Neil deGrasse Tyson: America has 'mortgaged the future' through science illiteracy

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the United States' most well known scientists.

The astrophysicist has been director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York since 1996, and has a string of accolades and honorary doctorates acknowledging his extensive work as a science communicator in the public sphere.

He's also big on Twitter.

He recently told a sold-out crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum that Americans know far too little about science, and that this is dangerous for the nation.

According to Greensboro, Tyson said on Tuesday:

The consequence of that is that you breed a generation of people who do not know what science is nor how and why it works.

You have mortgaged the future financial security of your nation. Innovations in science and technology are the (basis) of tomorrow’s economy.

He contrasted the situation in America to that of the Middle East.

1,000 years ago mathematics and science flourished in the region, algebra and algorithms were invented, as were numerals. Until a cleric in the 12th century declared them earthly pursuits, and that good Muslims should concern themselves with the spiritual.

He said that subsequently, scientific literacy faded in the region, and that the same can happen in the United States if people are not careful.

Things that seem harmless can have devastating effects.

If it’s on your currency, it is part of your culture. You think it. You feel it. Whether or not you’re a scientist or a mathematician, you’re not going to be the person to stand in their way when they’re trying to get math and science done.

President Donald Trump has appointed Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, as head of a Trump administration task force to deregulate higher education in the United States.

The New York Times reports that Liberty University enrols around 14,000 students, most of whom are evangelical Christians, at the campus in Lynchburg, Virginia. The university also enrols a staggering 65,000 students online.

Kevin Roose, vice-president of editorial for Fusion, spent a semester undercover at the university, which informed his first book.

He's tweeted a few images of the textbooks he was assigned.

You better pray for them grades, it seems.

HT Greensboro

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