Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: Part 2 (Neil deGrasse Tyson)

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER:
MY DREAM INVITE LIST (Part 2)

Yesterday, I introduced a new writing series.

“Name ten people you would invite to a lavish dinner for a night of great conversation.”

Yeah, this is all imaginary, of course, and just for fun.

My first invited guest surprised many readers: ALICE COOPER

Now, this is Part 2. It’s time send out my second invitation and fill the next seat at the grandest dinner of all time.

Pondering my next invited guest, a full confession: I’m intrigued by people who have seen the world from a very different perspective. Only a handful of people in all of human history have taken such great risks to travel such an extraordinary distance into the heavens to look back upon earth from afar. Of the 12 men who have walked on the moon, only four are still alive.

Picking any of those dozen brave men (assuming we could invite the deceased) is justified. I’d certainly gain something significant from the conversation, or just by listening. However, I don’t know enough about the space program or those astronauts to make any final determination about which one of them is the best to invite. Buzz Aldrin? Neil Armstrong? I don’t know. But were it possible I’d chose some amalgamation of those who risked their lives, were way ahead of their time, and saw us in a way that no one else can compare. I also suspect they returned as changed men and were altered forever after that amazing experience, and some in the space program even had difficulty adjusting — and being husbands and fathers and neighbors and just doing regular things — back on planet earth. I mean, how do you top *walking on the moon*?

So….given that I can’t pick just one astronaut, instead I’ll invite someone who is best suited to put all of this (and more) into perspective:

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

Some facts I learned, and you may not know about — NDT:

– age 68
– born in New York City
– father was sociologist who worked for NYC Mayor John Lindsay, and was the first director of Harlem Youth Opportunities
– mother was a federal employee who worked as a gerontologist for the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare
– at 14, he received a coveted scholarship from the Explorers Club of New York to view the 1973 total solar eclipse aboard a ship, which included speakers Neil Armstrong and Isaac Asimov
– at 17, he was invited by famous astrophysicist Carl Sagan to Cornell: “I already knew I wanted to become a scientist. But that afternoon, I learned from Carl the kind of person I wanted to become,” he later said.
– education:
Harvard (BA)
University of Texas (MA)
Columbia University (PhD)
– has held numerous positions in academia, research, and space technology–far too many to list.
– author (or co-author) of 17 books
– hosted several popular television series, including a NOVA documentary series called “Origins” and an update of the classic PBS series “Cosmos.”
– former director of the Hayden Planetarium
– host of “Star Talk,” a podcast which became a popular weekly TV show
– on spirituality. “I would say if I find a word that came closest, it would be ‘agnostic…I remain unconvinced by any claims anyone has ever made about the existence or the power of a divine force operating in the universe.”
– on the lack of women (and minorities) in science, “…before we start talking about genetic differences, you gotta come up with a system where there’s equal opportunity. Then we can start having that conversation.”
– positively advocated for the freedoms of homosexual and transgender citizens (and has debated the topic versus many right-wing and religious rivals in various media)
– appears regularly on news shows, late night talk shows, comedy central, and a vast array of mainstream programs
– has appeared as a guest on The Big Bang Theory, Gravity Falls, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Zoolander 2, Ice Age: Collision Course, Family Guy, BoJack Horseman, The Simpsons, Salvation, and Scooby-Doo, and Guess Who?
– met his wife when they were both students at the University of Texas, married nearly 30 years, 2 children
– numerous awards and honors

I left out NDT’s best quality — and that’s his gift at taking complex subjects and explaining them to those of us who lack that level of knowledge. He makes learning fun. He’s also demonstrated a wonderful wittiness over many years, which isn’t exactly the first character trait we think of in an astrophysicist. I’ve also witnessed NDT talk about numerous topics in speeches and interviews — from space, to UFOs, to world history, to AI, to molecular biology, to just about anything you can think of — and speak with a rare combination of authority and unorthodoxy.

Finally, there’s his wonderful sense of humor. Rarely have we seen anyone explain things while often laughing and enjoying the teaching experience. Tyson has a rare ability of being humorous, while insightful–and even deep. A terrific example is his short explanation of “what aliens might look like.” Trust me, this is well worth 3 minutes of your time.

CLICK TO WATCH HERE

This invite is a slam dunk, for me. I’ve now got two of my ten seats filled:

1. ALICE COOPER
2. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

More coming soon.