He just wanted to see a big 'splosion.

Well, at least this time he has an excuse for sounding like he's talking to a second-grader.

seems like Tyson is explaining it in a way that's still a bit over the kid's head... dumb it down, will ya? the kid's 7 years old!

>> ^Payback:

He just wanted to see a big 'splosion.


That's all any of us really want to see.

>> ^Trancecoach:

seems like Tyson is explaining it in a way that's still a bit over the kid's head... dumb it down, will ya? the kid's 7 years old!

Well, perhaps by introducing the kid to the right terminology and a sense of how complex the question is, he might inpsire the kid to find out what all those words and concepts mean. It sure made me do a bit of googling.

If an equal number of people ask for NDGT to simultaneously "stop talking down to people" and to "dumb it down"... does that represent a collision of super-dense comments which could rip apart the fabric of the sift?

>> ^Trancecoach:

seems like Tyson is explaining it in a way that's still a bit over the kid's head... dumb it down, will ya? the kid's 7 years old!


I don't think so. Sure the kid may not get everything. But the kid was asking about black holes colliding with each other. He obviously understands enough about black holes that they suck in everything around them. You don't want to fall into the trap of talking down to a kid, kids can be smarter and more able to comprehend than you may think.

Yeah, you can spend a bit more time along the way asking whether they 'get' a certain thing you're describing to make sure they're keeping up, but don't talk down to kids.

>> ^Fletch:

Well, at least this time he has an excuse for sounding like he's talking to a second-grader.


Heh, he does have that kind of delivery!

He doesn't need to dumb it down. His normal approach for explaining things to politicians and the media is perfectly appropriate for a second grader.

I don't understand the hate for Neil's making science accessible to everyone. No one had this kind of attitude towards Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye...

I respect the ability of a person to re-explain something in a way that is interesting and motivating for people of any age to enter any science field. I fear for our country and its lack of education geared towards higher math and sciences.

I second that, I mean he's got an audience in mind and he's making them smarter, not dumbing others down.>> ^pho3n1x:

I don't understand the hate for Neil's making science accessible to everyone. No one had this kind of attitude towards Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye...
I respect the ability of a person to re-explain something in a way that is interesting and motivating for people of any age to enter any science field. I fear for our country and its lack of education geared towards higher math and sciences.

in reality, we're ultimately just guessing.

Two black holes merging, that's how Chuck Norris was born.

Spoiler: The answer is Yes.

>> ^criticalthud:

in reality, we're ultimately just guessing.


Yes, ultimately (in reality) everything is JUST a guess -- or, if you prefer, guessing. And I emphasize GUESS because that's all it is. Good work (and FUCK the sarcasm button. In this case, I emphasize FUCK because I don't give it out very often.). t('o't)

>> ^poolcleaner:

>> ^criticalthud:
in reality, we're ultimately just guessing.

Yes, ultimately (in reality) everything is JUST a guess -- or, if you prefer, guessing. And I emphasize GUESS because that's all it is. Good work (and FUCK the sarcasm button. In this case, I emphasize FUCK because I don't give it out very often.). t('o't)


no, ultimately, everything is not JUST a guess. there are these things we call facts. but neither you nor anyone has ever experienced a black hole or witnessed the joining of two black holes. but hey, what the FUCK. let's pretend our young, stupid species actually knows something about the universe while most of our population is still debating whether evolution exists.