The great and powerful Neil deGrasse Tyson has some excellent life advice: When the world gives you puddles, jump in them.
When the famed astrophysicist came to College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts last week, an adorable 6-year-old girl in an Einstein T-shirt asked what first graders can do to “help the world.”
And his answer is all about exploration. Jumping in puddles, banging on pots and pans — even if your mom and dad aren’t always gung ho about the whole thing.
“Tell your parents Doctor Neil deGrasse Tyson said you should jump in the puddle,” he said before doing launching into a roll on the gymnasium floor.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious,” he said, reading the Einstein quote off the girl’s shirt. “It is the source of all true art and science.”
A Perseid meteor shower at Chapel of Garioch, near Aberdeen on Aug. 12, 2013.Geoffrey Robinson—Rex USAA bright Geminid meteor falls from the sky over the summit of 14,505 foot Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada mountains on Dec. 14, 2011.Tony Rowell—CorbisA multiple exposure of a Leonid meteor shower over Joshua Tree National Park.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisStonehenge during a Perseid meteor shower in Salisbury Plain, England on Aug. 13, 2013.Kieran Doherty—Reuters/CorbisA Perseid meteor shower set against the Milky Way in Sebastopol, Calif., on Aug. 12, 2010.Ethan T. Allen—Zuma PressFramed within Mobuis Arch, a Geminid meteor streaks through a starfilled sky above the Sierra Nevada mountains in California's Eastern Sierra on Dec. 14, 2011.Tony Rowell—CorbisA Leonid meteor shower, centered on Polaris, the North Star. The smoky residue of the meteor trails have been blown by upper atmospheric wind. The color shift is due to the meteoroid burning.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisA Perseid meteor streaks across the sky over the Lovell Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank on Aug. 13, 2013 in Holmes Chapel, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty ImagesA Perseid meteor streaks past stars in the night sky over the village of Kuklici, known for its hundreds of naturally formed stones, near Kratovo, east of Skopje, on Aug. 13, 2012. Ognen Teofilovski—ReutersA multiple exposure of a Leonid meteor shower.Tony Hallas—Science Faction/CorbisPerseid meteors streak across the sky through star trails over Cathedral Gorge State Park in this long exposure on Aug. 12, 2013.David Becker—Zuma PressGeminid meteors streak across the sky behind a barn in western Iowa on Dec. 12, 2012.Mike Hollingshead—CorbisThree Perseid meteors appear in the predawn sky over Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada on Aug. 12, 2012.Alan Dyer—Visuals Unlimited/CorbisA Perseid meteor (top) and the trail of an jet airplane converge over the cliff walls of Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas on Aug. 11, 2009.David Becker—ReutersThis 15-minute long exposure shows stars and meteors during the Perseid meteor shower in Imjingak Pyeonghwa-Nuri park in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 13, 2013.Kim Jae-Sun—EPA
