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Goodbye Jesus

Intellectual Immunity?


RogueScholar

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This is in response to some of the news stories that I have seen regarding Neil deGrasse Tyson. Regardless of all the political hyperbole surrounding this issue, it is reasonably clear to me that he did misquote people and made false statements.

 

I want to bring this up because I think that people in these types of positions should absolutely not be immune to the scepticism that we throw at our religious adversaries when they make false statements. Perhaps I believe it's even more important that folks in such positions aggressively examine what they say and immediately and publicly explain and correct these mistakes.

 

I'm not keen on jumping into the political maneuvering but as someone who is sort of involved in "science" and an educator that stands in front of people and facilitates learning, I am very aware of the limitations of my intellect and overall knowledge. I foster an open challenge philosophy where students are absolutely mandated to immediately challenge me if it is found that I say something that conflicts with the known "facts. " In fact, they must do so publically and in the middle of a lecture or lab if possible.

 

I do not believe people in positions echelons beyond what I do should get a free pass regarding this concept. I'd be curious to see what you all think.

 

EDIT: Typographic Errors.

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Well I like him for the way he has worked to make science accessible to a wider audience.  Of course he makes mistakes like the rest of us.  Who did he misquote and how bad was it?

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I'll post a few sources:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-admits-he-botched-bush-quote/

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/22/does-neil-degrasse-tyson-make-up-stories/

 

http://www.politico.com/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/22/does-neil-degrasse-tyson-make-up-stories//story/2014/10/the-cult-of-neil-degrasse-tyson-111540.html#.VCzKn6ZIqnM

 

http://www.popzara.com/popzara-podcast-e3-01-the-federalists-sean-davis-talks-degrasse-tyson-bias/

 

I believe much of the initial push came from a conservative author from the Federalist. Therefore, a political element exists but it is pretty clear that false statements were made and on numerous occasions. There are reports that people modified Wikipedia entries possibly trying to prevent this from spreading. I cannot verify that at this pint however.

 

It concerns me because given the polarised atmosphere, if misstatements are not immediately acknowledged and punlically corrected, people who are not interested in intellectual honesty are armed and the good work that is done in science is tarnished.

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I'll post a few sources:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/27/neil-degrasse-tyson-admits-he-botched-bush-quote/

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/22/does-neil-degrasse-tyson-make-up-stories/

 

http://www.politico.com/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/22/does-neil-degrasse-tyson-make-up-stories//story/2014/10/the-cult-of-neil-degrasse-tyson-111540.html#.VCzKn6ZIqnM

 

http://www.popzara.com/popzara-podcast-e3-01-the-federalists-sean-davis-talks-degrasse-tyson-bias/

 

I believe much of the initial push came from a conservative author from the Federalist. Therefore, a political element exists but it is pretty clear that false statements were made and on numerous occasions. There are reports that people modified Wikipedia entries possibly trying to prevent this from spreading. I cannot verify that at this pint however.

 

It concerns me because given the polarised atmosphere, if misstatements are not immediately acknowledged and punlically corrected, people who are not interested in intellectual honesty are armed and the good work that is done in science is tarnished.

 

so you feel he is just another moron with no larger knowledge of physics than normal people or he plays politics like shit?

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Not at all.

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