Comments on: Neil DeGrasse Tyson interviewed by out-of-character Stephen Colbert

By: ocatagon

ocatagon — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:55:00 +0000

One of the best interviews I’ve ever seen. Whatever you’re doing tonight will not be as interesting as this.

By: donniebnyc

donniebnyc — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:05:00 +0000

I would say he was definitely out of character. While they are both funny, Stephen Colbert is a smart and thoughtful guy. “Stephen Colbert” otoh is clearly an idiot.

By: Bradey Macklin

Bradey Macklin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:33:00 +0000

Was Colbert “out of character” though?

By: gullevek

gullevek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:37:00 +0000

I just watched this yesterday night. Very fascinating, best hour I spend in front of youtube in a long time, beaten only by the excellent Thorium 2011 Remix (otoh that was two hours)

By: Cowicide

Cowicide — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:53:00 +0000

I’m sure the pill would be red.

By: Matthew Dockrey

Matthew Dockrey — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:44:00 +0000

Is it just me, or did Colbert make a reference to the old Larry Niven short story Neutron Star?

By: robdobbs

robdobbs — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:51:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YXh9RQCvxmg#t=371s

By: Richard Lord

Richard Lord — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:36:00 +0000

I now want think geek to sell a printed Tee with Neil in a Wrestling suit and a utility belt, Belting opera for Science. He is my hero.

By: Holly Goodhead

Holly Goodhead — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:13:00 +0000

You’ve got to love a smart funny man who is actually a rocket scientist. Put together with another smart funny man… MAGIC. If I wasn’t so old and he’s married already..NDT would be my dream husband.

By: pete_thedevguy

pete_thedevguy — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0000

The audio is a little different in each ear and it’s driving me crazy.

By: strugglngwriter

strugglngwriter — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:41:00 +0000

If they could just condense this whole thing into a pill and get everybody to take it, I think we all would be in much better shape.

By: Mitchell Glaser

Mitchell Glaser — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:08:00 +0000

It’s fascinating to contrast his style with Carl Sagan’s, isn’t it? Both brilliant men, very good at off-the-cuff discussions of complex science, but where Carl had an almost elegiac style Neil seems to radiate more of a football coach enthusiasm. As inspirational as Carl was, bless his turtleneck, I think Neil might draw more kids into the field. And we need them so badly!

By: jackrabbitslim

jackrabbitslim — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:26:00 +0000

This was my wife’s introduction to NDT and she is totally into him. I showed her his wikipedia page and she told me that he’s the most interesting man in the world. Good thing he’s married.

By: Chris Dodds

Chris Dodds — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:15:00 +0000

Sooooo good. We need more science educators like Tyson.

By: Ellavemia

Ellavemia — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Neil answers, “What’s a wolf moon?” But what is a three-wolf moon?

By: ZikZak

ZikZak — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Watching this made me happy

By: Brandon C

Brandon C — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:59:00 +0000

“with Stephen Colbert in a rare, out-of-character appearance” needs to lose that comma. It is not appearances that are rare for Colbert, but rather being out of character.

By: regondi

regondi — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:46:00 +0000

“…two most famous star-crossed lovers in American literature.” -oops.

By: gws

gws — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:38:00 +0000

Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s rant toward the end (on building up scientific literacy) was one of the most compelling things I’ve watched in a while.

By: Caleb Cohen

Caleb Cohen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:11:00 +0000

Best 90 minutes I’ve spent on the Internet in a very very long time…

By: lost feliz

lost feliz — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:32:00 +0000

I’m guessing Colbert’s kids go to the school.

By: Jorpho

Jorpho — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:14:00 +0000

I am sold on “Colbert out of character”.

That man makes Sacha Baron Cohen seem like a talentless hack, I declare.

By: milkman

milkman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:58:00 +0000

I’m already plenty interested in physics, science, etc… But I make a point to watch anything that has Neil in it because he does a great job explaining, is fun to listen to, and generally forces new information into my head without me noticing. Our society needs to target THESE people as stars and listen to what they have to say – not the morons on Jersey Shore or worse [looking at you foxnews, cnn, msnbc, etc...]. Rant and soapboxing complete.

By: Paul Renault

Paul Renault — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Downloadhelper for FF is your friend…

By: bman08

bman08 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0000

Is there an audio version? I’ve got a long drive coming up.

By: Disassembly

Disassembly — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Neil posted this link a day or so ago and the Hayden Planetarium servers had trouble coping – he’s since linked to a youtube version. The Planetarium servers seem to be handling it okay at the moment, but in case they go down again, here’s that youtube version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg

It’s a long interview (at 1hr30), but well worth anybody’s time – if you can’t fit it in, there’s a great bit on increasing scientific literacy (in his final Q&A question) from 1:12:20 onwards which is probably the highlight of the whole thing, in as much as it’s possible to pick one.

By: Summer Seale

Summer Seale — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:15:00 +0000

I can guarantee that I’m watching this as soon as I get home from work in a little while. Thank you for posting it. =)