We live in the kind of society where, in almost all cases, hard work is rewarded.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

We spend the first year of a child's life teaching it to walk and talk and the rest of its life to shut up and sit down. There's something wrong there.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

We think scientific literacy flows out of how many science facts can you recite rather than how was your brain wired for thinking. And it's the brain wiring that I'm more interested in rather than the facts that come out of the curriculum or the lesson plan that's been proposed.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

What are we promoting in society? Well-behaved automatons that spew back what they learned in a book. That's not science. You can get a parrot to do that.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

What people are really after is, what is my stance on religion or spirituality or God? And I would say, if I find a word that came closest, it would be agnostic.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

What we do know, and what we can assert without further hesitation, is that the universe had a beginning. The universe continues to evolve. And yes, every one of our body's atoms is traceable to the big bang and to the thermonuclear furnaces within high-mass stars that exploded more than five billion years ago. We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out - and we have only just begun.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

When asked about which scientist he'd like to meet, Neil degrade Tyson said, "Isaac Newton. No question about it. The smartest person ever to walk the face of this earth. The man was connected to the universe in spooky ways. He discovered the laws of motion, the laws of gravity, the laws of optics. Then he turned 26.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

When scientifically investigating the natural world, the only thing worse than a blind believer is a seeing denier.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

When students cheat on exams it's because our school system values grades more than students value learning.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

When we see animals doing remarkable things, how do we know if we're simply seeing tricks or signs of real intelligence? Are talented animals just obeying commands, or do they have some kind of deeper understanding? One of the biggest challenges for animal researchers is to come up with tests that can distinguish between the two.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson