National Review: Neil de Grasse Tyson cover

[telemann]

Comments

[yes_justice]

Charles Cooke is jealous tick on the deer of a brilliant man.

[deborahkla]

This must be The National Review's idea of a hipster youth.

[yes_justice]

Title: Smarter than thou: Neil deGrasse Tyson and America's nerd problem

[the_rukh]

The obvious flaw in their little pity party is that HE IS SMARTER THAN MOST EVERYONE AROUND.

[yes_justice]

In this manner has a word with a formerly useful meaning been turned into a transparent humblebrag: Look at me, I'm smart. Or, more important, perhaps, Look at me and let me tell you who I am not, which is southern, politically conservative, culturally traditional, religious in some sense, patriotic, driven by principle rather than the pivot tables of Microsoft Excel, and in any way attached to the past. "Nerd" has become a calling card--a means of conveying membership of one group and denying affiliation with another. The movement's king, Neil deGrasse Tyson, has formal scientific training, certainly, as do a handful of others who have become celebrated by the crowd. But this is not why he is useful. He is useful because he can be deployed as a cudgel and an emblem in argument--pointed to as the sort of person who wouldn't vote for Ted Cruz

[yes_justice]

At no time is the juxtaposition between the claim and the reality more clear than during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which ritzy and opulent celebration of wealth, influence, and power the nation's smarter progressive class has taken to labeling the "Nerd Prom." It is clear why people who believe themselves to be providing a voice for the powerless and who routinely lecture the rest of us about the evils of income inequality would wish to reduce in stature a party that would have made Trimalchio blush: It is devastating to their image. Just as Hillary Clinton has noticed of late that her extraordinary wealth and ostentatious lifestyle conflict with her populist mien, the New Class recognizes the danger that its private behavior poses to its public credibility. There is, naturally, something a little off about selected members of the Fifth Estate yukking it up with those whom they have been charged with scrutinizing--all while rappers and movie stars enjoy castles of champagne and show off their million-dollar dresses. And

[yes_justice]

All over the Internet, Neil deGrasse Tyson's face is presented next to words that he may or may not have spoken. "Other than being a scientist," he says in one image, "I'm not any other kind of -ist. These -ists and -isms are philosophies; they're philosophical portfolios that people attach themselves to and then the philosophy does the thinking for you instead of you doing the thinking yourself." Translation: All of my political and moral judgments are original, unlike those of the rubes who subscribe to ideologies, philosophies, and religious frameworks. My worldview is driven only by the data

[joiedumonde]

[hardblue]

Whoa, you subscribe to National Review?!
I never would have guessed.

[deborahkla]

What a dweeb that guy is. Thanks for giving us the full article.