This Advice from Neil deGrasse Tyson Will Boost Your Brainpower

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By Monica Gray - October 30, 2023

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a renowned astrophysicist and science communicator, possesses a unique ability to seamlessly bridge the realms of science and philosophy. His insights and wisdom not only stimulate intellectual curiosity but also offer profound philosophical reflections on the universe and our place within it. In the following discussion, we explore how Tyson’s advice transcends the boundaries of scientific inquiry, enhancing our understanding of the cosmos and expanding our philosophical horizons, ultimately boosting our brainpower in the process.

Rethink Your Burial

This Advice from Neil deGrasse Tyson Will Boost Your Brainpower — Reddit

Depending on your religion, you might already know what you want to do with your body after you die. And even though it’s a sad thought, it’s something that every living being on earth has to think about, at some point. Neil deGrasse Tyson beautifully puts his desires, and says, “I would request that my body in death be buried not cremated so that the energy content contained within it gets returned to the earth so that flora and fauna can dine upon it, just as I have dined upon flora and fauna during my lifetime.” Thinking about your soul and energy returning to the earth is a beautiful way to think about the afterlife, and might make it seem less scary than it has to be (Your Dictionary).

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Never Pretend You Know Something

Admitting you don’t know something might feel embarrassing, but it’s a sign of strength. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “There’s no shame in admitting what you don’t know. The only shame is pretending you know all the answers.” If you pretend to know all the answers, what good will that ever do you? As humans, we’re always inherently learning things. Being vulnerable and admitting you don’t know something will bring you closer to other people and help you learn more (Goodreads).

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You Can Always Become Better

It takes 30 days to make or break a habit. This is why many people give up trying to learn something new when they’re not a professional after a certain amount of time. And whether or not you’ll become a professional surfer or the best dancer in the world doesn’t matter. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Whether or not you can never become great at something, you can always become better at it. Don’t ever forget that! And don’t say “I’ll never be good”. You can become better! and one day you’ll wake up and you’ll find out how good you became.” Don’t be too hard on yourself. By simply becoming better at something, you’ve already achieved something incredible. Take this mantra to heart with everything you do in life (Reddit).

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We Are All Connected

This is beautiful advice to take to heart. We’re all connected, which is important to remember during those days when you feel the loneliest. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “We are all connected; To each other, biologically, and to the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.” Never forget you’re connected not only to other people but to the earth and the universe itself. Coming from an astrophysicist, this seems pretty remarkable (Pinterest).

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The Two Main Philosophies To Life

Many people sit around waiting for life to happen to them. Most of us forget that we’re the ones who have to make life happen to us. Neil deGrasse Tyson hits this on the head by saying, “The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, and motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their love, they manufacture their meaning, and they generate their motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.” We create our reality, and this is the best advice we can heed. As long as you continue to learn, continue to seek love and success, and lessen the suffering of others, you’re following a beautiful philosophy to life (The Daily Shifts).

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Billions Of Bacteria

We think humans are in charge of the world. But if you take it down to a microscopic level, there’s no way we rule the world. Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it into perspective and says, “Within one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) than all humans who have ever been born. Yet many people continue to assert that it is we who are in charge of the world.” How can we be in charge of the world, when there are billions of bacteria living in our colon, let alone the trillions that live everywhere else? This puts our existence into perspective (Your Dictionary).

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Congratulate Those Who Try Over Those Who Succeed

Isn’t it surprising that we constantly congratulate those who’ve succeeded, over those who have not? We praise those who get first place in a competition when we need to also praise those who don’t place at all. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not.” Maybe next time you’re attending a competition, praise everyone instead of just the winner and see how much of an impact you have (Twitter).

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We’ve Only Just Begun Discovering Life

When you think about how old the earth is, you might find it shocking to realize how much of a blip we are. The earth has been around much longer than human existence, so really, we’re only just at the start of the human timeline. Tyson puts this into perspective when he says, “We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun.” If you ever feel lost, just remember that everyone else is figuring out this thing we call life, too (Quote Fancy).

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Keep A Watchful Eye

It’s important to continue discovering things daily. The universe always has something to teach us, and when we’re open to learning we’re open to receiving what it has to offer. As Tyson puts it, “My view is that if your philosophy is not unsettled daily then you are blind to all the universe has to offer.” Keep seeking knowledge and understanding of the universe, every single day. The harmonious union of science and philosophy allows us to recognize that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely an intellectual endeavor but a profound and continuous dialogue with the universe. It is in this ongoing conversation that we unlock the boundless mysteries of existence, enrich our understanding of the cosmos, and ultimately find meaning in the ever-unfolding tapestry of the universe. (The Creative Ham).

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You Need To Fail To Succeed

You can’t have success without failure. If you got it right the first time, can you be sure it’s right? The best way to succeed is to fail and to fail again. And probably again. Tyson says, “Curious fact that those who never fail are also those who never truly succeed.” It’s not true success without true failure. Failure is a wonderful way to learn from our mistakes and make shifts in our plans to become more successful people (Twitter).

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Everything Is A Masterpiece

Take a look around you. The nature, the trees, the leaves, other people, and yourself is a work of art. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Every living thing is a masterpiece, written by nature and edited by evolution.” Evolution crafted everything you see before you. It took millions and billions of years to create this masterpiece. If you think about it like this, it truly shows just how fascinating the world truly is (Goodreads).

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It Doesn’t Have To Make Sense

If you have trouble fully understanding the universe, that’s completely normal. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” None of it has to make any sense at all. It might even be better not to understand the universe than try and make sense of what’s in front of you. Science and philosophy often remind us that our pursuit of understanding the universe is a journey marked by both wonder and complexity. It’s a reminder that the very act of questioning and exploring the mysteries of existence can be a source of profound meaning and a testament to the vastness of human curiosity. (Brainy Quote)

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Hire A Physicist

There’s one secret in this world, and that’s knowing that a physicist is the right person to get the job done. According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, “A little-known secret is that a physicist is one of the most employable people in the marketplace — a physicist is a trained problem solver. How many times have you heard a person in a workplace say, ‘I wasn’t trained for this!’ That’s an impossible reaction from a physicist, who would say, instead, ‘Cool.'” If you’ve ever faced and problem and had no idea how to handle it, then think about what a physicist would do. That should ease the anxiety and fear of any future problem you might face (Lib Quotes).

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Know How, Not What

It’s better to know how to think than to know what to think. Knowing how to think paves the way for more constructive thought processes and the ability to create your reality. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.” If you know only what to think, it puts you inside a box. But once you know how to constructively think, you’re on your way to opening up your future (AZ Quotes).

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Never Stop Asking Questions

Even if you have the answer to something, it doesn’t mean it’s the right answer. Nor does it mean it’s the only answer. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Scientific inquiry shouldn’t stop just because a reasonable explanation has been found.” Always keep searching for answers, because you never know what you’re going to find. This is an inspirational quote you can bring to every single area of your life, no matter what (Your Dictionary).

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No Kind Force

As much as we’d like to believe someone wonderful is watching over us at all times, that might not be the case. Neil deGrasse Tyson believes this, and says, “The more I learn about the universe, the less convinced I am that there’s any sort of benevolent force that has anything to do with it, at all.” This explains why bad things happen to good people, and why there are wars, famine, and sickness. It seems to be more random than anything else (Goodreads).

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Re-Evaluate How We Are Treating Children

If you’ve ever thought about how we raise children, and how we treat adults, you might notice just how backward it is. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “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.” Why do we teach children to be free and exploratory, only to take that away from them as they get older? There’s something so wrong here. If we teach children how to get up and explore, we need to keep that momentum going into adulthood. If you have children, this might make you rethink how you raise them (Yoddler).

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Creativity Comes With Emotions

Have you ever felt the most creative when you were feeling emotional? There’s a reason for that, and as Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Rational thoughts never drive people’s creativity the way emotions do.” Sometimes, emotions are the driving force behind people’s creativity. They fuel creativity and have helped people birth incredible pieces of art, whether in the form of music, poems, books, or paintings. Next time you’re feeling emotional, whether from a breakup or a hard day at work, try channeling those emotions into a piece of art (Pinterest).

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The Universe Is In Us

Tyson is a true believer that the universe is within us, the stars are within us, and the galaxy is within us. Instead of feeling small when you look up at those stars, try reversing your beliefs. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “I look up at the night sky, and I know that, yes, we are part of this Universe, we are in this Universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up—many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big, but I feel big because my atoms came from those stars.” You came from those millions of stars, which is one way to feel big, bigger than the universe itself (Pinterest).

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Our View On Aliens Doesn’t Make Sense

There’s a huge likelihood that aliens exist. But our perception of what an alien looks like isn’t necessarily accurate. According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, “Anyone who has studied the problem recognizes the likelihood that there’s life elsewhere in the universe. Now, if you want to say that there is life out there that is intelligent and built a flying saucer and traversed the galaxy to come here and land on Earth and be spotted by people who see lights in the sky … okay.” It’s highly unlikely that our perception of what an alien is is completely inaccurate. It’s more likely they‘re something we can’t even begin to imagine (TIME Magazine).

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We’re At Nature’s Mercy

No matter how many inventions we create, and no matter how much technology we have, it doesn’t matter. If one giant tornado or hurricane came across the Earth, that’s it. It happened once with the asteroid, and it could happen again. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Even with all our technology and the inventions that make modern life so much easier than it once was, it takes just one big natural disaster to wipe all that away and remind us that, here on Earth, we’re still at the mercy of nature.” It’s a terrifying and beautiful thought. No matter how much we try to fight for the survival of our species, it’s really up to the universe to decide (LinkedIn).

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This Is Creativity

Everyone has a creative outlet. This is what makes people so special and unique. As Neil deGrasse Tyson puts it, “Creativity is seeing what everyone else sees, but then thinking a new thought that has never been thought of before and expressing it somehow.” This is what it means to be creative. No one else in the world has your personality, your quirks, or your thoughts and ideas. This is what makes you so special and different than everyone else out there. It’s time to step into your creative power and make yourself stand out from the crowd (Everyday Power).

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It’s All A Mirror

Neil deGrasse Tyson looks at plants a little bit differently. He said, “Curiously, light-loving GREEN plants reject the Sun’s GREEN light, reflecting it at you, which is why they look GREEN.” Plants reject and reflect the light, making them appear green. It’s interesting that because the plants reject this light, we see this light. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s perspective on plants offers a fascinating insight into the interplay between science and perception. By highlighting how green plants “reject” the Sun’s green light, he invites us to contemplate the intricate relationship between the physical world and our perception of it. This phenomenon underscores the notion that our understanding of reality is often shaped by the subtle interplay of science and the way our senses interpret the world around us. (Twitter).

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The Smell Of The Universe

There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning and experiencing the smell of the universe. That delicious, sweet, natural scent is what created us. Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “I love the smell of the universe in the morning.” Doesn’t this make you want to step outside and experience everything nature has to offer? (Twitter).

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