Joel Kontinen
Neil deGrasse Tyson of Cosmos fame might be an excellent communicator but sticking to facts might not be his cup of tea.
Sceptics like to overuse the word denialist of those who refuse to accept the view that the natural realm is the only one that is.
In actual fact, however, they are the real denialists.
They often see Neil deGrasse Tyson as being on their side. That is obviously true, but his version of history relies to a great extent on fabricating past events and getting the details all wrong.
He seems to have a tendency to invent facts. What is more, few people have managed to fabricate as many quotes as Tyson.
Recently, Sean Davis wrote in The Federalist:
“Neil deGrasse Tyson may be a fabulous scientist, and a consummate showman, but he's downright terrible at accurately quoting people. Or, if you're a ‘glass half full’ kind of person, you might say that Neil deGrasse Tyson is pretty amazing at needlessly fabricating quotes and scenarios to showcase his own brilliance.
We've already established that a newspaper headline touted for years by Tyson likely doesn't exist. We've also established that the exact quote he uses to bash members of Congress as being stupid also doesn't exist. And then we established that the details within one of Tyson's favorite anecdotes -- a story of how he bravely confronted a judge about his mathematical illiteracy while serving on jury duty -- seem to change every time Tyson tells the story.”
Source:
Davis, Sean. 2014. Another Day, Another Quote Fabricated By Neil deGrasse Tyson. The Federalist (16 September).
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