Neil deGrasse Tyson, the renowned astrophysicist, brings his unique cosmic perspective to bear on civilization in his book "Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization." This work shines a new light on the crucial fault lines of our time, including war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, and race, fostering a deeper sense of unity for us all.
In an era where political and cultural views are increasingly polarized, Tyson offers a much-needed antidote, passionately advocating for the twin chariots of enlightenment: a cosmic perspective and the rationality of science.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
A Scientist's View of the World
Tyson encourages readers to see the world as a scientist does, especially one who carries a cosmic perspective. The book offers persistent and diverse ways for the reader to see the world differently.
After thinking deeply about how science sees the world and about Earth as a planet, the human brain has the capacity to reset and recalibrates life’s priorities, shaping the actions we might take in response. No outlook on culture, society, or civilization remains untouched. With crystalline prose, Starry Messenger walks us through the scientific palette that sees and paints the world differently.
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It's much more of a philosophical work than a science book, a guide on how to approach questions or situations from a scientific and factual viewpoint rather than relying on often incorrect "common knowledge" and preconceived notions.
Key Themes and Insights
An interesting book that seems to have two overriding themes: first, appreciate and even consider acting more like a scientist. We are encouraged to be more open-minded and guided by “facts” only after actionable belief is subjected to exposure, testing and peer review. Secondly, it would help for us to think in other than binary terms, even though it is in our nature to do so.
Much of what we view as either one thing or another can be deceptive. Our inclination to think in binary terms blinds us to the reality that much of the life we live and encounter exists as part of a vast spectrum, with innumerable and nuanced aspects.
In his preface Tyson writes, "Starry Messenger recasts some of the most discussed and debated topics of our times - war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, race, each an artificial battlefield on the landscape of life - and returns them to the reader in ways that foster accountability and wisdom in the service of civilization." In other words, Tyson means to convey a trove of insights conveyed by the methods and tools of science. The scientific method is used to determine facts and truth.
He addresses subjects without bias and presents facts as an illustration of how the scientific method can help make better decisions. It reminded me of my favorite quote from Harlan Ellison: “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your -informed- opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
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The Dangers of "Personal Truths"
The need for reason and rationality and statistics is a recurring theme. The danger of “personal truths”, although attractive and appealing, replacing objective truths - even if our mammalian brains seem to prefer the easiness of polarization into “us” and “them”.
“Differences in opinion enrich the diversity of a nation, and ought to be cherished and respected in any free society, provided everyone remains free to disagree with one another and, most importantly, everyone remains open to rational arguments that could change your mind. Sadly, the conduct of many in social media has devolved to the opposite of this. Their recipe: find an opinion they disagree with and unleash waves of anger and outrage because your views do not agree with theirs.
“Far beyond wine truths, and close cousins of personal truths, are political truths. These thoughts and ideas already resonate with your feelings but become unassailable truths from incessant repetition by forces of media that would have you believe them-a fundamental feature of propaganda. Such belief systems almost always insinuate or explicitly declare that who you are, or what you do, or how you do it, is superior to those you want to subjugate or conquer. It’s no secret that people will give their lives, or take the lives of others, in support of what they believe.
In examining these dualities, Tyson’s engaging writing offers unexpected revelations, which in my case exposed some of my own confirmation biases in examining fact and fiction. Fresh perspectives always offer challenges to respective dogmatisms. Such is the value of learning.
Examples of Scientific Progress
It's indisputable that humanity's understanding of the universe has undergone dramatic changes over time. An early example would be Galileo's observation in 1610 that Earth is NOT the center of all motion, that the Earth orbits the sun as just one of other known planets. For many people, this was an intolerable assertion, and it took time for this 'fact' to be widely accepted.
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Galileo Galilei
Scientific knowledge and human responses progressed over the centuries, and - in modern times - has advanced at lightning speed. Tyson provides some examples:
- Between 1900 and 1930, the existence of atoms is confirmed; the range of flight extends from 120 feet to 5,218 miles; we learn to use radio waves as a source of information and entertainment; urban transportation shifts from horses to automobiles; cities are electrified; and cinema becomes a leading source of recreation.
- From 1930 to 1960, airplanes break the sound barrier; we see the beginning of the space age; the laser is invented; atom bombs are used; and television becomes an important source of information and entertainment.
- From 1960 to 1990, transistors allow consumer electronics to miniaturize; women enter the workforce in large numbers, especially in professional fields; the modern gay rights movement takes off due to the AIDS epidemic; computers go from expensive room-size machines to desktop models; widespread use of MRIs help doctors diagnose illness without surgery; and humans go to the Moon.
| Period | Scientific and Technological Advancements |
|---|---|
| 1900-1930 | Confirmation of atoms, advancements in flight, use of radio waves, shift to automobiles, electrification of cities, cinema as recreation. |
| 1930-1960 | Airplanes break sound barrier, beginning of space age, invention of laser, use of atom bombs, rise of television. |
| 1960-1990 | Miniaturization of electronics, increased female workforce, modern gay rights movement, desktop computers, widespread use of MRIs, Moon landing. |
In his scientific analyses and reflections on Gender & Identity as well as Color & Race, Tyson nails with solid facts and critical thinking the essential truth that people are more alike than not.
Subtitled calculations we make daily with our own lives and the lives of others, the Risk & Reward chapter, confronted some of my mathematical and cosmological deficiencies regarding the importance of numbers in critical scientific thinking, specifically statistics and probability.
The author offers several enlightening examples of the analytical powers of probability. In 1986, 4,000 astrophysicists gathered at the MGM Grand Marina Hotel in Las Vegas for a convention. The hotel was and remains the largest hotel in the world with 7,000 rooms.
“Could it be,” conjectures Tyson, “that physicists know probability so well that they boosted their odds against the casino in poker, roulette, craps, and slot machines and came away victors? No. They simply didn’t play.
“In the court of law,” reports Tyson, “if truth and objectivity are neither sought nor desired, then we must admit (confess?) to ourselves that at least some parts of the justice system are the opposite of Aristotle’s edict, and are instead all about feelings and emotions. A key component of Tyson’s insights is people willing to learn.
The book’s Coda, Life & Death, is priceless wisdom and a clarified conclusion to Tyson’s marvelous meditations on what is and what ain’t, and why using scientific analysis and methodologies can offer some very enlightening critical thinking about life, death, and humanity.
He quotes nineteenth-century educator Horace Mann’s epitaph as a fitting tombstone and a life worth living: “I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts these my parting words. Our primal urge to keep looking up is surely greater than our primal urge to keep killing each other. If so, then human curiosity and wonder, the twin chariots of cosmic discovery, will ensure that starry messages continue to arrive. These insights compel us, for our short time on Earth, to become better shepherds of our own civilization.
Yes, life is better than death. Life is also better than having never been born. But each of us is alive against stupendous odds. We won the lottery-only once. We get to invoke our faculties of reason to figure out how the world works. But we also get to smell the flowers. We get to bask in divine sunsets and sunrises, and gaze deeply into the night skies they cradle.
Another random observation that he made that impressed me was on page 176, and he is recounting his experience of being in a pool for jury selection. The defendant is charged with the possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine, and he points out that the charge is phrased that way rather than as the more accurate 1.7 grams simply to make it sound like a larger quantity and a more heinous offense. There were many such points he makes in the book that gave me a different way of looking at a situation.
He does an excellent job in his treatment of disabilities, citing examples of people who have excelled in spite of what are commonly viewed as disabilities. He queries if Stephen Hawking was really disabled, given his proficiency in science and whether, when compared to his intellect and accomplishments, is it we or most of us who should be considered disabled? He cites to Helen Keller, Jim Abbott (the Yankee pitcher with only one hand who pitched a no-hitter against Cleveland), and others who excelled, regardless of what would generally be considered as having a debilitating trait.
He takes this one step further and compares our capabilities to other living organisms on this planet. Within the animal kingdom, our natural capabilities are far from ideal when it comes to our somewhat deficient five senses. Yes, but what about our big brains? We do not even possess the largest brains in the animal world (whales, elephants and dolphins have bigger brains). And who is to say that ants are not conscious?
With regard to race and gender identity, he effectively makes the case that there is a vast spectrum that must be considered relevant and acted upon in order to fully appreciate the vast “continuum” of human nature. His Chapter Four, entitled Conflict & Resolution, is a worthwhile read as well. He does a deep dive into what he refers to as standard Democratic and Republican tropes regarding one or the other party. He calls out unfair generalizations on both sides.
Finishing up with what an alien reaction to our existence might be, he reminds us that we, as humans, share 98% of our DNA make-up with chimps. He goes on to explain that the 2% does make, and has made, an enormous difference in our evolutionary progress, social relations, inventions and built environment. But then he goes on to speculate. What if aliens visiting earth were to have a genetic structure enhanced beyond our own, with a similar difference of 2%? In that event, we would be viewed, with all of our achievements, as little more than children or worse, inferior animals to be exploited for the benefit of the aliens.
All of these musings and stories are intended to help us think about life and living in a more objective, reasoned way. As an attorney who was trained to think like an attorney, it was refreshing to be able to appreciate thinking in the way that Tyson suggests. His approach could be of great cultural benefit to us all. At the very least, he is recommending that we work to set aside our insecurities and open up to seeing the world the way he and (according to him) other scientists do. Of course, this is easier said than done.
I am reminded of a quote from John Dewey (Human Nature and Conduct): “Character that is unable to undergo successfully the strain of thought and effort required to bring about competing tendencies into a unity, builds up barriers between different systems of likes and dislikes. The emotional stress incident to conflict is avoided not by readjustment but by effort at confinement.” This quote resonates with the political divisions and confined tribalism we currently experience in this country.
If the reader is looking for a guide as to how to motivate people to emerge from their caves (an analogy he makes in the beginning of the book in support of space travel) and undertake that “strain of thought and effort” required for human progress, it will not be found in this book. Perhaps the best we can do is bring scientists, with their perspectives and methods, into our political processes to a greater extent so, at the very least, implicit biases would be challenged before being acted upon.
Beyond being informative, it is also an enjoyable read. To gain a fresher perspective on the state of our current human beingness, I stepped into space with astrophysicist/educator Neil DeGrasse Tyson as my starry messenger. From out there on the moon, International politics look so petty. -Edgar D.
“Do whatever it takes to avoid fooling yourself into believing that something is true when it is false, or that something is false when it is true."
You know those books you try to read as slowly as possible because you don't want them to ever end? This book was one of those for me. I started it and then started and read two others while reading it, in order to make it last longer. My brain needed the rational thoughts of Neil deGrasse Tyson, and his many thought experiments, especially at the moment. It was the best book I could have been reading the last two weeks. The book is Mr. Tyson's thoughts on a variety of topics, mainly how we humans categorize others - often to justify hating them.
He included myriad thought experiments to show the absurdity in stereotyping people (according to skin color, sexuality, political leanings, etc), and how lazy it is to simply plop a label on someone we don't even know, and decide we know everything about them.
My brain thrills at thought experiments. I could read them all day. It is so exciting to see things in a new way, to flip around the way one thinks about something, to rationalize instead of accepting things emotionally.
And then there were lots of cool scientific facts in this book too. More dopamine for my brain!
Here are a few:
- "The Moon is spiraling away from Earth at a rate of about 1.5 inches per year."
- "If you lower the air pressure well below the level where you’d suffocate and die, there exists a pressure and temperature for which water boils as it freezes."
- "More bacteria live and work in every centimeter of our lower colon than the sum of all humans who have ever lived."
- "On average, the human brain is 2.5 percent of our body weight, yet for some ant species, their brains are closer to 15 percent of their body weight."
There is a chapter on vegans/vegetarians which I loved and realize much of it was tongue-in-cheek. However, I want to point out though that some of us vegans do worry about the plant life we kill and consume, wondering if one day we will learn that plants have consciousness and the ability to feel pain. That worries me a lot, perhaps more than it should. I figure though, that we know for sure other mammals and fish experience pain and are conscious and we don't yet know that about plants, therefore it's better to go with the latter. Also, if you eat meat, you're killing both the animal and the plants it eats, so it's less suffering caused by only eating plants. (Whether or not it still makes me a hypocrite, I'm not sure.)
That said, I do not demonize those of you who eat meat because I recognize that it's the "circle of life" and I do not believe in imposing my morals and beliefs on others. Whether or not to eat meat and dairy is not for me to decide for anyone but myself. If you enjoy learning scientific facts and thinking rationally and challenging your beliefs, this is the book for you. It's not very long, though even if it was it still wouldn't have been long enough for me.
As I was reading this, I didn't expect to learn anything new, but that wasn't really the point. Even the title hints at its true purpose: to inspire awe.
To be very sure, it's awe in the pure-reality sense, the scientific sense, and a measured analysis of who we are, what we might be capable of, and how we fit in the rest of the universe.
This is NOT, however, dull, pedantic, or dry.
I quickly came to the conclusion that this nonfiction is, in fact, a prose poem. It's quite short, it's tiny data points all trying to express the magic, and it lightly flits over so many areas in a charming way.
Who is this written for? People who haven't lost their sense of wonder, or people who might be a bit too disgusted with humanity but haven't quite given up on the whole rotting carcass just yet.
In short, if you need a reason to remember that science is real, that all is not lost, that those who would drag everything down to the lowest level have not won, yet, then this might be the book you need.
Being a Black Neil deGrasse Tyson fan used to be easy. I’ve always loved space and its acquainted sciences, and when I became aware of him - somewhere around 2000 - it was love at first sight, intellectually speaking. That he also hit my representation buttons was a lock for me. At some point my activism caught up to my adoration. I wanted Tyson to do more than be a role model; I wanted him to speak on real world issues. It was something he didn’t like to do, as he saw himself as a scientist first. In his mind, the mission of being a public intellectual precluded him from speaking on things like racism and politics. In my mind, his being Black precluded any suggestion that he shouldn’t.
In his latest book, “Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization”, Tyson finally delivers the book I wanted 20 years ago. At the same time, I recognize that he may not have been in the place such a book requires until the world was very much on fire. “Starry Messenger” offers an astrophysicist’s takes on war, religion, race and more through a scientific lens, and it doesn’t come off nearly as Vulcan as it sounds. Tyson allows for some skin in the game on the issues. And while he does lean into that thing he does these days where he oversimplifies an issue to a logical consideration without any concrete concern for its real world application, he manages to pull the nose of the plane up the majority of the time to keep from being outright offensive.
In an example I’m totally making up to illustrate his tic, a cop killing is not an imploding sun, and treating the issue like all we have to do is get over ourselves as a viable course of action is ridiculous. It’s not perfect - plenty of fodder for arguments to be had here. If you don’t like Tyson as a person or a scientist, this book probably won’t change your mind. For me, it is the book I’ve been waiting for him to write. And despite my issues with it academically, I’m glad it exists.