Post by auntym on Apr 7, 2011 14:51:02 GMT -6
www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/neil-tyson-at-penn-state-embrace-skepticism-dont-buy-into-ufo-hype-710017/
Neil Tyson at Penn State: Embrace Skepticism; Don't Buy into UFO Hype
April 07, 2011 11:13 AM
by Adam Smeltz
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson didn't come to Penn State to talk about astrophysics.
The university already has top-flight experts in that field, faculty members who can shed light on and talk about cosmic discovery any time, he said.
And so, Tyson -- an Ivy League-educated author, researcher and television personality -- delved instead into what he called his "brain droppings" Wednesday night at Eisenhower Auditorium.
He spoke for nearly two hours on "Brain Droppings of an Astrophysicist," a part-science, part-comedy presentation that emphasized the value of skepticism, critical thinking and scientific grounding from day-to-day life to society at large.
Early on, Tyson brought a rhetorical knife to cut down popular mythology over purported alien visits and unidentified flying objects.
Imagine, he said, if you see "lights in the sky and don't what they are."
"If you don't know what it is, you don't know know what it is. You don't make stuff up" just to support theories that lack evidence, Tyson said. " ... The human brain is one of the most deceptive data-taking (devices) there is."
After all, it's designed primarily to keep us alive, not to run scientific analyses, he said.
One by one, he flayed subjects that have gained traction in popular culture: astrology, Swami levitation, aliens on Mars, the "supermoon" and conspiracy theories suggesting government cover-ups of alien activity.
TO CONTINUE READING CLICK ON ABOVE LINK
Neil Tyson at Penn State: Embrace Skepticism; Don't Buy into UFO Hype
April 07, 2011 11:13 AM
by Adam Smeltz
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson didn't come to Penn State to talk about astrophysics.
The university already has top-flight experts in that field, faculty members who can shed light on and talk about cosmic discovery any time, he said.
And so, Tyson -- an Ivy League-educated author, researcher and television personality -- delved instead into what he called his "brain droppings" Wednesday night at Eisenhower Auditorium.
He spoke for nearly two hours on "Brain Droppings of an Astrophysicist," a part-science, part-comedy presentation that emphasized the value of skepticism, critical thinking and scientific grounding from day-to-day life to society at large.
Early on, Tyson brought a rhetorical knife to cut down popular mythology over purported alien visits and unidentified flying objects.
Imagine, he said, if you see "lights in the sky and don't what they are."
"If you don't know what it is, you don't know know what it is. You don't make stuff up" just to support theories that lack evidence, Tyson said. " ... The human brain is one of the most deceptive data-taking (devices) there is."
After all, it's designed primarily to keep us alive, not to run scientific analyses, he said.
One by one, he flayed subjects that have gained traction in popular culture: astrology, Swami levitation, aliens on Mars, the "supermoon" and conspiracy theories suggesting government cover-ups of alien activity.
TO CONTINUE READING CLICK ON ABOVE LINK