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Neil deGrasse Tyson: Be Yourself | Big Think

Big Think | March 12, 2026



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There are many ways to describe Neil de Grasse Tyson. Astrophysicist. Popularizer of science. TV and radio host. Evangelist of space exploration. PETA booster. Oenophile. Director of the Hayden Planetarium. Latin ballroom dancing gold medalist. Prolific author and Twitterer. Honorary doctorate hoarder. Demoter of Pluto. Humanist. Realist. Atheist or agnostic? Badass.

Tyson should not be described, however, as Carl Sagan: the Sequel. Tyson, after all, was recruited by Sagan to attend Cornell, but passed him over for Harvard. In fact, Tyson has always marched to the beat of his own drum, and that has led him on his own unique journey from star wrestler at Bronx High School of Science to the science celebrity who was chosen by People as the sexiest astrophysicist alive.
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NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON:

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. He is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium. His professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson obtains his data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as from telescopes in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the Andes Mountains of Chile.Tyson is the recipient of nine honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson”.

Tyson’s new book is Letters From an Astrophysicist (2019).
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TRANSCRIPT:

Neil deGrasse Tyson: I’ve had several people come up to me and say, “What can I do to be you?” And the only aspect of me that’s really doable is I can tell you what my academic pedigree is and what I did as a kid and what things interested me, but what I do day-to-day is not the fulfillment of some preexisting job description. It’s just things that I took interest in on my own that the general public happened to also appreciate or like or want access to. And so within my job description as Director of the Hayden Planetarium and as an educator, as an astrophysicist, I kept accreting other things that I did that people responded to, positively responded to. So, I can tell you about the academic pedigree. The rest, you have to create what it is that you do best that layers onto the formal training that may be behind it.

I think the greatest of people that have ever been in society, they were never versions of someone else. They were themselves. You don’t think about Michael Jordan the basketball player and say, “Oh, he was just like this other player.” No, you don’t even say, “He was like this player plus that player divided by two plus this.” No. He’s Michael Jordan. I think the greatest of people in society carved niches that represented the unique expression of their combinations of talents, and if everyone had the luxury of expressing the unique combinations of talents in this world, our society would be transformed overnight. It’s the great tragedy — people employed in ways that don’t fully tap everything they do best in life.

I am privileged and I don’t take a day for granted on the job about the fact that what I do, what people most warmly receive about what I do, are some of the things that I do best in life. I’m honored and flattered by that combination of facts as they apply to me. So, your task is to find the combination of facts that apply to you. Then people will beat a path to your door.

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Written by Big Think

Comments

This post currently has 38 comments.

  6. @MrDontcareify

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    Just remember that your “self” is not static. It changes constantly. In that sense, there is no such thing as a “self” just an identity that you create and also happen to like at the same time.

  10. @sticks1944

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    This gentleman is one of the people that, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting and intelligent people on the planet. His thoughts on critical thinking should be required to be heard by every school in the country.
    There is however , one aspect of this video that escapes me. The term is
    “General Public” …. it’s redundant.
    Too many people misuse it. Public means ‘General population’, therefore your saying – General General Population.
    It’s like people saying ATM machine …..
    So: Automatic Teller Machine Machine ?

  11. @catface7133

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    That's excellent. For me the thing is asking myself "Am I doing the greatest version of me right now?" That's where I find the room for improvement, I may not fulfill these missing areas but at least I am aware in my own mind of them.

  13. @AntonioSilva-ld4dq

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    The digital transformation allows expression in almost all the ways. I like how he articulates or talk about how to in his case been a scientist known or with books published. I myself im in that stage in wich you ask about how to stay at some level, how to improve, how to get in a career path. As he said try to see what combination works. The past years been of self recognition and now i think writting freely to find a style on whatever im going to do. The best way might be having a blog, using social media, reading books about other people from the career i choose and stay in the path.

  17. @_Maxten

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    1:17, idk, i definitely think contrary to what he said about MJ because MJ even says he steals moves from certain players making himself a combo of all of them.

  22. @83j049733rfe4

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    People aren't numbers, they're not even definitions.
    They're a lot more objective and tangible than something that high concept.
    They're narratives.

    So make your own.

  23. @markkravitz4678

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    ✌️ Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”! Entrepreneurs keep that @evenkingsfall (His Instagram name) THINK BIG thought process! Looking forward to your next video 💙

  26. @MadScientist267

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    Unfortunately the originality you describe is almost non existent today. Kids aren't curious anymore for example about the real world. If it doesn't happen on YouTube, it doesn't exist.

    There's irony in there somewhere lol

  33. @triclopsgamer5934

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    Michael Jordan was a robot. I don't want to be the same robot that Michael Jordan was. I want to be robot with more advaced hardware. That is technically different… Right?

  34. @mkivy

    March 12, 2026 at 11:39 pm

    I do my best to keep busy and read numerous articles. I read, and postulate appropriate answers and ludicrous answers and the answers or arguments that appear to have a truth value of “true” and work it out the best of my ability. Sometimes I just have to think outside the box and listen to u experts. I find Quantum Physics so fascinating yet hard to phantom…I am an average brained individual so to it takes a lot of extra energy to assist me. Thank you sir…my other fascinating physicist is Dr Kaku and I read and try to understand “String Theory”… kudos to u all!

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