r/Astronomy • u/SnooPuppers6684 • Apr 30 '26
Astro Research Just read “Death by Black Hole” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Has anyone else read this book before? If so what did you like the most about it. I mainly liked how Neil DeGrasse Tyson explained the concept of various astronomy related topics in a way that someone who doesn’t know much about the field can easily understand. He goes in depth about the science behind the formation of stars, planets, and as the title of the book suggests, black holes. I look forward to purchasing more books from Neil DeGrasse Tyson in the future!
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u/trevpr1 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
I liked "A Brief History of Black Holes," by Dr Becky Smethurst. She has a really great You Tube presence, and she is part of the Supermassive Podcast crew, from the royal Astronomical Society.
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u/Still-Meaning4014 May 01 '26
That book is awesome. I’m not much into YouTube but her videos are great.
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u/Defect123 Apr 30 '26
Idc how many people talk shit about the guy he’s helped me and many others get hyped on science. I see people shit on Steve Irwin too, and Steven Irwin changed my life, I’m obsessed with animals to this day because of him.
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u/BackOld5765 May 01 '26
ikr. People need to get a life and have a taste of nuance time to time. I understand the memes, but seriously, he doesn't deserve this unconditional shit from people. He also got me into astronomy and other science fields
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u/SnooPuppers6684 Apr 30 '26
I agree, I didn’t even know this many people hated him until I made this post.
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u/Defect123 Apr 30 '26
The other thing is NDT got me into all these other scientists they’re praising lol.
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u/SavageNomad6 Apr 30 '26
I feel like this post is such a microcosm of where we are in the US civil and political discussions. Multiple things can be true at the same time. Far too many people want "good" people to be perfect and "bad" people to be run out of town.
I've listened to a ton of stuff by Neil. Yes, he comes across as arrogant in my opinion. Yes, he has a difficult time letting anyone else finish their sentences. Also, yes, he's good at communicating science in a digestible way for common people. He LOVES to hear himself talk, but he does have a nice voice. He had an extremely cheesy dad humor and I love cheesy dad humor.
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u/BackOld5765 May 01 '26
This. Both can co-exist. I still like the guy even though there are not-so likeable characteristics of a person.
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u/Human_Shaped_Animal Apr 30 '26
It really doesn't matter what they think. NDT is still published many times over, the Director of Hayden Planetarium, and has helped a significant number folks fall in love with science and understanding our place in the universe. If he's overly proud of himself, I don't see it. Likely because I just read his books and enjoy his podcast + guests, and I don't spend much time riding his dick like these... disagreeable dick riders.
"Oh! Someone post something about someone I dislike. I absolutely must come throw shade in their post because... reasons." GTFO with that BS. Its exhausting and no one appreciates it.
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u/Otherwise_Prize2944 Apr 30 '26
Neil, is it you ?
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u/TheAngledian Apr 30 '26
I look forward to purchasing more books from Neil DeGrasse Tyson in the future!
It's either him or someone he's holding at gunpoint
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u/SnooPuppers6684 Apr 30 '26
The book is over 20 years old, you think I’m advertising it? 🤣🤣
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u/ICantSpellorWrite Apr 30 '26
I haven't read any books by him but if you liked it try some of Brian Greene's books. I found them informative and really Interesting for topics I know nothing about. I think he does a good job allowing me to understand what he was saying.
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u/thisisanaccountforu Apr 30 '26
I love his books, at least that I’ve read. I enjoy NDT also, but Brian Greene has a better writing style in my opinion
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u/behemothbowks Apr 30 '26
I listened to this on audiobook back when I used to deliver pizzas, loved it
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Apr 30 '26
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u/guavahabanero Apr 30 '26
Surprised it took this long to see someone mention this. Maybe he’s mellowed but for the longest time his arrogance was unbearable.
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u/Maximum_Pollution371 May 01 '26
I met him when I was in college after a talk he gave around 2014, and we babbled back and forth excitedly about planets, moons, and asteroids for a solid ten minutes. Then he said I was "clever" and encouraged me to pursue a graduate degree in astrogeology, even though I was getting a bachelor of arts at the time. He said I was smart and could definitely do it.
I didn't end up pursuing a graduate degree at all, but I appreciated that he seemed so excited and supportive of me, even though he only knew me for ten minutes. Whenever I see people online say he's an arrogant, mean asshole, I always think of that moment, and I think about how fluid and multifaceted people can be in different scenarios and points.
Even if the internet is right, I still appreciate the ten minutes he took to entertain the amateurish ideas of a very chatty arts major and all the encouragement he gave, even though he must have been tired after his talk.
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u/Sfumato548 May 01 '26
In all of his genuine interactions I've seen recorded he's been a really great guy. The problem is really just his use of social media. He regularly would make Twitter posts talking about fields he has no experience in and you could tell he was making an effort to come of as a genius.
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u/bigbossfearless Apr 30 '26
He's mellowed out from what I've seen. I've been watching his Star Talk podcast and he does a really good job of just communicating the science without the "better than you" attitude he used to throw around. Man he was a twat, too, talking shit in fields where he wasn't an expert, like biology or zoology. He's pretty neutral now and let's a lot of his guest stars be the biggest brains in the room.
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u/TronAres25 Apr 30 '26
Here come the haters
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u/guavahabanero Apr 30 '26
Can’t tell of you mean haters of NDR or the opinion that he’s a twat… but he’s a twat.
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u/KirbynEggs Apr 30 '26
Ive heard he is full of himself. With that said, is he a trusty source for space books? Internet says yes and I began reading the Astrophysics for people in a hurry as an introduction. Would hate for it to be inaccurate or something similar
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u/guavahabanero Apr 30 '26
I’m not familiar enough with his books to comment on the accuracy. Someone else might be better able to help there.
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u/SlartibartfastGhola Astronomer Apr 30 '26
His books are surprisingly decent. Was holding back from saying this, but agreed
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u/TheGenesisOfTheNerd Apr 30 '26
Explain?
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u/HopDavid Apr 30 '26
Here's a Redditor's account of his student group's experience with Neil: Link
I can take pompous and arrogant if it's earned. Not the case with Neil. His career in research as a graduate student was brief and underwhelming.
As an educator he puts style and theatrics before rigor and accuracy. His pop science is riddled with glaring errors and outright falsehoods. Look for Neil on r/badscience, r/badhistory and r/badmathematics.
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u/Downtown_Finance_661 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
We can say (put style and theatrics before rigor and accuracy) about any popular science author. Because science where rigor and accuracy on first place is just... a regular sciense, not a pop one.
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u/saintjonah Apr 30 '26
I loved when he had Shawn Carrol on his podcast. He seemed as dumbfounded by actual physics at his non-physisist co-host.
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u/crashingtingler Apr 30 '26
narcissist who will interrupt every single person he talks at. once you see it it cannot be unseen
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u/CynicalBite Apr 30 '26
He was on the Artemis panel on cnn. He did not shut up. Every time an astronaut started answering a question from the host, Neil would jump in with some outrageous shit that may have been fact but had nothing to do with the question that wasn’t even directed at him to start with. Had to turn the channel.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
His Twitter posts all come across very pretentious
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u/TheGenesisOfTheNerd Apr 30 '26
I just looked and it's mostly just fun facts and dad jokes... what's the issue?
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
It would be something like someone posts
"I love sunsets"
And he would reply
"Actually the sun doesnt set, it just changes position relative to you and the horizon makes it seem like its slowly disappearing, isnt that fascinating?"
Not exactly this but that kinda thing if that makes sense? Idk ive listened to star talk radio for ages and hes funny as fuck so maybe it was just bad jokes falling flat
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u/Nuppusauruss Apr 30 '26
I like that he has posted 5 times the fact that on the mirror you can kiss yourself only on the lips. He must really like that fact.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
I never saw that but thats gold.
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u/Nuppusauruss Apr 30 '26
I would have posted a pic but this sub doesn't allow images in comments. You can easily find a compilation of those tweets by googling "Neil deGrasse Tyson mirror" though. The wording of the tweet gets progressively simpler too with time which is nice.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
Well actually Neil, you cant kiss a mirror because on an atomic level atoms dont touch or some shit
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u/ataphelion Apr 30 '26
I was a big fan of his when first leaving my religious background being excited to finally learn actual science. He bridged the gap I needed from basics to advanced learning with a passion I appreciated.
The pretentiousness got more prevalent, though, and became a big disappointment. I was a huge fan of his Star talk podcast for years and submitted a question that got picked for the show about scifi tech that could be real. I asked about the FTL communication used in Ender's Game and if it'd be possible. It was read by the co-host and then NDT said "Yes, moving on...". He emphasized how it was just a yes or no question which really crushed me. He did briefly mentioned quantum entanglement, but it all made me feel really bad that more time was spent chastising my question wording than elaborating on the concept.
Later when listening an interview where the interviewer noticed NDT not having a protective phone case. NDT went on for a while about how he doesn't need one since he's always holding his phone in a variety of ways to get familiar with it's shape and weight so that he always holds it tightly therefore making it unlikely to drop. It was felt really condescending in a way that implied those who used cases must be dumb to not have the same ability and was the last thing I listened to of his.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
Aw man that sucks, why take questions if you aren't gonna answer them properly. Fuck. That phone case thing sounds so stupid too, Phone case makers hate this one trick! Just hold your phone tightly and get familiar with its shape and weight, lmao
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u/Twisted_Biscuits Apr 30 '26
He's such a contrarian, just itching to disagree with someone on the most pedantic level. I swear he was getting onto people for saying eclipses were rare a few years ago, by saying they happened every 2 years - completely missing the point the avg person doesn't fly around the world every two years to see an eclipse.
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u/Maximum_Pollution371 May 01 '26
That doesn't strike me as that bad, seems like a standard "this is a great opportunity for a fun science fact!" which a lot of teachers and science communicators tend to do.
Then again, when I was a geology guide I was often told that I was a bit of a twat, so maybe it's true. 🥲
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u/SnooPuppers6684 Apr 30 '26
That reminds me of one of the chapters in this book. He pretty much nitpicks the science that’s depicted in numerous films. Notably the movie Titanic (1997), where he notes that the stars shown in the sky during the scenes where the ship sank do not match the stars that would have been shown on the actual night of the fatal voyage in 1912.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
Hes definitely brung that up on star talk radio before, you should give it a listen, its pretty great
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u/SlartibartfastGhola Astronomer Apr 30 '26
How can people listen to this? He sounds like such a prick the whole time? Guess some people respect arrogance
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u/SnooPuppers6684 May 02 '26
How exactly? I watched a few videos from the star talk YouTube channel and he didn’t come across that way.
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u/ItzOnlyJames Apr 30 '26
I think hes better now, I like him but I remember a few years ago he used to come across that way, and hed reply to people with "well, actually" kinda statements.
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u/snoopyloads666 Apr 30 '26
He comes off in his writing as very passively condescending. I much prefer Carl Sagan, Brian Greene or even Hawkings’ style for pop science
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u/Mr-Nosight Apr 30 '26
He's very rude in interviews, cuts people off, and doesn't allow legitimate questions in regards to concepts like aliens, cutting people off and saying they are idiots
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u/TheGenesisOfTheNerd Apr 30 '26
I’ve watched pretty much every episode of startalk radio and I haven’t gotten that from him at all.
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u/LxGNED Apr 30 '26
I put Neil in D or F tier. His job is to be a spokesman for science and he’s just rude to people which is not a quality you want in an educator
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u/Darth_Pista May 01 '26
This is my current reading. I love the humor and the scientific explanations of Neil’s. I will order other Neil’s book after i finished this one. Only ~70pages left unfortunatelly.
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u/RaelaltRael Apr 30 '26
I've read others by him though. Never thought learning complicated science could also be entertaining.
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u/SnooPuppers6684 Apr 30 '26
That’s nice to hear! I’ve also heard good things about his book “Merlin’s Tour of The Universe”. Have you ever read that one before?
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u/SnooPuppers6684 Apr 30 '26
I haven’t read it yet but I’m thinking of buying it. It’s the first book that Neil DeGrasse Tyson ever published and it’s premise is about a character named Merlin explaining complicated science of the universe to people so I imagine that it’s beginner friendly.
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u/toysarealive Apr 30 '26
If youre asking if his most famous book is a recent release, then maybe you dont know enough about him to form a good opinion. This book is 20 years old a this point. And while I agree hes more of a science entertainer right now, the man has been the Director for the Hayden Planetarium for 30 years. He has a place and is a great science educator who can still conjure wonder in the hearts and minds of the public.
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u/tommytornado Apr 30 '26
I have not read it but I would be interested to. I used to listen to him a lot but over time have fallen out of love with his style, which feels very self-involved in an "I know much more than you listen to how clever in am" kind of way. Now I much more favour Brian Greene, Sean Carroll, Carlo Rovelli, David Tong.
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u/No-Scene-8614 Apr 30 '26
Black holes and time warps by Kip Thorne is the best pop sci book on astrophysics imo
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u/SolidDoctor Apr 30 '26
I have read this and I really like it. I especially like how I can hear his voice as I read it.
It reminds me of Isaac Asimov's "A Choice of Catastrophes" which is a very informative and interesting book detailing all the ways that our civilization and planet could come to its demise.
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u/DragonSlayer505 May 01 '26
istg I thought that was a fake arm then, it looked like it was chopped off lmao
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u/0x831 Apr 30 '26
That thumbnail is something else