link the other day and I will be desperately waiting your next write. Continue on the fabulous work.