My great-grandfather said " politics is like bowling. If you go to far to either side you'll wind up in the gutter". I'm happy to still hear this kind of common sense from people like Neil and Jon Stewart.
Wise words, but as someone already said, the problem becomes "what's too far?" I have a liberal friend who my husband says is "extreme far left," yet she considers herself to be a moderate Progressive. Then there's my husband's uncle, who I consider to be way off the conservative deep end, yet he sees himself as a moderate Republican. To go with your analogy, a ball most thinks it's on the straight and narrow path when it's in the gutter.
I had a conversation with my dad about politics, he's a Pro Trump conservative and I'm a Bernie Sanders progressive and he said something that really surprised me. He said he used to be good like me and then the way the US government did the Vietnam war changed that. It's kind of a startling thing for him to say because he's basically admitting that what he supports isn't good. I don't know how you even deal with it when someone knows their viewpoints are bad and yet they still hold those viewpoints. It's crazy to me.
@@thend4427I see that in most Trump supporters. Basically a lot of the logic they cling to is that they've been lied to by people on the high ground and if they have to lie to gain the high ground it's justified because their opponent did it - "if they're gonna fight dirty then so am I". Even when these folks are told the truth and at times realize the truth they argue with obvious lies just to disagree. Some are at a point where they have decided they are not going to agree with you on anything, they'll argue with you about the color of the sky. That's a level of rage. And some of these people are sweet and kind with the exception of politics they turn into another person. I have some loved ones and others in my social circle like this. It's like Jeckle and Hyde, literally. A lot of the issues they're passionate about they really know little or nothing about. The allegiance to ignorance is disturbing.
He might want incompetent and ineffectual politicians motivated to do nothing because the capable and effective ones get stuff done but some of those turn out to be horrific although sounded like the right thing to do at the time.
"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves." - Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot
Remind me again of how I have a civil discussion with someone who can't be convinced Biden won the election, and thinks JFK Jr. is coming back to release Trump from prison.
@@RubelliteFae or people can't tell the difference between their objective and subjective. To some people, mostly Americans, their every opinion is a fact.
I get upset because their "opinion" causes me and others real harm and they are ignorant about the negative effect they have. I am literally fighting for my safety which is scary.
That's probably what the other side is saying about your side. Your "opinions" cause them and others real harm and you all are ignorant about the negative effects. Seems like no one has empathy these days. The quality of good and bad actors have dropped because they can't understand where the other side is coming from, to do either good or bad things. We are just at a point where nothing gets done, cause everyone just wants to be right, to prove they are right, to prove their viewpoint matters. Feels good, but surely doesn't get anything done.
Just because someone may not agree with you 100%, doesn't mean that they are calling you an A$$hole, and you suck as a person. (Let alone if you only agree with 50% or less!) Unfortunately it seems this is the way that most discussions go these days. Reason, Critical Thinking, Compassion/Empathy, and Compromise seem to have left the building. Its really bad when those in leadership exhibit these tendencies, especially in Politics and Business. Poor decisions end up made which delay or even sometimes regress progress. We"re left with less than mediocre people in positions they shouldn't be in, less than mediocre policies, less than mediocre products. There are still rare occasions when we exhibit decency or even greatness. Still too many times its immediately followed up by something utterly ridiculous. I still have hope though, and will try to make a positive impact on society. I hope everyone else can do the same.
@@jmhorange Oh, no. I've heard both side's arguments. The issue is, @thejuanderful's "opinion" is based on facts. Whether they're a person of color, LGBTQ, a woman, a non-Christian religion they ARE being targeted in this country. The FBI's national crime statistics confirm that. The "other side" also claims to be targeted, persecuted, and even "genocided" based on their skin color and beliefs. The fact is that no, they are not being persecuted. White people are not being persecuted. Christians are not being persecuted. Conservatives are not being persecuted. That is a fact, based on statistics. If anything, the statistics support the narrative that they're the ones doing the targeting and persecuting, often in a very violent manner. Your argument is just plain wrong. The issue is, you and most other people keep trying to make matters of fact into an issue of opinions, but they're not. They'll never be the same.
@@jmhorangeSome opinions are far worse than others. Some cause real harm, others cause imaginary harm. Listening to someone's opinion is one thing, but accepting it is another. Believing one's race, religion, economic system, or nation/kingdom/country to be totally superior to another is an opinion, and those opinions have killed and enslaved hundreds of millions (or even billions) across the course of history
My preferred approach when I hear a view point I disagree with is to see if I can identify some elements that I can accept or applaud and then discuss where and why I feel differently. I met someone on campus who was trying to get signatures against extracting and refining uranium. I was a physics major and quite like nuclear power. We had a civilised discussion for about 5 minutes where I was able to tell him a few truths about nuclear energy and refinement and he was prepared to listen because I was prepared to acknowledge that a poorly planned and poorly regulated industry can have catastrophic consequences like Fukushima. He ended up maintaining his position that he didn't think it was right for Australia but acknowledging a lot of his concerns may have been overblown.
I mean, Fukushima had to withstand the worst tsunami in modern history, after a ridiculously powerful earthquake. And yet there were precisely 0 fatalities. I think if anything that's a testament of how safe nuclear power is
I take a different approach; if someone is burbling on to me with a load of guff, I just shut up until they run out of steam. Then when the inevitable: "Well, what do YOU think???" comes up, I pretend to think really hard then say: " How about those Mets last season???"
If the people running the power plants had the logic and integrity you seem to possess, I would think about nuclear as an alternative. But the people running the plants care about money only. They’ll take risks for profit. The consequences of an accident aren’t worth it.
Agree - this all assumes people are capable of good faith discussions... whereas in practice a lot of what we're dealing with is rigid blind faith... not so easy to breakdown.
The problem is not having opinions that are wrong, but the people who are unwilling to change their opinions when being presented with new facts and evidence
I wish I could type a louder WOW ! but this is as loud as my keyboard gets. Neil ( who I don't necessarily agree with about everything ) was absolutely on fire in this interview. Wish it could've lasted longer !
I love how Neil summed up how we are all connected on a spectrum. 1 entity that comes out of another to make an individual. Too bad that fact gets lost in all our fighting.
What NDT is touching on is the psychology of authoritarianism. It’s worth spending some time reading about. And while historically authoritarians were found evenly dispersed along the political spectrum, since 9-11 there has been a significant shift to the right, and now among people who score high or very high for authoritarianism the number of people who identify with the political right outnumber the people who identify with the political left by a ratio of 2:1. But once one starts looking into this, it very quickly becomes evident that this is the root of America’s current dysfunction, and the cure for authoritarianism is meritocracy- where the best person for the job gets the job regardless of affiliation, not the most loyal. Happy reading!
Part of the issue with these statistics is not discerning a difference between liberal & left. We are bereft of leftists with significant power. So, since liberal is the closest we have to that, people call it left. But, when you compare to other post-industrial countries, our "left" is much to the right of theirs. In my assessment the new populist right appeals to authoritarianism out of fear, and liberals appeal to authoritarianism out of hope. No one of political significance is advocating diffusing federal power back to the local level. (Examples being: consumer co-ops for retail & service; worker co-ops for production; citizen councils for governance; credit unions, mutual insurance, & mutual aid for personal economic stability; tool-lending libraries, community land, etc for shared property & reduced waste; decentralized planning; reduced bureaucracy; etc.) Which is interesting because concentrated power is the most easily corruptible.
@@RubelliteFae Sounds like you're American and you assume @augustuskelley4170 is too? If so, the sentence "We are bereft of leftists with significant power." is entirely correct and something I don't think most Americans even understand? By the standards of any other democracy in the world, there is no left-wing political party in the US on a national level, as both the Democrats and the Republicans are right-wing parties compared to the political spectrum in the rest of the democratic world. I'm Swedish and we're kind of extreme by historically having had the Social Democrats in power for decades and decades - althogh their dominance ended some decades ago and they are no longer as powerfull. But the point is that in the rest of the democratic world there is still a width of the political spectrum where socialist ideas - like universal health care - are perfectly acceptable and part of any rational conversation. The US is the only democracy where anything left of center has always been and still is demonized as "communism". Which is ludicrous becuase almost any citizen in any other democracy has a whole lot of benefits that US citizens don't have - and they all live in free and democratic nations. For example: Everything Bernie Sanders wants for the US are thing most other democratic nations have had for decades. And none of those nations are as rich as the US. I've heard american right-wingers claim policies that work in every other democracy in the world are "pie in the sky" - but they're clearly not. I think one of the basic things any progressive in the US should be doing is working to educate the US electorate on this fact. It's not "pie in the sky" to be guaranteed universal health care. Or 4 weeks paid vaccation a year. Or a year or two of paid parental leave. Or tuition free education. And so on and so forth. Many other countries manages to do all these things for their citizens. The differance between them and the US is there are (or at least have been, historically) a strong political left in those countries that forced through these policies. Becuse that's what's needed. The political right will never ever improve the lives of ALL citizens - that's not in their interest. They only ever cater to the already well-off.
@@Rattenkriegs Yes. It's due to the Ratchet effect. In essence, the DNC always prefers high profile candidates to be right-of-center to attempt to pull in conservatives because they assume leftists (and progressives) will go along with them anyway since we have no other option. Conservatives want their candidate to stand out against the Dem candidate, so they go even further right. As compared to the rest of post-industrial democracies. This has pulled us way to the right (which isn't to say there hasn't been progress as this is a relative measure). And since media talk about liberals as if they are the left, many people never learn that there are other options available. Hell, most people don't even realize that socialism can be done without top-down control measures. Never mind that being so individualistic the majority of Americans seem to refuse to learn from the successes & failures of others. Thanks for adding your message. 💖 I have been trying to tell people this stuff for 2.5 decades and people act like I'm crazy. They just aren't well-read. It's tiring.
@@RubelliteFae Unfortunetly the common perception in the rest of the democratic world is that most Americans are simply very stupid. I think that's unfair and that the problem is more ignorance about the rest of the world. I saw one dutch journalist in exasperation in an documentary say that Americans like to say America is exceptional: "- Yes, you're exceptionally shit!" As far as I can tell that's what most people in the rest of the democratic world actually thinks about the US system. I know in Scandinavia at least (and I belive elsewhere as well) even politicians on the right definetly won't use the US as an example to emulate - becuase they know the American example scares people. While you hear American politicians talk about how the US is "the envy of the world". Well, for people in third world countries perhaps - but certainly not for most citizens in a western democracy. Trump talked about how he wanted Norwegians to come to the US, insted of people from "shithole countries" like he said. Well most Norwegians definetly don't want to move to the US and many probably think it's a "shithole country"! I have no wish to be rude towards people but I'm not sure how well this is actually understood in the US? But your system and society is really not some shining example to the rest of the democratic world. Becuase the sad fact is that the deal the average American is getting is simply much, much worse then the average citizen in most of the rest of the democratic world - and certainly worse then the deal in what's called "the west" (western and central Europe, Australia, New Zeeland, Canada). The majority of Americans are being given a raw deal by their own society and system and it's easy to show by just comparing to other countries. So I probably pay more in tax - so what? My healt care is almost free, my medication is heavily subsidised, my education (including collage) was free, I get five weeks paid vaccation a year and on and on and on. I could never pay for those things out of my own pocket - the taxes I pay are nothing compared to what a single operation would cost me in the US - and I've had several of those. Every citizen of the US could - and should - have all these things as well. You're the richest nation in the world - you can certainly afford it.
What an embrassment of riches we've had this week. The #2 most frequently appearing guest yesterday (Bernie), The #4 today, and the #3 tomorrow (John Dickerson). We just needed to have had John Oliver (#1) on Monday to complete the hat trick plus one!
We all process our beliefs through what we have experienced.. trying to have compassion for those we disagree with is essential for all of us to get along.
I have thought about the "tribalize" thing and "putting people in a box" for years and years. I'm not the first to think that way. And I'm glad I heard it from Dr. Tyson. We tribalized for survial. And we continue to do so, even though we aren't fighting off wild beasts on a regular basis. But no matter who we are, it is easier to stick to what we know and scary when things are different. I'm very guilty of sticking to what I know. But I try to give other people room to be who they are too.
Excellent comments about opinions and spectrum. I am reminded about the great talk show by Phil Donahue and how we learned so much from his style of communication.
@@vickisawyer7405He did an amazing remake of Cosmos. I can't remember if it was on PBS or HBO. But I garantie you, if you like Niel you are going to love Cosmos. It is just the most fun you are ever going to have, learning stuff. I'm sure if you Google him all the stuff he's done will be listed. I know he also does a podcast.
I've been disturbed for about ten years, as I've noted our *thinking* - as a species - seems tp be getting increasingly *BINARY* at an increasing pace. No room for ambivalence or even an occasional 'somewhat' anymore. Idk, perhaps a side-effect of social media? Conditioned by so many 👍and 👎? And, as if that weren't enough, it also now seems *IMPERATIVE for one to feel* 👍 or 👎 about *Every ... Damn ... Thing* 🥴
I thank you and I thank Dr. Degrasse Tyson. Something came to ming. When college students were protesting for safe spaces, do we now know if it was figurative or literal? If it is literal, people were not validate their places in a spectrum. They are trying to shift the spectrum. This is my personal take.
It seems to be an emotional reaction to the increasing scientific proof that almost nothing in nature really is binary, that so much binary is a social construct -- which anyone is free to do/ live/ believe like religion if they like! Yeah it is social media, but it is also entertainment and celebrity culture, which insists on being entertained all the time. That means drama so they make some. Then they have to make it crazier, then even crazier.
He is on point. Tribalism can be found at the root of so much that is wrong with the world today. Hyper-partisanship, all forms of bigotry, excessive nationalism… any thing that has an "us vs them" mentality in its roots falls into that category. Only greed (i.e. lust for power, money, stuff, etc…) comes close to how much damage it does to this world, and there is a fair amount of overlap between the two.
With respect to Dr Tyson, might I suggest this approach? Once you understand how the Earth was formed, you realize that everything on it, EVERYTHING on Earth is made from the stuff of stars...people, animals, the mountains, the plants, ALL OF IT. How can you see differences when you know that?
I He makes that point in the book. If you read it, you will discover other memorable analogies.The one I remembered best is in a chapter about statistical odds, a concept that mathematicians apparently took forever to invent a calculus for.Tyson suggests your chances of eventually dying from tobacco-caused cancer as about 12.5%, or 1:8.Those odds seem acceptable to many, although they are in fact crazy high. How about, Tyson suggests, the very first time you lit up a cigarette, you had a 1:8 chance of your head exploding. If it didn’t, you could smoke the rest of your life fearlessly. How many people would take that first puff? No one.
I absolutely love listening to this man - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Thank god I live in his time. He advocates critical thinking. Something that should be a mandatory subject from Kindergarten up.
You’re only part of that spectrum when you’re being honest. If you’re dishonest or believe falsehoods, you’re off in your own world. Falsehoods can’t simply be disagreed with, they must be dismantled.
IVe never heard such a clear and concise way to explain how he gets his answers, its so simple, yet so hard to do. "You just have to think "data" and and "analyze" it." Most people can't tell you what data is important, so knowing what is is what give you a cosmic perspective.
I love Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I know we all feel like things were better before social media and years ago. But remember in the 1850s a Senator beat another Senator with a cane for saying maybe we shouldn’t own people. People suck, unfortunately, we always have.
just going with his position that that wasn't the country he grew up in, well, yes, of course. now we have media sites which allow for immediate push back on opinions. when he and I grew up, we had "letters to the editor." big difference between then and now. so, perhaps, we did have those immediate distinctions, but we were not able to effectively communicate them at that time.
Theres something to be said for a delayed response.. a letter to the editor means that somebody sat down and considered their words probably multiple times before they submitted their letter. Careful consideration and pause often prevent us from saying things off of the top of our head without getting all of the facts in line first. I agree it is different today than it was 30 or 40 years ago. And I do appreciate that we have instant access to information. We just need to realize we have to take that information with a grain of salt and fact check it for ourselves before deciding we agree or disagree.
@@suthrnmd I think that the fast-pace of modern life, with instant access to information and gratification, can indeed impact how we engage with and process ideas. With constant stimulation and quick fixes at our fingertips, it's becoming harder to take the time to contemplate deeply or reflect on complex issues. This can influence how we approach cultural debates and societal issues, sometimes leading to knee-jerk reactions rather than thoughtful consideration.
I think organized religion (which we taxpayers subsidize) has had a lot to do with dichotomous thinking -- right or wrong, saint or sinner, good or bad, etc. Dichotomous thinking is among the most common thinking errors. Knowing two things can be true at the same time opens up a continuum, which expands awareness.
Most if not all fringe arguments fall apart under examination. The problem arises when people won't accept facts that contradict what they believe, or more importantly, feel!
10/10 In fact, this is really a genius statement. Anyone who vehemently and verbally disagrees with this argument only strengthens and proves its accuracy.
The cosmic perspective allows us to understand both large and small ideas simultaneously, allowing us to be open to extraordinary ideas without being susceptible to skepticism.
Oh my gosh the spectrum . How grand that he points to this simple message. Don’t put anything in a box. If Our creator is so great than accept the fact that there are variations so vast that our small pee brains just need to open our minds and really experience the totality of our existence. If keeping it simple is your jam because its to much to handle fine but don’t expect others to have to conform to your way of looking at things.❤😊
I'm not as concerned with people attempting to take down others' opinions as I am with attempts to take down the person. Or that when you post one opinion people jump to conclusions about how you arrived there and what other opinions you have. It's tribalized prejudice (judging, before knowing).
I agree that viewing things on a continuum is liberating. It’s using more objectivity and the freedom to consider all possibilities instead of only the ones that are acceptable to the tribe.
My great-grandfather said " politics is like bowling. If you go to far to either side you'll wind up in the gutter". I'm happy to still hear this kind of common sense from people like Neil and Jon Stewart.
Moderation or balance in all things rarely leads people astray.
I mean, everybody agrees with that, it's just the definition of "too far" that varies.
Perfect analogy.
Wise words, but as someone already said, the problem becomes "what's too far?" I have a liberal friend who my husband says is "extreme far left," yet she considers herself to be a moderate Progressive. Then there's my husband's uncle, who I consider to be way off the conservative deep end, yet he sees himself as a moderate Republican. To go with your analogy, a ball most thinks it's on the straight and narrow path when it's in the gutter.
@@rhov-anion Overton Window
I had a conversation with my dad about politics, he's a Pro Trump conservative and I'm a Bernie Sanders progressive and he said something that really surprised me. He said he used to be good like me and then the way the US government did the Vietnam war changed that. It's kind of a startling thing for him to say because he's basically admitting that what he supports isn't good. I don't know how you even deal with it when someone knows their viewpoints are bad and yet they still hold those viewpoints. It's crazy to me.
The brain does crazy things
"The US did bad things, thats why I keep voting bad politicians into its power." brilliant logic. sarcasm off
@@thend4427I see that in most Trump supporters. Basically a lot of the logic they cling to is that they've been lied to by people on the high ground and if they have to lie to gain the high ground it's justified because their opponent did it - "if they're gonna fight dirty then so am I". Even when these folks are told the truth and at times realize the truth they argue with obvious lies just to disagree. Some are at a point where they have decided they are not going to agree with you on anything, they'll argue with you about the color of the sky. That's a level of rage. And some of these people are sweet and kind with the exception of politics they turn into another person. I have some loved ones and others in my social circle like this. It's like Jeckle and Hyde, literally. A lot of the issues they're passionate about they really know little or nothing about. The allegiance to ignorance is disturbing.
He might want incompetent and ineffectual politicians motivated to do nothing because the capable and effective ones get stuff done but some of those turn out to be horrific although sounded like the right thing to do at the time.
people are strange
"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves." - Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot
Facts.
Always fascinating to hear these two converse.
In order to have civil discussions, you still need to preserve a democracy where you can have civil discussions.
Civil discussions and preserving democracy are circular phenomena. Each reinforces the other.
Remind me again of how I have a civil discussion with someone who can't be convinced Biden won the election, and thinks JFK Jr. is coming back to release Trump from prison.
@Obiter3 One cannot argue with or convince cult members of reality that contradicts their closely-held belief systems.
@@Obiter3 or that both candidates are senile and will likely run our country into the ground no matter the outcome of the election...
@@ChineduOpara Word!
This Tyson guy should be an astrophysicist he knows so much about Cosmos
😂
but not much about kindness to animals@@GenRN
@@Osc1llateW1ldlywhat do u mean
@@Osc1llateW1ldly what???
just look up "Neil deGrasse Tyson on righteous vegans"@@tylerscudder9358
Science provides a life framework based on reason and observation.
Well put, my unknown friend!
... about the objective.
This is important because some people try to use it against people's subjective statements and it's not a method for that.
@@RubelliteFae or people can't tell the difference between their objective and subjective. To some people, mostly Americans, their every opinion is a fact.
@@argentdawnit is truly sad and hilarious that people think their opinions are fact and then say “f your feelings” 😂
IF HE KEEPS THIS UP, HE'S GOING TO BE MY FAVORITE ASTROPHYSICIST!
Neil deGrasse Tyson is not an astrophysicist.
Neil is "The Man!!!!"😎👍
He Neils it
To live a life without dividers, a goal worth striving for.
I get upset because their "opinion" causes me and others real harm and they are ignorant about the negative effect they have. I am literally fighting for my safety which is scary.
That's probably what the other side is saying about your side. Your "opinions" cause them and others real harm and you all are ignorant about the negative effects.
Seems like no one has empathy these days. The quality of good and bad actors have dropped because they can't understand where the other side is coming from, to do either good or bad things. We are just at a point where nothing gets done, cause everyone just wants to be right, to prove they are right, to prove their viewpoint matters. Feels good, but surely doesn't get anything done.
Only one side has state officials that are ignoring outbreaks of measles. Simplistic both sides thinking isn't insightful.
Just because someone may not agree with you 100%, doesn't mean that they are calling you an A$$hole, and you suck as a person. (Let alone if you only agree with 50% or less!) Unfortunately it seems this is the way that most discussions go these days. Reason, Critical Thinking, Compassion/Empathy, and Compromise seem to have left the building. Its really bad when those in leadership exhibit these tendencies, especially in Politics and Business. Poor decisions end up made which delay or even sometimes regress progress. We"re left with less than mediocre people in positions they shouldn't be in, less than mediocre policies, less than mediocre products. There are still rare occasions when we exhibit decency or even greatness. Still too many times its immediately followed up by something utterly ridiculous. I still have hope though, and will try to make a positive impact on society. I hope everyone else can do the same.
@@jmhorange Oh, no. I've heard both side's arguments. The issue is, @thejuanderful's "opinion" is based on facts. Whether they're a person of color, LGBTQ, a woman, a non-Christian religion they ARE being targeted in this country. The FBI's national crime statistics confirm that.
The "other side" also claims to be targeted, persecuted, and even "genocided" based on their skin color and beliefs. The fact is that no, they are not being persecuted. White people are not being persecuted. Christians are not being persecuted. Conservatives are not being persecuted. That is a fact, based on statistics. If anything, the statistics support the narrative that they're the ones doing the targeting and persecuting, often in a very violent manner.
Your argument is just plain wrong. The issue is, you and most other people keep trying to make matters of fact into an issue of opinions, but they're not. They'll never be the same.
@@jmhorangeSome opinions are far worse than others. Some cause real harm, others cause imaginary harm. Listening to someone's opinion is one thing, but accepting it is another. Believing one's race, religion, economic system, or nation/kingdom/country to be totally superior to another is an opinion, and those opinions have killed and enslaved hundreds of millions (or even billions) across the course of history
My preferred approach when I hear a view point I disagree with is to see if I can identify some elements that I can accept or applaud and then discuss where and why I feel differently. I met someone on campus who was trying to get signatures against extracting and refining uranium. I was a physics major and quite like nuclear power. We had a civilised discussion for about 5 minutes where I was able to tell him a few truths about nuclear energy and refinement and he was prepared to listen because I was prepared to acknowledge that a poorly planned and poorly regulated industry can have catastrophic consequences like Fukushima. He ended up maintaining his position that he didn't think it was right for Australia but acknowledging a lot of his concerns may have been overblown.
I mean, Fukushima had to withstand the worst tsunami in modern history, after a ridiculously powerful earthquake. And yet there were precisely 0 fatalities. I think if anything that's a testament of how safe nuclear power is
I take a different approach; if someone is burbling on to me with a load of guff, I just shut up until they run out of steam. Then when the inevitable: "Well, what do YOU think???" comes up, I pretend to think really hard then say: " How about those Mets last season???"
@@thaisstone5192 I say something similar when the topic turns to Israel’s war on Gaza. (“How about those Wildcats anyway?”)
If the people running the power plants had the logic and integrity you seem to possess, I would think about nuclear as an alternative. But the people running the plants care about money only. They’ll take risks for profit. The consequences of an accident aren’t worth it.
@@celticceltic99 Yeah, works a right bloody treat; they get it. Most of them snort and just walk away.
always love hearing these two banter back and forth. always insightful convos.
The problem lies in the fact that there are a lot of "opinions" out there that are just wrong facts.
But that’s where a discussion could be had. And NDT is saying we are lacking in that department.
Well said, too many "people" who can't tell the difference between facts and their opinions.
Agree - this all assumes people are capable of good faith discussions... whereas in practice a lot of what we're dealing with is rigid blind faith... not so easy to breakdown.
The problem is not having opinions that are wrong, but the people who are unwilling to change their opinions when being presented with new facts and evidence
@@GregRogers503 YES. opinions are now supposed to be consumed as scientific truths.
I wish I could type a louder WOW ! but this is as loud as my keyboard gets. Neil ( who I don't necessarily agree with about everything ) was absolutely on fire in this interview. Wish it could've lasted longer !
*_WOW_*
Just put more 'O's in it: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!! ( also with many exclamation marks ) xD
I love how Neil summed up how we are all connected on a spectrum. 1 entity that comes out of another to make an individual. Too bad that fact gets lost in all our fighting.
The biggest lesson of science is that we cannot and will not ever know it all! Accept that! Rejoice in that! There is always more to learn!
What NDT is touching on is the psychology of authoritarianism. It’s worth spending some time reading about. And while historically authoritarians were found evenly dispersed along the political spectrum, since 9-11 there has been a significant shift to the right, and now among people who score high or very high for authoritarianism the number of people who identify with the political right outnumber the people who identify with the political left by a ratio of 2:1. But once one starts looking into this, it very quickly becomes evident that this is the root of America’s current dysfunction, and the cure for authoritarianism is meritocracy- where the best person for the job gets the job regardless of affiliation, not the most loyal. Happy reading!
Part of the issue with these statistics is not discerning a difference between liberal & left. We are bereft of leftists with significant power. So, since liberal is the closest we have to that, people call it left. But, when you compare to other post-industrial countries, our "left" is much to the right of theirs.
In my assessment the new populist right appeals to authoritarianism out of fear, and liberals appeal to authoritarianism out of hope. No one of political significance is advocating diffusing federal power back to the local level. (Examples being: consumer co-ops for retail & service; worker co-ops for production; citizen councils for governance; credit unions, mutual insurance, & mutual aid for personal economic stability; tool-lending libraries, community land, etc for shared property & reduced waste; decentralized planning; reduced bureaucracy; etc.) Which is interesting because concentrated power is the most easily corruptible.
@@RubelliteFae
Sounds like you're American and you assume @augustuskelley4170 is too?
If so, the sentence "We are bereft of leftists with significant power." is entirely correct and something I don't think most Americans even understand?
By the standards of any other democracy in the world, there is no left-wing political party in the US on a national level, as both the Democrats and the Republicans are right-wing parties compared to the political spectrum in the rest of the democratic world.
I'm Swedish and we're kind of extreme by historically having had the Social Democrats in power for decades and decades - althogh their dominance ended some decades ago and they are no longer as powerfull.
But the point is that in the rest of the democratic world there is still a width of the political spectrum where socialist ideas - like universal health care - are perfectly acceptable and part of any rational conversation.
The US is the only democracy where anything left of center has always been and still is demonized as "communism".
Which is ludicrous becuase almost any citizen in any other democracy has a whole lot of benefits that US citizens don't have - and they all live in free and democratic nations.
For example:
Everything Bernie Sanders wants for the US are thing most other democratic nations have had for decades. And none of those nations are as rich as the US.
I've heard american right-wingers claim policies that work in every other democracy in the world are "pie in the sky" - but they're clearly not.
I think one of the basic things any progressive in the US should be doing is working to educate the US electorate on this fact.
It's not "pie in the sky" to be guaranteed universal health care. Or 4 weeks paid vaccation a year. Or a year or two of paid parental leave. Or tuition free education. And so on and so forth.
Many other countries manages to do all these things for their citizens.
The differance between them and the US is there are (or at least have been, historically) a strong political left in those countries that forced through these policies.
Becuse that's what's needed. The political right will never ever improve the lives of ALL citizens - that's not in their interest. They only ever cater to the already well-off.
@@Rattenkriegs Yes. It's due to the Ratchet effect. In essence, the DNC always prefers high profile candidates to be right-of-center to attempt to pull in conservatives because they assume leftists (and progressives) will go along with them anyway since we have no other option. Conservatives want their candidate to stand out against the Dem candidate, so they go even further right. As compared to the rest of post-industrial democracies. This has pulled us way to the right (which isn't to say there hasn't been progress as this is a relative measure).
And since media talk about liberals as if they are the left, many people never learn that there are other options available. Hell, most people don't even realize that socialism can be done without top-down control measures.
Never mind that being so individualistic the majority of Americans seem to refuse to learn from the successes & failures of others.
Thanks for adding your message. 💖 I have been trying to tell people this stuff for 2.5 decades and people act like I'm crazy. They just aren't well-read. It's tiring.
@@RubelliteFae
Unfortunetly the common perception in the rest of the democratic world is that most Americans are simply very stupid.
I think that's unfair and that the problem is more ignorance about the rest of the world.
I saw one dutch journalist in exasperation in an documentary say that Americans like to say America is exceptional:
"- Yes, you're exceptionally shit!"
As far as I can tell that's what most people in the rest of the democratic world actually thinks about the US system. I know in Scandinavia at least (and I belive elsewhere as well) even politicians on the right definetly won't use the US as an example to emulate - becuase they know the American example scares people.
While you hear American politicians talk about how the US is "the envy of the world".
Well, for people in third world countries perhaps - but certainly not for most citizens in a western democracy.
Trump talked about how he wanted Norwegians to come to the US, insted of people from "shithole countries" like he said.
Well most Norwegians definetly don't want to move to the US and many probably think it's a "shithole country"!
I have no wish to be rude towards people but I'm not sure how well this is actually understood in the US?
But your system and society is really not some shining example to the rest of the democratic world.
Becuase the sad fact is that the deal the average American is getting is simply much, much worse then the average citizen in most of the rest of the democratic world - and certainly worse then the deal in what's called "the west" (western and central Europe, Australia, New Zeeland, Canada).
The majority of Americans are being given a raw deal by their own society and system and it's easy to show by just comparing to other countries.
So I probably pay more in tax - so what?
My healt care is almost free, my medication is heavily subsidised, my education (including collage) was free, I get five weeks paid vaccation a year and on and on and on. I could never pay for those things out of my own pocket - the taxes I pay are nothing compared to what a single operation would cost me in the US - and I've had several of those.
Every citizen of the US could - and should - have all these things as well. You're the richest nation in the world - you can certainly afford it.
Neil deGrasse Tyson for President!!!
What an embrassment of riches we've had this week. The #2 most frequently appearing guest yesterday (Bernie), The #4 today, and the #3 tomorrow (John Dickerson). We just needed to have had John Oliver (#1) on Monday to complete the hat trick plus one!
And?
since covid I've been feeling this exact way, It was just hard to explain(?) so Thank you for this NDT !
Starry Messenger is by far one of the best books I've ever listened to.
Good to know. I will give it a listen
Love how Neil phrased it!!!!❤❤❤❤
Neil deGrasse! Love him! Love him!
We all process our beliefs through what we have experienced.. trying to have compassion for those we disagree with is essential for all of us to get along.
I have thought about the "tribalize" thing and "putting people in a box" for years and years. I'm not the first to think that way. And I'm glad I heard it from Dr. Tyson. We tribalized for survial. And we continue to do so, even though we aren't fighting off wild beasts on a regular basis. But no matter who we are, it is easier to stick to what we know and scary when things are different. I'm very guilty of sticking to what I know. But I try to give other people room to be who they are too.
Excellent comments about opinions and spectrum. I am reminded about the great talk show by Phil Donahue and how we learned so much from his style of communication.
Niel makes good nuanced points, exactly the kind of thing that enrages MAGists
That you don't see how your statement is part of the problem... 🤦♀
I hope there's a missing /s or something
Neal degrass titan is our beacon of light and makes common sense
Love Neil, he is the man & sitting with Stephen makes it all the more awesome.
I love this guy!! He should have his own show!!! I love him!
Startalk?
He has had his own shows. Check him out!
@@barbarashea1975 where?
@@vickisawyer7405He did an amazing remake of Cosmos. I can't remember if it was on PBS or HBO. But I garantie you, if you like Niel you are going to love Cosmos. It is just the most fun you are ever going to have, learning stuff. I'm sure if you Google him all the stuff he's done will be listed. I know he also does a podcast.
@@vickisawyer7405Cosmos is my favorite
Can he run for president? ❤️
I so love Tyson. And his ties.
I've been disturbed for about ten years, as I've noted our *thinking* - as a species - seems tp be getting increasingly *BINARY* at an increasing pace. No room for ambivalence or even an occasional 'somewhat' anymore.
Idk, perhaps a side-effect of social media? Conditioned by so many 👍and 👎?
And, as if that weren't enough, it also now seems *IMPERATIVE for one to feel* 👍 or 👎 about *Every ... Damn ... Thing* 🥴
I thank you and I thank Dr. Degrasse Tyson.
Something came to ming. When college students were protesting for safe spaces, do we now know if it was figurative or literal?
If it is literal, people were not validate their places in a spectrum. They are trying to shift the spectrum.
This is my personal take.
It seems to be an emotional reaction to the increasing scientific proof that almost nothing in nature really is binary, that so much binary is a social construct -- which anyone is free to do/ live/ believe like religion if they like!
Yeah it is social media, but it is also entertainment and celebrity culture, which insists on being entertained all the time. That means drama so they make some. Then they have to make it crazier, then even crazier.
I love the way they fight
I love Neil deGrasse Tyson
You can never say he's just making an appearance in auto-pilot mode...or putting in a mere showing!
Exactly, that's how politics supposed to work. Politicians should not simplify the policies matters to avoid discussions and compromises.
His talk about opinions was spot on! Listen people!!! Opinions matter and it shouldn’t divide us
Beautifully said! Perfectly said! Thank you Neil! 👏👏👏💖💖💖
When Neil deGrasse Tyson gets going, he makes me want to say, "Take a deep breath, Neil!" 🙂
That is a wonderful answer. Science helps give perspective.
We have some much in common but society makes us focus on the differences
He is on point. Tribalism can be found at the root of so much that is wrong with the world today. Hyper-partisanship, all forms of bigotry, excessive nationalism… any thing that has an "us vs them" mentality in its roots falls into that category.
Only greed (i.e. lust for power, money, stuff, etc…) comes close to how much damage it does to this world, and there is a fair amount of overlap between the two.
With respect to Dr Tyson, might I suggest this approach? Once you understand how the Earth was formed, you realize that everything on it, EVERYTHING on Earth is made from the stuff of stars...people, animals, the mountains, the plants, ALL OF IT. How can you see differences when you know that?
I
He makes that point in the book. If you read it, you will discover other memorable analogies.The one I remembered best is in a chapter about statistical odds, a concept that mathematicians apparently took forever to invent a calculus for.Tyson suggests your chances of eventually dying from tobacco-caused cancer as about 12.5%, or 1:8.Those odds seem acceptable to many, although they are in fact crazy high. How about, Tyson suggests, the very first time you lit up a cigarette, you had a 1:8 chance of your head exploding. If it didn’t, you could smoke the rest of your life fearlessly. How many people would take that first puff? No one.
Preach!
Trump: BLEACH!
(they're NOT the same)
We love neil degrasse tyson and stephen colbert
I absolutely love listening to this man - Neil deGrasse Tyson. Thank god I live in his time. He advocates critical thinking. Something that should be a mandatory subject from Kindergarten up.
You’re only part of that spectrum when you’re being honest. If you’re dishonest or believe falsehoods, you’re off in your own world. Falsehoods can’t simply be disagreed with, they must be dismantled.
Neil is our PR guy for physics. Following in Sagan's footsteps is a hard act to follow, but Neil with his down-to-earth style does it well.
Love me some Neil! ❤
I really like people who are willing to be PASSIONATE about the need for fact based thinking about our complex universe!
Brilliant! Both of them!
2:37 - brings to mind those moments in Seinfeld when Kramer had to snap Newman out of a rant.
You said it Neil!
He is a lot of fun and makes so much sense!
You guys MUST make Neil’s bit from 3:06 a Reel
IVe never heard such a clear and concise way to explain how he gets his answers, its so simple, yet so hard to do. "You just have to think "data" and and "analyze" it." Most people can't tell you what data is important, so knowing what is is what give you a cosmic perspective.
I fucking love Neil degrasse Tyson
I love Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I know we all feel like things were better before social media and years ago. But remember in the 1850s a Senator beat another Senator with a cane for saying maybe we shouldn’t own people. People suck, unfortunately, we always have.
Can I like this video multiple times? Please?
I didn't know Neil deGrasse Tyson; he is brilliant! Weird name, mind.
just going with his position that that wasn't the country he grew up in, well, yes, of course. now we have media sites which allow for immediate push back on opinions. when he and I grew up, we had "letters to the editor." big difference between then and now. so, perhaps, we did have those immediate distinctions, but we were not able to effectively communicate them at that time.
Theres something to be said for a delayed response.. a letter to the editor means that somebody sat down and considered their words probably multiple times before they submitted their letter. Careful consideration and pause often prevent us from saying things off of the top of our head without getting all of the facts in line first. I agree it is different today than it was 30 or 40 years ago. And I do appreciate that we have instant access to information. We just need to realize we have to take that information with a grain of salt and fact check it for ourselves before deciding we agree or disagree.
@@suthrnmd I think that the fast-pace of modern life, with instant access to information and gratification, can indeed impact how we engage with and process ideas. With constant stimulation and quick fixes at our fingertips, it's becoming harder to take the time to contemplate deeply or reflect on complex issues. This can influence how we approach cultural debates and societal issues, sometimes leading to knee-jerk reactions rather than thoughtful consideration.
I think organized religion (which we taxpayers subsidize) has had a lot to do with dichotomous thinking -- right or wrong, saint or sinner, good or bad, etc. Dichotomous thinking is among the most common thinking errors. Knowing two things can be true at the same time opens up a continuum, which expands awareness.
Once you know how to analyze data, it becomes impossible to think that Republicans are good for our country in almost any issue.
The only way space will bring us together is if it is against a common foe up there. Sad, but it's how ingrouping and outgrouping works.
Most if not all fringe arguments fall apart under examination. The problem arises when people won't accept facts that contradict what they believe, or more importantly, feel!
He Neiled it!
Key and Peele skit on Neil is one of their funniest skits.
Love this
And always enjoy when Stephen is in deep conversation bag
The political spectrum is a circle. At the far ends you actually have the same kind of control-freaks, but with different religions.
I love this man and his insights
The Zen of Science
Everyday Science discovers answers.
Good Science discovers questions.
--Definition discovered by Don Orfeo, 28 May, 2019
I like it
10/10
In fact, this is really a genius statement. Anyone who vehemently and verbally disagrees with this argument only strengthens and proves its accuracy.
Recognizing that opinions are on a spectrum doesn't recognize that one side consistently lies with the goal of overthrowing our government.
Whoooosssh, you missed it.
I could listen to Neil all day
When is Neli DeGrass Tyson running for President? He has my vote! From an adoring Ophiucan fan!
I keep buying books after these episodes with amazing people that write books. HELP!
Damn. Neil was on a tear. When he practically screamed "They're on a _spectrum_ ..." I felt like saying and so are you! 🤣
Good advice people.
The cosmic perspective allows us to understand both large and small ideas simultaneously, allowing us to be open to extraordinary ideas without being susceptible to skepticism.
Due to the limits of physics, we will never colonize beyond earth. All science needs to save the planet if it’s still even possible.
nope, you're just dumb
If everything is on spectrum, then Pluto should still be a planet! SLAM!
Good overview after a long time.
I watched this bc i was high. It all makes sense now
We are everyday people
Data and facts aremt Americas strong point.
One of the big problems is that logic and reasoning are not taught early enough in the schooling experience, it should start in primary school.
Neil de Grasses Tyson, America's favorite nerd 💙
Neil, please run for President on a ticket with Jon Stewart.
Best book ever🤩
Love me some Neil DeGrasse Tyson❤️
Oh my gosh the spectrum . How grand that he points to this simple message. Don’t put anything in a box. If Our creator is so great than accept the fact that there are variations so vast that our small pee brains just need to open our minds and really experience the totality of our existence. If keeping it simple is your jam because its to much to handle fine but don’t expect others to have to conform to your way of looking at things.❤😊
Preach Neil! DeGrass Tyson is the man 👨
Tyson for president!
NDT IS the weird uncle who starts the fight....and i love him for that.
Neil flipping tables
All I know is that Neil always shows up wearing GREAT (celestial) ties!
Best show guest!!
"Think data and analyze it..."
Yeah, the average Trump voter is all about analyzing data :)
What is a woman?
I'm not as concerned with people attempting to take down others' opinions as I am with attempts to take down the person. Or that when you post one opinion people jump to conclusions about how you arrived there and what other opinions you have. It's tribalized prejudice (judging, before knowing).
Exactly. 😊
I agree that viewing things on a continuum is liberating. It’s using more objectivity and the freedom to consider all possibilities instead of only the ones that are acceptable to the tribe.