Famed astrophysicist and public speaker extraordinaire Neil deGrasse Tyson is pretty great at interacting with young kids. At a recent event in Boston, a 6-year-old boy (well, 6 and three quarters, as he makes sure to point out) asked, “What is the meaning of life?”
The kid was probably asking just to be cute, but deGrasse Tyson took the question seriously and responded with a very thoughtful, extended answer.
He explains that it’s important to create meaning for ourselves and make sure we’re constantly bringing ourselves a little bit closer to knowing everything there is to know. “If I live a day and I don’t know a little more that day than the day before,” he explains, “I think I wasted that day.”
Basically, Neil deGrasse Tyson just really wants us all to maintain our sense of wonder and curiosity, whether we’re 6 and three quarters or 96 and three quarters.
MORE: Neil deGrasse Tyson Is Getting His Own Talk Show
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