Thoughts On Celebrity Scientists

     As of late, I've noticed the political Right has really gone after Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Part of this is because he was caught using some fabricated quotes and having questionable facts about some stories he has told about his past. Here are some links to the original article that started the whole debate:

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     A standard story among many on the Left is that the Right goes after Tyson due to racism and being anti-science. I do not at all buy the racism charge. Tyson could be white as a marshmallow and would still receive the criticisms he has been getting. The real reason, in my own opinion, regarding the Right's criticisms of Tyson are because Tyson has inserted himself repeatedly into issues of politics. He is not just a popularize of science, but a political commentator overall who also does science popularization. The thing is, if you move yourself from doing just science popularizing into general political commentary, where you comment about general issues of the day, then you open yourself up to criticism.

     In addition this, when you look at Tyson's jokes and criticisms regarding President George W. Bush, you are in particular going to attract attention from the political Right. If the facts the jokes are based on turn out not to be real facts, then this especially will open you up to criticism.
    
     With regards to the political Left who make up the bulk of Tyson's fan base however, these people also have some issues. It isn't just the Right-wing that have an issue with Tyson. In the case of his fan-base, in the aftermath of it being revealed that Tyson has either at best been careless with the facts and at worst flat-out lied about some things, they have done everything they can to ignore and even cover up the whole issue, claiming that the Right is only going after My. Tyson based on racism. What this shows is that much of the Tyson fan base is itself not interested in truth or reality as they claim, but rather that Tyson has become a form of demigod to them and they will do anything they can to protect that status of his.

     An ample example of this is Tyson's Wikipedia page. Multiple attempts have been made to write on it about what is mentioned in the articles written on [I]The Federalist[/I] website, but thus far all have been deleted.

     I think a problem with too many celebrity scientists overall is that they think that because they become popular for reasons of science, that this means people want to hear their views on political and policy issues, and that they are in any way qualified to comment on such issues. If you are popular for being a Food Network chef, no one wants to hear what you think of President Obama's healthcare law. If you are popular for home repair skills, like wood working and carpentry, no one wants to hear what your thoughts are on the Iran deal. And so forth. Similarly, if you are popular for science, IMO, stick with that, and don't share your opinions on other things.

     I think one issue with the scientists is that they think that because they are scientists, and hence experts in a field that requires intelligence, that this means they have intelligent opinions to share on other issues as well. But that isn't always the case. Being a smart scientists doesn't mean you will be smart regarding things like economic or healthcare policy, or foreign policy, and so forth. You really may be a complete moron or just completely average outside of your particular area of expertise.

    This has been an issue though going back to Carl Sagan, who commented on political issues, and continues with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku, Bill Nye (the "Science Guy"), and even Stephen Hawking who has made some negative comments about Israel.