Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read

OpenSource.com ^ | December 22, 2011 | unknown

[Daffynition]

Makin' a list...checkin' it twice.

[Sprite518]

Thanks!

[varmintman]

Origin of the Species????? I mean there were a couple of items on the list you might could make a case for...

[running_dog_lackey]

——1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”——
This guy had to read the whole Bible to figure that out?

[Daffynition]

Dry and boring, is how I remember it.

[Daffynition]

From the comments:

Thanks for this ongoing interest in my book suggestions. From some of your reflections, it looks like the intent of the list was not as clear as I thought. The one-line comment after each book is not a review but a statement about how the book's content influenced the behavior of people who shaped the western world. So, for example, it does no good to say what the Bible "really" meant, if its actual influence on human behavior is something else. Again, thanks for your collective interest. -NDTyson

[Nailbiter]

bfl

[bobby.223]

Best book? ‘The Glory of Their Times’. Lawrence S. Ritter, 1966. The story of MLB, circa 1900-1930. As was once said “If you want to know America, you must know Baseball” (or close to that quote).

[golux]

I might add THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO or another out-of-print gem on the same subject, COMING OUT OF THE ICE by Victor Herman. The latter is an absolute treasure.

[golux]

I might add THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO or another out-of-print gem on the same subject, COMING OUT OF THE ICE by Victor Herman. The latter is an absolute treasure.

[shibumi]

Not so much by his list, but rather his comments on it, it is apparent that Tyson is agenda driven which, in itself, disqualifies his as the objective scientist he claims to be.

A revealing quote from Tyson can be found here:

"Every account of a higher power that I've seen described, of all religions that I've seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence."

Although he uses the self description "agnostic" that is clearly a cop out. No intellectually honest person can state that they believe in the existence of something they cannot describe or attribute qualities to.

If in fact the universe is the hostile place Tyson characterizes, then our continued existence in spite of the enormous odds against our even being in the first place is proof enough of a beneficent God.

I agree that these eight books (especially the Bible) are important reading (even if in some cases they serve to let you know your enemy) but Tyson's raising them to the level of IQ qualifiers reeks of an elitist arrogance beyond the pale.

It's a shame that Tyson did not receive the benefit of a truly Liberal education (in the classic sense) instead of frittering away his time in a graduate level shop class before he learned how to read and think critically.

[dragonblustar]

How about Atlas Shug?

[dsthompson]

The hallmark of a truly ignorant person is that they on telling everyone how intelligent they are.

So some assclown from Reddit wants to know what "intelligent" people should read. I guess normal people shouldn't read these books eh?

Anytime someone says to me, during the course of normal conversation, that they are intelligent, highly educated, etc. I just away because they just proved they are actually an ignorant jerk.

[Williams]

Such a list cannot be complete w/o Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire.

[Revolting cat!]

[dsthompson]

"The hallmark of a truly ignorant person is that they insist on telling everyone how intelligent they are."

Of course intelligent people don't make grammar mistakes either. So I guess that means I can't read those books.

[Revolting cat!]

[dragonblustar]

Funny, he goes after the bible but yet he and many other sheeple voted for Obama. Looks like he let the DNC do his thinking.

[dragonblustar]

DeGrasse gets high on himself. I can’t stand watching those shows about the universe when he’s on it.

[Bobalu]

Yup!

Do not blow your own horn! If you don’t realize this.. then how intelligent can you really be??

No matter who you are there is someone smarter, prettier, richer, healthier, better liked, more interesting...etc etc.

So be humble and pleasant... it will win you friends and influence people :-)