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[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 142 points 8 months ago

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Its not just me right? This guy is insufferable. Like he got to take Carl Sagan's seat but he has none of the humility that comes from the sense of awe that Sagan was able to inspire through his understanding of the universe.

[-] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 64 points 8 months ago

He just seems like a pompous asshole. The stories about his lectures and how much he charges don't help at all.

[-] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 48 points 8 months ago

I try not to downplay the importance of science communication but NDT is an ass

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 38 points 8 months ago

He's pompous af and like, regularly wrong. Which its like, bro you can carry the arrogance, but you have to be %100 all the time or you need to drop it.

[-] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago

He sees himself as a contrarian before anything else I think and never misses an opportunity to flount it

[-] UsernameHere 29 points 8 months ago

I don’t get why it’s so popular to hate on him.

[-] Benjaben@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me it's the way I viewed him with hope and admiration, then later discovered he's just yet one more self-obsessed asshole media personality. It's rare anymore that I switch off the cynicism the world has beaten into me and allow myself to just assume the best about some media figure. And doing so leaves one vulnerable - finding out later that this was naive and foolish really hardens that cynicism. This stings in a way that just assuming he was a piece of shit from the start doesn't.

[-] UsernameHere 5 points 8 months ago

To me he just sounds like a character from that show Big Bang Theory. I think he may come off wrong sometimes when he is trying to bring science into the discussion but everyone has bad days. I don’t think Carl Sagan would’ve held it against him.

[-] Benjaben@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

That's fair, it's not my interpretation though. It's been a while and I don't remember the specifics well by now, but I definitely came away feeling like he was an egocentric asshole just in it for the attention. To be fair, a far more interesting and useful egocentric asshole than most! But I ended up not liking him...as in, I don't just have some complaints about unpolished moments, I would actually choose not to hang out with him if given the chance. And I came to that opinion after starting off absolutely smitten with the guy.

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Its not a matter of popularity but a matter of how he conducts himself.

Here are about 20 examples: https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dmkgz/neil-degrasse-tysons-tweets-are-so-bad-and-he-needs-to-go-away

[-] UsernameHere 25 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

The writer of that article seems over the top angry about NDT’s tweets. Enough so that he titles the article “Neil Degrasse Tyson Shut The Fuck Up”.

Maybe its justified though, let’s look at some examples:

-NDT tweeted that “Marriage Story” should’ve been called “Divorce Story”.

-NDT tweeted chunks of asteroid in the movie Armageddon conveniently hit all the major cities of earth.

-NDT tweeted that the aliens in the movie Arrival would’ve had to write backwards to communicate.

…Seriously this doesn’t explain the hate for him. It just makes the writer seem like he has a chip on his shoulder.

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[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 12 points 8 months ago

Lemmy/redditors hate the smell of their own brand.

[-] Entropywins@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

That one stung friend...

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[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 21 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I don't mind him on actual science shows and stuff he does there; but his online persona is just that of an insufferable, annoying, know-it-all Redditor. He wasn't a douche like that the times I remember seeing him on Nova and other such programs. Only through his tweets and other social media interactions.

[-] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

He really doesn’t even come close to filling Sagan’s shoes and we should find someone who can.

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[-] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

100%. That's the perfect way of putting it too. Sagan seemed super humble and had a genuine state of wonder with with universe. NDT seems like an insufferable know it all douche who just likes publicity. Being a know it all seems antithetical to science.

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[-] InquisitiveApathy@lemm.ee 14 points 8 months ago

As someone whose content specialization is Astronomy, I've always disliked Dr. Tyson as a public figure. I've always found him to be pretty pompous and patronizing with his explanations and descriptions. As you mention, he's filling large shoes and lacks the the humility to handle it.

[-] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 6 points 8 months ago

I know right. NDT may be passionate about science, but the guy is way too far up his own backside to do what Sagan did... Narcissists aren't inspiring to anyone but other narcissists, to the rest of they're insufferable.

[-] GardenVarietyAnxiety@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

I feel bad for Chuck, his co host on his podcast. He never misses an opportunity to remind him that he's an "outsider" that's only there for comic relief.

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Chuck is in on it, he's fine. He knows and plays into it. But he's definitely not dumb. He can follow along with what Neil says just fine, even advanced topics that I can't follow as someone very interested in science. I know he can because he rephrases what Neil says in his own words and Neil would go "Exactly!" or something to that effect.

The comic relief act is just that, an act, for comic relief, and it's funny because it's working in a meta type way.

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[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

I've never listened to the podcast but this seems so on brand for him.

Science isn't a religion or cult. Its a process and literally just thinking and becoming informed allows you to be a part of that process. It doesn't need gatekeepers.

[-] Kalkaline@leminal.space 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

You have to be able to accept evidence when it shows itself, at least until better evidence shows itself. That's the hardest part about science.

[-] bquintb@midwest.social 4 points 8 months ago

Extremely insufferable... I stay far away from people like NDT in real life.

¡¡¡Actshully!!

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[-] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 88 points 8 months ago

Wait until he brings up mirror kissing.

[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 37 points 8 months ago
[-] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

Did you know that if you kiss a mirror, it'll be on the lips?

[-] Kalkaline@leminal.space 12 points 8 months ago

You gotta be faster than the speed of light, then you can kiss yourself on the cheek in the mirror.

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[-] kozy138@lemm.ee 11 points 8 months ago

"How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real?"

[-] UsernameHere 7 points 8 months ago

Reposting content eh? Like we do here on lemmy? Unacceptable.

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[-] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 6 points 8 months ago

He's doing his best to give tips to the other narcissists out there - after all he learned from the best, himself

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[-] Seraph@kbin.social 48 points 8 months ago

For a joke y'all got super serious about this.

[-] jaspersgroove@lemm.ee 24 points 8 months ago

Ate the onion lol

[-] UsernameIsTooLon@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

People love to bandwagon hate. But honestly I gotta give credit to this one, it almost feels like something that could happen lol.

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[-] morriscox@lemmy.world 46 points 8 months ago
[-] flames5123@lemmy.world 16 points 8 months ago

We’re on theonion. Of course it’s satire.

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[-] msage@programming.dev 11 points 8 months ago

The issue is that NDT is an asshole, a pompous one at that.

Noone is eating the onion, everyone is just getting angry at the douche.

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[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

Twitter didn’t exist in Carl Sagan’s time, and he was just as critical of science fiction in movies.

[-] ZeroCool@slrpnk.net 6 points 8 months ago

I'll be sure to forward that video to thehardtimes.net. Hopefully they'll tease the ghost of Carl Sagan equally to settle any concerns of unfair treatment.

[-] iamtherealwalrus@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

The Hard Times is a very real punk news site that you should not question. Just absorb the information as truth and move on. The historic satire site was founded in December 1976. It’s made by a group of punk and hardcore kids from all the different sub-genres of the DIY hardcore scene. Any resemblance to actual persons or band names is coincidental.

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[-] roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I really like NDT overall, but as I was reading the title I was almost certain what community this was in, but not 100%. He has his flaws. Like a lot of people on social media, he needs to learn when not to engage.

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this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
584 points (95.8% liked)

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