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Two funny insights from Neil deGrasse Tysons twitter: «The "Edge of Space" jump: A corresponding fall to a schoolroom globe begins 1 millimeter above its surfa

Two funny insights from Neil deGrasse Tysons twitter: «The "Edge of Space" jump: A corresponding fall to a schoolroom globe begins 1 millimeter above its surface. I'm just saying.» [1] «I'm told somebody's jumping out of a perfectly good balloon from 23-miles up. The theory of gravity no longer needs to be tested in this way»[2] Congrats to Felix and his team anyways - great endurance and a great show. [1]: https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/257591067833139200 https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/257591067833139200 [2]: https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/255691761341587456 https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/255691761341587456

tisme 14y ago
I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off.
- snogglethorpe 14y ago
  > I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. If he was standing on that little ledge: "The theory of gravity definitely no longer needs to be tested this way. Now let me back in!"
- incision 14y ago
  >I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. That doesn't even make sense. You're just being needlessly and nonsensically indignant over a joke from a guy who is hardly unaccomplished himself [1]. Chill out. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson#Selected_awards_and_honors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson#Selected_aw...
  - tisme 14y ago
    One accomplished person should not be belittling the accomplishments of another. A good check to see if something is a joke is to see if you thought it was funny. To me it looks as if he wants to make this seem totally insignificant, and to increase his own stature by appearing to be above (pun intended) this all.
    - enraged_camel 14y ago
      No, he's simply calling out the idiots who are calling it "Edge of Space".
    - goostavos 14y ago
      My God, what is going on in this thread?? It was a fucking joke. Do you follow Tyson? That's kind of his "thing." We don't need hours of analysis and arguing over what he possibly may have meant by his tweet.
- tripzilch 14y ago
  > I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. I don't know. Most scientists I know have a tendency to put things back into perspective to highlight the really impressive stuff, so yeah, afterwards they would very probably say "Yeah and you may think that was high, but compared to a school globe, on scale it was only a millimeter. Isn't it amazing how stupefyingly BIG space is?!!", though that may make the Red Bull marketing team somewhat angry :P
kahawe 14y ago
> «The "Edge of Space" jump: A corresponding fall to a schoolroom globe begins 1 millimeter above its surface. I'm just saying.» [1] > «I'm told somebody's jumping out of a perfectly good balloon from 23-miles up. The theory of gravity no longer needs to be tested in this way»[2] Oh come on... this man worked and prepared for this for 5 years and the way I understand it, there were definitely some uncertainties about how his body would take it; black out, red out, burst arteries etc. so even in the case of all parts working as intended and a safe landing he was in enough danger. A lot of preparation and a lot of technology went into this. Why belittle it like that? Just because it did not immediately bring humanity forward a gigantic leap? You could argue the same about music, heck Mozart's and Bach's works are just soundwaves and the same frequencies have been tested very thoroughly, they propagate through air and water just fine! All sorts of colours can be found in nature, why draw a painting? No need to test whether our eyes can perceive colours on a canvas! I am sorry, Mr. deGrasse Tyson, but humans are more than just efficient, self-improving robots and our most human moments were and are to be found in play and in otherwise completely "useless" activities like art, music, sports or record-chasing which do nothing but making us and maybe others feel good or thrilled and captivating people's attention for a moment.
- shrughes 14y ago
  It's called a joke. Lighten up.
  - peterhajas 14y ago
    Perhaps you're legitimizing his insult because of who he is? I certainly think that if some random person made the same comment, many would not rush to their defense.
    - mattdeboard 14y ago
      Yeah, I think NDT has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his sentiments about the importance of science and exploration. So yes, it is different than if some random schlub said the same thing.
    - 14y ago
zavulon 14y ago
I'm starting to agree with Maddox that "Internet really needs to stop sucking Neil deGrasse Tyson's dick." [1] The man is not without accomplishments, but it's getting to the point of complete over-saturation. Just enough already. [1] http://thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=youre_not_a_nerd http://thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=youre_not_a_nerd
- Cushman 14y ago
  It's just a little bit ironic that you can't express your opinion that an internet celebrity is overexposed without name-checking another internet celebrity.
  - zavulon 14y ago
    I certainly could.. but then my comment would surely disappear under a wave of downvotes.
- arrrg 14y ago
  Wow, that guy is a pompous ass. His doling out of nerd status is too ridiculous.
  - DavidAdams 14y ago
    For those unfamiliar with Maddox, he is a blogger whose public persona is in fact an over-the-top professional pompous ass. So your observation is spot on, but he does it on purpose.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- olalonde 14y ago
  Really? The only place I've ever heard of him was on HN and I'm still not sure who he is. If I recall correctly he is a physics popularizer.
  - 14y ago

tisme 14y ago

I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off.

snogglethorpe 14y ago
> I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. If he was standing on that little ledge: "The theory of gravity definitely no longer needs to be tested this way. Now let me back in!"
incision 14y ago
>I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. That doesn't even make sense. You're just being needlessly and nonsensically indignant over a joke from a guy who is hardly unaccomplished himself [1]. Chill out. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson#Selected_awards_and_honors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson#Selected_aw...
- tisme 14y ago
  One accomplished person should not be belittling the accomplishments of another. A good check to see if something is a joke is to see if you thought it was funny. To me it looks as if he wants to make this seem totally insignificant, and to increase his own stature by appearing to be above (pun intended) this all.
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    No, he's simply calling out the idiots who are calling it "Edge of Space".
  - goostavos 14y ago
    My God, what is going on in this thread?? It was a fucking joke. Do you follow Tyson? That's kind of his "thing." We don't need hours of analysis and arguing over what he possibly may have meant by his tweet.
tripzilch 14y ago
> I'll bet he would have a different opinion if it was him standing on that little ledge before stepping off. I don't know. Most scientists I know have a tendency to put things back into perspective to highlight the really impressive stuff, so yeah, afterwards they would very probably say "Yeah and you may think that was high, but compared to a school globe, on scale it was only a millimeter. Isn't it amazing how stupefyingly BIG space is?!!", though that may make the Red Bull marketing team somewhat angry :P

kahawe 14y ago

> «The "Edge of Space" jump: A corresponding fall to a schoolroom globe begins 1 millimeter above its surface. I'm just saying.» [1] > «I'm told somebody's jumping out of a perfectly good balloon from 23-miles up. The theory of gravity no longer needs to be tested in this way»[2] Oh come on... this man worked and prepared for this for 5 years and the way I understand it, there were definitely some uncertainties about how his body would take it; black out, red out, burst arteries etc. so even in the case of all parts working as intended and a safe landing he was in enough danger. A lot of preparation and a lot of technology went into this. Why belittle it like that? Just because it did not immediately bring humanity forward a gigantic leap? You could argue the same about music, heck Mozart's and Bach's works are just soundwaves and the same frequencies have been tested very thoroughly, they propagate through air and water just fine! All sorts of colours can be found in nature, why draw a painting? No need to test whether our eyes can perceive colours on a canvas! I am sorry, Mr. deGrasse Tyson, but humans are more than just efficient, self-improving robots and our most human moments were and are to be found in play and in otherwise completely "useless" activities like art, music, sports or record-chasing which do nothing but making us and maybe others feel good or thrilled and captivating people's attention for a moment.

shrughes 14y ago
It's called a joke. Lighten up.
- peterhajas 14y ago
  Perhaps you're legitimizing his insult because of who he is? I certainly think that if some random person made the same comment, many would not rush to their defense.
  - mattdeboard 14y ago
    Yeah, I think NDT has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his sentiments about the importance of science and exploration. So yes, it is different than if some random schlub said the same thing.
  - 14y ago

zavulon 14y ago

I'm starting to agree with Maddox that "Internet really needs to stop sucking Neil deGrasse Tyson's dick." [1] The man is not without accomplishments, but it's getting to the point of complete over-saturation. Just enough already. [1] http://thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=youre_not_a_nerd http://thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=youre_not_a_nerd

Cushman 14y ago
It's just a little bit ironic that you can't express your opinion that an internet celebrity is overexposed without name-checking another internet celebrity.
- zavulon 14y ago
  I certainly could.. but then my comment would surely disappear under a wave of downvotes.
arrrg 14y ago
Wow, that guy is a pompous ass. His doling out of nerd status is too ridiculous.
- DavidAdams 14y ago
  For those unfamiliar with Maddox, he is a blogger whose public persona is in fact an over-the-top professional pompous ass. So your observation is spot on, but he does it on purpose.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
olalonde 14y ago
Really? The only place I've ever heard of him was on HN and I'm still not sure who he is. If I recall correctly he is a physics popularizer.
- 14y ago