Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye: What's a 'Good' Education?

What makes a good education? In this new “How Tweet It Is” segment, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s tweet about learning to think being more important than learning the facts doesn’t totally fly with Bill Nye. The friends get into a discussion about what constitutes a good education and useful knowledge – and it’s not knowing all the state capitals or reciting Pi to 100 digits.

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[ozdergekko]

poetic and so true!
Also it's not that you need to learn anything by heart. Curiosity is really the crux of learning. As Bill said: build an internal logical network to hang things on.
Children who start reading very early in their lifes don't ask for letters, they ask for the meaning of words. The alphabet comes by natural intelligent logic.
That's how I lived my life, and it carried me well through university, doctorate and some years as an associate professor.
But I never could learn anything by heart. Not even poetry, not even a single one of the hundreds of poems I wrote myself.

[thomaskwan]

Bill is a funny guy, his knowledge and way of explaining science is intriguing.

[SliceAA]

I just realized "The Hell? I'm not subscribed to StarTalk? What the Hell is wrong with me?"

[Hi_Tech]

Please upload full length videos of these conversations/radio shows. This is just my opinion but i feel like the younger generations don't use the radio as much as they do Youtube.

[dwolfcoach]

Bill's right, it's not just curiosity, it's also that logical thought and drawing conclusions on the best available evidence. Bill, you da man!

[TheRationalChannel]

I think they both make solid points!
Nurturing curiosity is essential but so is actually teaching and retaining information.
Personally I also think critical thinking is neglected in the education system, hence the reason my friend and I started this channel, The Rational Channel not star talk :P
-R

[XxAPartofMexX]

Speaking of Bill Nye, he was just at a local restaurant of mine. Sadly I was in classes and couldn't get out while some of my friends were not as unlucky as me and were able to get pictures with him. It's pretty strange too, because this fucking town is literally like in the middle of no where. If you're wondering what town I'm talking about I'm talking about Bristol, Florida. Pretty crazy shit because I only found out this morning right before he got here. He's like my hero and I didn't even get the chance to meet him. RIP Hopes and Dreams.

[technicolorb]

Bill and Neil. perfect partners. Both active in fueling science for peoples curiousity to inspire more people in the future to fill the need for these astrophysicist and engineers. charismatic and entertaing the way they deliver their information hungers my curiousity to explore more of what i want to know, s difficult as it is to understand. but down to their enthusiasm and interesting ways of relaying informatiom, i have bought dozens of books. be careful to keep an open mind. what is on a book is for yoy to ponder not beliefs to have so that maybe your deduction from it all cam lead to to discoverimg something morem thanks for bringing the interests bacl to our children. you are an important part for igniting curiousity and solutions, answers for our next generation to fire up, and ultimately i think it's helping in the long run for human evolutiom amd good. next step, trandescend. bless.yoy guys.

[Olysker]

I medically require more full episodes.

[nobodyfromnowhere]

I personally think we can take a very good learning lesson form the way computers learn and processes new data, we have this glorious machine in our heads, which for all intense and purposes is a computer.

[Phi]

A good education is thinking about a good way to learn; the best education is learning the best way to think.

[DungeonMetal]

I really like Bill's perspective. But I also like to think of things like "Sherlock Holmes" in that we only have so much space for thoughts and knowledge in our brain so we have to focus on the things we actually think pertain to our world.

[JohnMichaelStrubhart]

I don't often say this, but Bill is right. Knowledge of facts gives you a framework on which to build your education through use of curiosity, critical thinking and formulation of paradigms. The more trivia about the world you live in that you have stuffed in your head, the more you'll be able to do with your learning skills.

[uhohhotdog]

Put the full videos on YouTube. Fuck the radio

[Nopnop]

A good education is one that prepares you to be a functional, productive, and self-sufficient person. Then you go to college, and you choose which route you want to specialize in, with more specific facts that don't apply to everything. Too bad our education system has it wrong

[ProProboscis]

Yes Bill, learn to think but also learn about things to thinks about. This way no ones thinks about inventing the wheel.

[DEATHBYFLYINGCDS]

Why the heck does Neil's son feel he needs to remember 70 places of Pi to get nerd credibility? HE'S THE SON OF NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, HE WAS BORN WITH NERD CREDIBILITY! (not that Im saying he should be bound by his father's legacy, but his father's legacy is an undeniable fact).

[ArmNLa]

Where can we find a full video episode of this conversation?

[kennethhicks]

Carl would be proud! I know I am :) Keep it up.
Tell Bill I said "Hi".
Ken

[Rekkless]

A good education is an education you can make a living off doing something that you love.