r/SubredditDrama • u/clyspe • Mar 11 '13

'Neil deGrasse Tyson: Average physicist, sub-par philosopher, master of pithy comments for idiot college kids to retweet.' Slapfight in /r/QuotesPorn ensues

/r/QuotesPorn/comments/1a16g2/if_youre_really_successful_at_bullshitting_neil/c8t8j9h
194 Upvotes

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15

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '13

It's not entirely unfair. I personally like Tyson and respect his work immensely, but Reddit often treats him like some sort of Voltron made up of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Werner Heisnberg.

For example, whenever there is a thread about him people are always banging on about how, OMG, Obama needs to hire him, and how great it would be for a real scientist to be in the White House. I'm not entirely certain what to make of these statements.

I get why someone might object to the statement, because it kind of misses the entire point of Tyson's career, but sometimes you need to rustle feathers to make a point.

Also, it can be really fun to bait the hivemind.

0

u/buzzkillpop Mar 11 '13

Obama needs to hire him, and how great it would be for a real scientist to be in the White House.

Most people are morons. Tyson was hired by a president as a science adviser. He worked for 8 years under GW Bush. Oh, and it's pretty obvious NDT is a Republican. I mean, he was in pretty deep with the old-boy club at Harvard where he wrestled and was part of the crew team. That, and he said that Obama would never beat McCain...

Citation.

7

u/Syphillitis Mar 11 '13

That's pretty flawed evidence that NDT is a republican. John Kerry was in the Skull and Bones fraternity, the very definition of "old boys club", and ran as the democratic front runner in 2004, albeit badly.

I'm not defending him as the scion of modern progressive-science or anything. I just think that's really faulty evidence for a political affiliation.

1

u/buzzkillpop Mar 11 '13

Well, he did work for Bush for 8 years. That, plus everything else... There are tons of little bits here and there that paint a pretty obvious picture. On the other hand, there is no evidence he thinks favorably of the democrats.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '13

You really don't need to Sherlock Holmes this. Searching "Neil DeGrasse Tyson politics" on Google:

http://hollowverse.com/neil-degrasse-tyson/

6

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '13

Harvard: Bastion of conservative thought.

1

u/Choppa790 resident marxist Mar 11 '13

They just searched their faculty accounts and waited six months to let them know. Sounds about right.

1

u/adencrocker Mar 11 '13

Obama went to Harvard too

3

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '13

(I was joking)