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Habits and Hustle

Episode 251: Neil deGrasse Tyson: Why Embracing Wonder is Critical For Personal Growth

Habits and Hustle

Jen Cohen

Entrepreneurship, Business, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Education

4.5 • 818 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2023

⏱️ 91 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Do you consider yourself to be curious enough? In this episode of Habits and Hustle, Neil deGrasse Tyson and I explore the importance of retaining our childhood curiosity and how it plays a crucial role in our lives as adults. Neil shares his insights on nurturing curiosity and how fear of failure can hinder our progress in maintaining that innate sense of wonder. During our conversation, Neil also shares his unique perspective on using pop culture in education, the future of AI, and the complexities of quantum physics and philosophy. As an astrophysicist, Neil brings a cosmic perspective to our discussion, offering wisdom and knowledge that will surely spark your curiosity and ignite your passion for learning. Finally, we touch on the challenges and opportunities in transforming the school system, the role of religion, and even ponder hypothetical conversations with interesting historical figures. Don't miss this captivating episode with the one and only Neil deGrasse Tyson as we explore the universe and beyond together. Neil deGrasse Tyson earned his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security. What we discuss: (0:00:01) - How important is it to retaining childhood curiosity and exploration in adulthood? (0:13:08) - What role does pop culture have in education? (0:17:09) - How Neil used Twitter to spark curiosity (0:29:25) - What does Neil think of AI's Future and implicated ethics? (0:38:50) - What do we know to be true in quantum physics and philosophy? (0:54:19) - How can we transforming the school system? (1:04:19) - A discussion about religion, gender, and continuums (1:19:13) - Who would Neil like to have a conversation with if given the opportunity? (1:27:36) - Why you should be Ashamed to die Key Takeaways: Living forever comes with its own set of challenges, including resource conservation, terraforming Mars, and the lack of urgency in life. We explore the concept of 'escape velocity of aging,' where the number of years that passes equals the increase in the average life expectancy of civilization, and how it could lead to humanity living forever. However, living forever comes with a bigger existential problem. See, knowing our mortality gives us meaning to our lives and how living forever could potentially lead to a life with no meaning.   Curiosity and exploration are important. However, most parents have a natural instinct to protect their child may prevent them from learning important lessons in life. Think of how a seemingly mundane event such as a child playing with an egg can become an entire conversation about the natural world, and how the cost of ignorance can be more expensive than the cost of education.  There are three categories of truth: personal truth, objective truth, and truth that is repeated. We acknowledge personal truths can invoke powerful emotions and even lead to armed conflict. Each one of these truths have their own characteristics that make it true in its own definition.  To learn more about Neil: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neildegrassetyson/ Website: https://neildegrassetyson.com/ My links: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

0:09.2

Neil, I got to tell you, I'm like really kind of nervous with you and I'll tell you why.

0:13.5

And I've interviewed like everyone on the planet. And I'll tell you why I'm so nervous with you

0:16.7

because you're literally like the smartest human I think I've ever like encountered.

0:21.1

I've watched like I've seen so many interviews with you and read so many things and watched you so often.

0:26.0

And like you're like it's not like even though you're an astrophysicist, I feel like you're

0:30.4

having such an elaborate, unique perspective on like everything in life.

0:35.9

Well, I think as an astrophysicist, you come back to

0:39.5

Earth with a cosmic perspective, right? You're not limited to what things look like as you

0:45.1

turn your head around. So it adds an extra sort of dose of sensibility, I think, that we might

0:52.8

lose track of on Earth trying to find reasons to argue with

0:57.2

one another. Well, you make things also like the very complex, like, I mean, like, let's not kid

1:01.7

ourselves. Like your topic, it's not so easy. It could be complicated to understand to the best of us,

1:08.4

you're right? But in all fairness, I, in all honesty, I cherry pick stuff from the universe that I share

1:17.1

with you.

1:17.7

So this stuff, I don't tell because, no, that's too complicated.

1:21.3

No one will understand that.

1:22.4

Leave that one behind.

1:23.6

And I find the cool, wacky, fun things, that gets you excited. Then you say,

1:30.1

now I want to learn more. So the flame getting ignited under you doesn't have to be the

1:37.6

complete syllabus. It just has to be things enough to spark your interest, or maybe to reignite the embers that might have once been

1:49.0

aflame when you were a kid. Oh my gosh. The moon, the stars, heaven. Oh, my gosh. And now you're an

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