“In fact our academic system rewards people who know a lot of stuff, and generally we call those people smart. But at the end of the day, who do you want: the person who can figure stuff out that they’ve never seen before, or the person who can rattle off a bunch of facts? At the end of the day, I want the person who can figure stuff out.”
Education is an incredibly powerful and empowering thing, but I’m not entirely sure if we’re going about it the right way. I’ve never been one for rote memorization, instead preferring to be a concept learner who can then apply knowledge in novel situations. And that’s the kind of intelligence that Neil Degrasse Tyson describes above.
While he may be better known now for being an Internet meme, Tyson is actually an American astrophysicist and the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York. He is also the author of such books as Space Chronicles
In fact, you could say that folks like Neil Degrasse Tyson and Dr. Michio Kaku are the people who are working the hardest to popularize science. Yes, there are “geeks” out there who “nerd out” about this type of material, but it is important that the mass populace gets a better grasp of scientific principles and skeptical thought.
“In the schools, I don’t have a problem with the fact-memorizing. But don’t equate that with what it is to be wise or what it is to be smart. Smart should be some combination — of that, yes, but also: what is your lens on the world? How do you figure things out? And you promote that by stimulating curiosity. And I don’t see enough stimulating curiosity in this world.”
Before we are able to partake in a fruitful conversation and a thought-provoking debate, we must first start with base knowledge. Yes, memorizing facts is necessary, but there is so much more to education than that. Education grants us the ability to question the world around us. It feeds our imagination. We need to be curious and it is only through curiosity that we will be motivated to seek the answers to our questions.
I’ve written before about the nature of true intelligence and how academic performance does not necessarily indicate that someone is “smart.” Instead, it is through innovation and seeing things that no one else has seen before, even if it has been in front of them the entire time.
We, as human beings, are creatures of instant gratification and that is why it is becoming increasingly difficult to fund scientific inquiry. Specific, practical applications of science–like the more fuel-efficient car–more easily get money than the less direct science done by organizations like NASA. That’s why a longer time frame needs to be considered.
“Investing in the frontier of science, however remote it may seem in its relevance to what you’re doing today, is a way of stockpiling the seed corns of future harvests of this nation. And those seed corns, what they do is, whether or not you know it today, advancing a frontier, history has shown, has advanced the culture.”
It’s not just about a nation, Mr. Tyson. It’s about human civilization as a collective. We share our knowledge and we advance as a species. And that starts by encouraging little Billy in elementary school to wonder, to be curious, and to seek answers.
The video below is almost an hour and a half, but if you like either Stephen Colbert or Neil Degrasse Tyson, it’s well worth your time. Colbert is even a little out of character for this interview!
Being in education I can tell you that it is all about memorizing for the test’s. It has nothing to do with teaching how to figure things out, how to use common sense. The reason the kids in America are failing behind is that very reason. It is all about the standardized test and how well you score.
If you learn how to play the game you can score on the test and get that degree, but can you actually solve problems? The problem is amplified by businesses wanting certain degree’s and certifications to qualify for a job. I know more people that can do the job because they have the experience and ability to solve the problems, but can’t get the jobs because they don’t have the degree.
That is why our education system sucks.
Coming from someone who actually works in the schools, your comment means a lot here. It really is a shame that the kids are learning “for the test” rather than learning for life. It severely degrades the value of an education.
Sorry for the typo’s, I was writing that from the iPhone and it’s auto correct made falling = Failing. But the point is the same, they are falling behind and failing at life at the same time.
The teachers are made to do 90 minutes of this and 90 minutes of that and then are evaluated on how well their students do on the standardized tests, which there are too many of to name here. If we spent more time actually teaching and letting the student explore, learn, ask questions and make mistakes we might actually have better prepared children.
My daughter is in the gifted program for our district, but both my wife and I make sure she is asking questions, thinking on her own and putting in the time to make sure that she knows the way to solve problems. Camille is extremely smart, but she is also a little girl that needs to learn, ask questions and make mistakes.
To learn is to explore, ask questions and make mistakes.
Neil is a fascinating orator. First time I came across him was on Season 1 of The Universe TV show on History and I’ve been a fan of his ever since.
-Jean
Here’s a great related quote from Derek Bok, former president of Harvard University:
“If you think education is expensive, try the cost of ignorance.”
It’s sometimes credited simply as:
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”