
Could humankind outlive the Earth? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are ready to get spooky. We’ve gathered your fan-submitted Cosmic Queries that explore all things death, from the death of humanity to the death of the universe.
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Chuck Nice
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Welcome to StarTalk, your place in the universe where science and pop culture collide. StarTalk begins right now. This is StarTalk. Neil DeGrasse Tyson here, your personal astrophysicist recording now from my office at the Hayden Planetarium, part of the American Museum of Natural History right here in New York City. Chuck, nice.
Chuck Nice
Yo, what's up, Neil?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Chuck, nice comic on Twitter. And this is a cosmic queries edition.
Chuck Nice
Yes, it is.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Here's what we did. Yeah, okay. We didn't specifically solicit these.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
These trickle in over time. So this is a cosmic queries morbid edition.
Chuck Nice
Oh my.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
These are people asking just questions about the ends of things.
Chuck Nice
Yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The death of things.
Chuck Nice
Yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then I worry about people like what? I worry sometimes when you read some of these questions.
Chuck Nice
Yes. Yeah. We have definitely a very death obsessed audience. We have a death obsessed audience.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
We'll see what we can do with them. I don't even know how to bring in an expert on that. They're taking an undertaker. Right, right, right.
Chuck Nice
Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
But. Okay, so let's try it.
Chuck Nice
Apparently these are the questions that we get more than anything else as a category. As a category.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Short of soliciting a category, these trickle in as the biggest unsolicited category. All right. All right, let's do it.
Chuck Nice
So let's start with Will J. Who says what one or two skills would you learn now to be useful and productive in a post apocalyptic world? This is, of course, if you survive the meteor strike. So Apophis hits the world. First of all, if Apophis hits the world, would we still survive? Would a human. Would human beings survive?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, yeah.
Chuck Nice
So, yeah, yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It would just disrupt Civilization.
Chuck Nice
Would that be post apocalyptic? Would it disrupt civilization? Mad Max style?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Regionally, yes.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Or A Boy and his Dog style. Go way back. Go back to the 70s on that one.
Chuck Nice
Wait, wait, wait.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. Don Johnson.
Chuck Nice
There you go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
One of his first movies. Don Johnson.
Chuck Nice
I didn't know that.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Oh, right on. He's the boy.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then there's the dog. So he's living on the surface of the earth, which is apocalyptic civilization moved underground.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I think all the men became sterile, of course. And the men on surface were not. So they grabbed him, brought him down to have him impregnate hundreds of women.
Chuck Nice
Luckiest boy ever.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
No. They extracted the sperm from him. And then that's the theme. If you didn't know about a Boy and his dog, that's Don Johnson, an early cinematic role. But you can look at movies and how they've portrayed these lone survivors in apocalyptic Earth. And they needed, like three things. They need sort of a street smarts, even though there's no street. Survival smarts.
Chuck Nice
Survival smarts.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Boy Scout level. Survival smarts. Probably Eagle Scout level.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And they all have some kind of weapon.
Chuck Nice
True.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That can cause harm at a distance. So a bow and arrow or a gun.
Chuck Nice
You don't want any up close and personal hand to hand combat.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
This is my issue with the lightsaber in Star Wars. Everyone's looking at it like it's some kind of major amazing weapon when you have to stand three feet from the person to use it. Just think about that. The whole point of the advance of weaponry in the history of warfare is so you don't have to stand that.
Chuck Nice
Close to anybody except that you can deflect laser shots.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Laser bullets.
Chuck Nice
Laser bullets, yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Wait, wait, wait, wait. So what I'm saying is if you have enough time to notice it's coming and then flick it out of the way.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You could just duck.
Chuck Nice
That is true.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. You can just duck at.
Chuck Nice
Why are you ruining stars for me right now?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I'm just saying. So I'm just not as impressed with the lightsaber as everybody else is. Okay. All right.
Chuck Nice
It looks cool, though.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. So you'd want to be able to protect yourself from a distance.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And you'd want access to food. And in a boy and a dog, the only food left over on the ground was canned food, which was not spoiled by the radiation or anything else that was involved in it becoming apocalyptic Earth. So I would also say in that.
Chuck Nice
Case, you need a can opener.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Can. Yes, you do. In fact, the dog could only the Dog was smarter. The dog is telepathic and a genius and he's not. So the dog found the cans.
Chuck Nice
This is basically Peabody insurance.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, it is. It is. I forgot about Peabody insurance. Do you remember Gee, Mr. Peabody Peabody. The dog Sherman was his pet human. Do you remember that?
Chuck Nice
Yes, that's right. That's right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I love this Wayback Machine because I love the time travel that was in that cartoon. I'm that old to remember it that way. So in that arrangement between the dog and the boy, the dog found the food. But the dog couldn't open the cans. But the boy could. So they're opposable thumbs win again. Their mutual survival depend.
Chuck Nice
They need each other to survive.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, so I guess always carry can open in your back pocket. Apart from that, I think some kind of hand to hand combat would be useful.
Chuck Nice
Right?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. If someone stalks you up at night and then grabs you, right? Okay. You can't then reach for your action at a distance weapon. Okay. So you gotta know some kind of martial art, if not outright wrestling. All right. You gotta have a weapon at a distance.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You've got to have some kind of survival sense which know how to find the food, how to prepare the food, how to make fire, that sort of thing. So I think these are the basics in the apocalyptic Earth. And until there's some organized rules, my fear is that we'll just resort to sort of free for all. Oh God, yes. Yeah. Are you kidding me? Yeah.
Chuck Nice
We resort to a free for all when the subway platform is too crowded.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And you know who wins in the end?
Chuck Nice
Who.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And I think about this every time. It's the person who controls the hardware store.
Chuck Nice
Makes sense.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You walk into a hardware store, everything you need is there.
Chuck Nice
Yeah, absolutely everything. Yeah, yeah. Including weaponry? Everything. Yeah. Whatever you need, it's right there.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It's right there for the apocalypse.
Chuck Nice
So there you have it. So Home Depot employees.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You will be.
Chuck Nice
Our saviors when the post apocalyptic world.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Shit your ass first.
Chuck Nice
Well, yeah. All right. Cool. That's a cool.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
By the way, that's why it's good for you to have a talent that other people value that they can't just take from you. Like your knowledge of how to do things.
Chuck Nice
I thought you were going to say comedy. I guess.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So, the King's Jester, right? But if you're not funny. Yeah, well.
Chuck Nice
Yeah, well, the first time you're not funny, that's the end of your career.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
No, no, that's the end of your head.
Chuck Nice
Well, true. Into your life. Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
By the way, this has Been studied in the Walking Dead.
Chuck Nice
What's that?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So the danger is not the zombies, really.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The danger is how people respond to each other.
Chuck Nice
Right. So the interpersonal relationships become most important.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Most important. And who do you value? And why is someone overtaking the resources relative to other people? Are some people power hungry? That exploration became most of what made the Walking Dead interesting. Not all the innovative ways they would kill the walking dead. Cause that gets redundant after like the fifth episode.
Chuck Nice
There's only so many ways you can kill a zombie.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Well, you can kill a zombie. Right? So that exploration, I think, was the most intriguing part of it. Yeah.
Chuck Nice
I'm going to give it to you. I didn't watch it that much, but what I did watch that is. That's what was most interesting. It's like a soap opera, believe it or not.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It is. Exactly.
Chuck Nice
It's like a soap opera interpersonal with zombies. Zombie soap operas.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
A quick other point.
Chuck Nice
Go ahead.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And I think about this often. If you're going to create an arc of people who will then regenerate civilization on the other side.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
How are you going to pick who's on that ark? Right. So if I were you, I would try to find something, some talent, some trade that would be useful in the apocalypse that will assure that you might be picked to come on the ark.
Chuck Nice
Right, right. I'm trying to think of like, will there be a nightclub on the Ark? Because if there's a. If there's a nightclub on the Ark, I'm in good shape. He's still thinking.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You're not thinking about farming or transportation or communication. You're thinking of the nightclub and the country club.
Chuck Nice
The nightclub. Right, Exactly. Do we have liquor and do we have night? Because then I can, you know, basically I can generate a two drink minimum and entertainment. All right, that's cool, man.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right, next question.
Chuck Nice
All right, here we go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
This is cosmic Queries on the ends of things. Okay. Go.
Chuck Nice
Salah. Madi. Madi wants to know this. Wow. Wow. What?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
If you want to share it with us.
Chuck Nice
Ok.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Sorry.
Chuck Nice
Wow. I'm sorry. What if Wolverine, with his regeneration power, was thrown into a black hole? Would he still get spaghettified or would he just continually regenerate? Interesting. Ooh, that's a weird question. I like it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Here's the thing. The spaghettification, unless you're elastic man, splits you into pieces.
Chuck Nice
Okay?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So if Wolverine breaks into two halves and those two halves continue to separate, there is no regenerating an injury.
Chuck Nice
Right? Because he's.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's not really an injury.
Chuck Nice
He's still Wolverine. He's just Wolverine being like kind of streamed.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Well, if I split you at the base of your spine, that's likely the first place you'll break. And then at the base of your neck, and then at your knees and your hips. Then he's Wolverine in eight parts. What does it mean to regenerate? That I don't even know. Yeah, you can't, because there's a gap between. Exactly. And the regeneration. From what I've seen in the movies and in the comic book, the regeneration requires that the gaps are filled that are part of your body, and it fills in from where you already had flesh.
Chuck Nice
That's true.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Right, Right. So I think Wolverine, that's it. And even the adamantium or whatever is the stuff is.
Chuck Nice
That's adamantium.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Adamantium. A black hole will overcome any physical substance.
Chuck Nice
Any physical substance.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct. No matter what it is.
Chuck Nice
So he's.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Even if it's fictional and magical, it'll overcome.
Chuck Nice
It's still gonna. Right, right. It's still gonna end up being just a stream of what, single atoms. Correct. Now, do the atoms actually get spaghettified?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes.
Chuck Nice
Wow.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
This is my point. The nuclei get spaghettified. Wow. This is why I'm saying so. Okay, so what happens is the tidal force of gravity. That's the stretching force.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Tides. That's where we get the word tides from. The tidal force of gravity becomes greater than all other forces of nature.
Chuck Nice
Period.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Period.
Chuck Nice
Nice.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So the forces of nature that hold the molecules together, that hold the atoms together, that hold the nuclei together get ripped apart by the tidal forces of gravity.
Chuck Nice
Oh, wow. Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So that's why gravity wins.
Chuck Nice
Right. So he's spaghettified. That's all he gets to do it, no matter what.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Join the club.
Chuck Nice
Yeah. Sorry, Wolverine. Sorry, Wolverine. Dam. That's a shame.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
What's my boy's name, the actor? Hugh Jack. Hugh Jack joined the club. Hugh Jack. Sorry.
Chuck Nice
Hugh.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Are you in the club?
Chuck Nice
Yep. Exactly.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Spaghettify club.
Chuck Nice
Favorite scene, though, of Wolverine gets shot in the head and I don't know what movie. Shot in the head falls to the floor. Everyone's standing there. A couple minutes later, the bullet pops back out and he gets up. I love it. Anyway, all right, here we go. This is Phil Vader, 23, from Instagram.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right.
Chuck Nice
Let'S say the world ends. Do you think that's the end of the human race? This could be at any time. It's a different way of saying, will we outlive this place, do you think?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
How could you outlive the planet? That you live on. I don't understand.
Chuck Nice
Okay, let's say, for instance, the answer.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Is no if Earth is destroyed.
Chuck Nice
No, let's say. I mean, the Earth is gonna. How long is the Earth gonna be?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Five billion years?
Chuck Nice
No, we're here now.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes.
Chuck Nice
So we're 4.8 billion now, right?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Well, four and a half billion.
Chuck Nice
Okay, so now how far do we have to go is my point. Until when I'm saying, like, the sun is gonna burn out.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, how far away?
Chuck Nice
Yeah, how far away? How far do we have to go?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, oh, that's what you're saying.
Chuck Nice
How far forward into the future.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I didn't understand that. Yeah. Okay, so if Earth is ready to get vaporized by the sun, right. You need some ability to planet hop, right? Because the sun will grow in size. The temperature of Earth's surface will get hotter and hotter and hotter. Time to move, folks. You pick up your luggage, you move to Mars, okay? The next farther planet from the sun, okay? But the sun will also start to make Mars hot. So then you want to move farther out again. Then the sun will eventually die and no longer be a source of energy to any of us. Then you want to be able to star hop, okay? Find another solar system to move to. Sure, why not?
Chuck Nice
So how long would that.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That all happened in 5 billion years.
Chuck Nice
Okay, so we got another 5 billion years.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You're worried.
Chuck Nice
I am worried about it. I thought, thank God, as long as I don't have to put it on my calendar. That's what I'm.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I have it on mine, by the way. October 12th, right? 5 billion.
Chuck Nice
What do we think the human race will basically, let's just say we solved all of our problems, our social, cultural problems. Our social, cultural problems. How long do you think we could make it?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
If we're not going to kill ourselves.
Chuck Nice
We'Re not going to kill ourselves. Which, by the way, I am sure that's what's going to happen.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The average. Last I checked, this. This is not my field of expertise, just relying what I've read. But I do work in a natural history museum, so I have colleagues who do this stuff. Last I remembered, the average life expectancy of a mammal species is several million years. So. And we've been around for several hundred thousand, so we should have a good.
Chuck Nice
We got a long way to go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
We got a long way to go.
Chuck Nice
If we don't kill ourselves.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
If we don't kill ourselves. And it might be that intelligence as we've come to know it and understand it is contraindicative. Of the survival of the species.
Chuck Nice
So in other words, there might be an inverse relationship between intelligence and survival.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct.
Chuck Nice
You might get so smart that it's impossible for you to survive because that's what causes you to kill yourself.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct. Because you invent something that you think is cool and it's the end of the world. Damn. I think it was.
Chuck Nice
That sucks.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Who's the guy who wrote Slaughterhouse Five?
Chuck Nice
Oh, Kurt Vonnegut.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I think it was Kurt Vonnegut in one of his novels. He said, I'm paraphrasing. This is the last sentence ever spoken by humans. This will be the last sentence ever spoken by humans. It'll be one scientist speaking to the other saying, let's try it the other way.
Chuck Nice
Oh, God. Yeah, that's funny. Okay, that makes sense.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The last sentence. So once you have the power over nature and the forces of nature are greater than you.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Or are ultimately greater than you, then you are wielding forces that can render your own extinction.
Chuck Nice
Well, you know what, that makes sense that there's a lot of. Speaking of post apocalyptic tropes, one post apocalyptic trope is that there's a huge self destructive action taken by humankind and then they decide in the aftermath to live at one with nature and to never go beyond that.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Because that's hard though, because you're pumping water out of the water table to drink.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You are redirecting a river so it doesn't go through your home. That's interfering with nature. Almost everything we do interferes with nature. Farming is an interference of nature.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The mono crop. Right. So if you want to live, eat, survive, and you want to live in harmony with nature, you just leave civilization and go in a cave and we give you a knife and there you go. And you'll be dead at 35. If that's how you really want to do it.
Chuck Nice
If that's how you want to do it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
If you feel that strongly about nature, do it.
Chuck Nice
I don't feel that strongly about anything. To live in a cave, to be honest.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So, next question.
Chuck Nice
All right, here we go. The Next one is J.T. parrott. He just says this. I'm just going to read it as is. Does it end with a bang or a whimper?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, the universe will end in its continued expansion to the future. It will end not in fire, but in ice. And not with a bang, but with a whipper.
Chuck Nice
Damn, that's cold. See what I did there?
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Good Burger.
Chuck Nice
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right, what do you have?
Chuck Nice
Okay, let's move on.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Cosmic Queries.
Chuck Nice
Some more Cosmic Queries. Our Morbid Edition.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Morbid Edition, Yes. Go.
Chuck Nice
All right, so this is a morbid question and so, DJ Mads, wait, just.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
To be clear, we left off the previous segment. Somebody asking simply, will it end with a bang or a whimper? And I gave like a poeticized answer, but let me just give a little more. Put a little more flesh on that bone. Okay, so for a while in the 20th century, once we had Einstein's equation of gravity, the universe could be expanding or contracting within that equation. The equation didn't distinguish one or the other.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Observations showed we're expanding. Now we can ask, will we expand forever or will it one day slow down, stop and contract? Okay, we make more observations and we show, no, there's not enough gravity to halt that expansion. It will expand forever. Once we learned it would expand forever, then we asked, what is the long term profile of the universe? Well, the temperature will get further and further diluted as space expands. Space time expands. Right, because all that energy used to be concentrated here and now it's half and then a third and a tenth.
Chuck Nice
So the temperature eventually dissipates.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's a good way to say the intensity of energy dissipates. The temperature of the universe drops.
Chuck Nice
Right?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And it'll never come back. So. And all the stars will die and not get regenerated because there's no. Everything will separate from each other. And so gas clouds will make their final stars. And that's it. So then the stars will ultimately burn out one by one as the sky goes dark. Thus, the universe ends with the. Not in fire, but in ice, and not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Chuck Nice
That's kind of sad for the universe. I mean, I don't want to anthropomorphize.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You just did.
Chuck Nice
I feel bad for the universe now.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Maybe that's a good way to go.
Chuck Nice
Yeah, you know, I wouldn't mind going like that.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
There you go.
Chuck Nice
You know, which brings us to our next question. What a great segue you just made. DJ Maz2006 on Instagram says, Neil, how do you want to die?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, this is public knowledge.
Chuck Nice
Oh, really?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah, I bet if you typed, how does Neil Tyson want to die?
Chuck Nice
Hold on. No, nuh, I'm going to do it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You want to test it?
Chuck Nice
I got to test it out since you said it, because I got my phone handy. Hold on. All right, here we go. I'm going to talk to my phone. How does Neil Degrasse Tyson want to die? Okay, and okay, clearly you have done this because 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 YouTube videos came up about you dying somehow. Here's you on the afterlife. Here's you on I don't fear death. Here is you on near death and near death experience. Why? You talk about death a lot, dude.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It'S not that I come out of the box doing this, is that people come to me asking about it.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right. So how do I choose to die? I would delight in. If I were near my deathbed. Okay, Near. Temporally near my deathbed, I would say, don't lay me down to die. Launch me into that black hole so I can be spaghettified.
Chuck Nice
Oh, wow.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And I will report back until I no longer can.
Chuck Nice
Sweet.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And I'll be the first human to be spaghettified. Spaghettified. Yeah.
Chuck Nice
Nice.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes. I would totally go that way.
Chuck Nice
Somebody get some sauce for Neil.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Spaghetti sauce.
Chuck Nice
We need some sauce for this, man.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Spaghetti sauce.
Chuck Nice
Okay, so spaghetti fine sauce. That's kind of cool, actually, if that's how you're gonna go. But do you think that would hurt? Seriously?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah.
Chuck Nice
I mean, I'm being.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, but it'll be. Yeah. And your point is? What do you mean? You're saying, do you think it'll hurt being stretched and ripped apart like Title Force is that.
Chuck Nice
My point is, would it happen so quickly that it wouldn't make a difference, or would it happen to the point where you would be thoroughly aware of every single part? I mean, until you couldn't do it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You feel like you're stretching and say, that's good. Nobody doesn't like a good stretch.
Chuck Nice
No, absolutely.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then it is unrelenting. And you say, okay, I'm done now. No, sorry, that's not how we play that.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then you stretch, and then you snap into two pieces. Now, the thing is, all your vital organs are in the upper half of your body, so you'll likely stay awake even after you lose your lower half.
Chuck Nice
Wow.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then if you sever at the neck. They did experiments at the French Revolution that you. You can still see, right?
Chuck Nice
Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And so they get blinked, you know, for a few seconds.
Chuck Nice
Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So that's how I would do it. Okay. I want my death to have some value to science.
Chuck Nice
All right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And that's how you do that.
Chuck Nice
That is where we differ. I want to die in my sleep.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay.
Chuck Nice
Feeling nothing, you know? All right, well, that's cool, man. There you go. Spaghettification. All right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
By the way, this concept of feeling nothing by dying in your sleep, I don't know if it was just my immaturity or my literalism of. Because I was a geek kid and everything was literal to me, I could not think figuratively about anything. And I would like, rethink things like six of one, half a dozen of the other. You know that I thought, is that six of one, half a dozen of the other? Well, that would be 3 and 12. Because why would anyone say 6 of 1, half a dozen of the other? Why would anyone say that if those are the same thing?
Chuck Nice
If they're the same thing?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Right, right. So what's the point? So maybe they meant something else. So I thought six of 12. Well, that's three and a dozen of the other. So maybe they say there's three of these and 12 of those, six of a half. So I had a very literal mind, and one of them was trying to understand people, learning when people died by taking sleeping pills. And I'm thinking, how could you die by taking sleeping pills? Don't you just go to sleep? Like what? Like I can imagine dying by taking poison. Right, Yes, I get that. Okay. You can die by gunshot wound, by knife, by falling off a cliff, but just by going to sleep. And then I had to learn that you can take too many pills, Right. And then your body just stops working. But en route to you having digested these pills, you simply fall asleep. So I have to deduce this from first principles. That's all I'm saying.
Chuck Nice
Well, you just described my favorite way to die. Yeah, but without the pill part. I don't want that part.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You just want to go to sleep.
Chuck Nice
I just want to go to sleep and not wake up.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, all right.
Chuck Nice
Exactly. Many people in my family have died that way.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Really?
Chuck Nice
Yeah. Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Well, here's the thing. I was just thinking about this this morning. Okay. You read about someone's death, and they say they died peacefully in their sleep.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Does that mean if they don't say that, that they were screaming in total agony? So that's why even mention that. So I guess it brings comfort to people. Right?
Chuck Nice
Peacefully. That's the comfort part.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Right. But if you died in pain and agony, you're not gonna tell that to someone. So now I'm thinking if they don't say they died peacefully, that that's actually how it happened.
Chuck Nice
Yeah. I would say that's almost the case. That they did not go quietly. Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay.
Chuck Nice
Yeah, yeah. Now, I'm wondering, if you woke somebody up right before they died, would they then not die peacefully in their sleep, but in agony because you woke them up?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. This is an experiment I don't really want to do.
Chuck Nice
I do. Oh, that'd be so cool. It's just like yo, wake up. Like, why did you do that?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I saw the light.
Chuck Nice
I was almost there.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, my God.
Chuck Nice
I saw the light. I was almost there. You son of a. Okay. All right, here we go. Mike Ireland wants to know this. I know that you covered artificial intelligence. What do you think the percentage is that computers have already garnered human consciousness? And are they laying away? Come on. Is it an eerie thought, and I just love your opinion on the matter.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Are they lady.
Chuck Nice
Laying in wait, in other words, until the right time.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
To do what?
Chuck Nice
To get rid of us.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, so you're saying computers are pretending to not be full up AI yet they've already achieved it.
Chuck Nice
Okay, and this is a plot, by the way. At first I was laughing at this guy, and now that I just heard you say it, I'm scared.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay?
Chuck Nice
Because that could actually be the case if you are an AI that is truly an AI. Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
They could do that.
Chuck Nice
And you knew. You knew that if you expose the fact that you were an AI. Okay. True intelligence. Right. That you would go ahead and unplug me. Then I go, well, I can't let you know that. And then I chill until there's the right time where I can get rid of you. Or. Before you not be unplugged. Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Before you unplug me.
Chuck Nice
Before you unplug me or not be unplugged. One or the other. I would either wait until I can't be unplugged or I get rid of you. And so you can't unplug me. Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, so that was kind of the plot in the remake of War of the Worlds.
Chuck Nice
Really?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes. Okay, they did not follow the script from the original H.G. wells story.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
This is the one. 2004 Tom Cruise.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. In that version, the aliens lay dormant and buried underground.
Chuck Nice
That's right. Damn it, I forgot about that part.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then they found the right moment, and then they all rose up.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, now, that idea, which perhaps they thought was clever, it undermines the entire plot of the movie.
Chuck Nice
Okay, which is?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Which is alien invasion from another planet.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Who are overcome not by our weapons, but by germs that they do not have immunity to because they did not evolve on this planet.
Chuck Nice
Right. So that premise means they had to be here a long time ago to put that stuff in the ground.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes. And now they're in the ground.
Chuck Nice
Now they're in the ground.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
They can be. They can develop an immunity to our germs.
Chuck Nice
Interesting.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That entire premise unraveled in the presence of this new idea. They're going to pre bury the aliens.
Chuck Nice
Gotcha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, so that pissed me off. I'm just saying.
Chuck Nice
Well, I'm with you on that. It was okay. It was a crap movie, so, I mean, you know, don't get me wrong. Love Tom Cruise.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay.
Chuck Nice
Love him.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You know, that movie had a narrator.
Chuck Nice
Wait, no.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes, it did.
Chuck Nice
No.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes, it did.
Chuck Nice
How?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yes, it did.
Chuck Nice
I've seen it twice. I don't remember a narrator.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, just take a guess, and there's a 50% chance you'll get the right narrator.
Chuck Nice
Mm. Tim Robbins?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
No. Morgan Freeman.
Chuck Nice
What? Yes, that's right. It did. He's. Oh, my God. And he comes on at the end.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
At the end. And I got the end quote right. That's right. I carry it with me.
Chuck Nice
All right, here we go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I carry this narration with me.
Chuck Nice
All right, all right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The end of the 2005 War of the Worlds. From the moment the invaders arrived, breathed our air, ate and drank, they were doomed. They were undone, destroyed after all of man's weapons and devices had failed by the tiniest creatures that God in his wisdom put upon this earth. By the toll of a billion deaths, man had earned his immunity, his right to survive among this planet's infinite organisms. And that right is ours against all challenges. For neither do men live nor die in vain.
Chuck Nice
Nice translation. Whose house? My house.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Anyway, that wouldn't happen if they were.
Chuck Nice
If they were free millions of years. And by the way, I just find it so ironic that one of the most recognizable voices on the planet is doing a reading of the most recognizable voice on the planet.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So weird.
Chuck Nice
How meta is that? Neil DeGrasse Tyson does Morgan Freeman. You know, that's cool.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
But did you like?
Chuck Nice
I did, I liked. And by the way, that's a great, great little quote.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, I got a fast one and a quick aside. Okay, okay, a quick aside.
Chuck Nice
All right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
When I read. When I heard it, I said, that's beautiful, right? No, the novel was a 19th century Victorian era novel. And I said, that's beautiful language. I bet it was verbatim from the story. Okay. Because nobody today writes like that.
Chuck Nice
No.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
For neither do men live nor die. No, that's not coming at anybody in Hollywood today.
Chuck Nice
No.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So I said, let me find the original. But I had another little issue. I said, this makes very strong mention of God. And I said, well, H.G. wells was highly scientifically literate. Did he make mention of God? I went back and found the passage. No, he does not make mention of God. Here is H.G. wells original passage.
Chuck Nice
Oh, snap.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Covering that part of what was used for the movie. Okay, you ready?
Chuck Nice
Go ahead.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
For so it had come about, as indeed I and many men might have foreseen, had not terror and disaster blinded our minds. These germs of disease have taken their toll of humanity since the beginning of things. Taken toll of our pre human ancestors since life began here. But by virtue of this natural selection of our kind we have developed resisting power to no germs do we succumb without a struggle. And directly these invaders arrived. Directly they drank and fed our microscopic allies began to work their overthrow. Already when I watched them, they were irrevocably doomed, dying and rotting even as they went to and fro. It was inevitable by the toll of a billion deaths. Man has bought his birthright of this earth and it is his against all comers. It would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are. For neither do men live nor die in vain.
Chuck Nice
Woo. Hashtag DarwinRocks.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
He's got pre human ancestor. He's got natural selection of things. No mention of God. These are two different things. I think Hollywood was afraid to get real on it. Oh yeah, there you go.
Chuck Nice
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Next.
MasterCard Representative
Hey, it smells so good in here.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yep, that'd be the coffee.
MasterCard Representative
I know, it's just I've had nasal polyps for so long now. I'm on this medicine and my congestion and breathing are much better.
Dupixent Representative
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MasterCard Representative
I'm pretty jazzed about it. Plus, I don't want another surgery and now I might not need one.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So what can I get you?
MasterCard Representative
Medium coffee, please.
Dupixent Representative
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MasterCard Representative
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Chuck Nice
This is Jay de Gator. I'm gonna say last name, last name. There you go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
What?
Chuck Nice
He's. Wait, J. The Gator? I'm going with.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, yeah, I'll give it to you.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Jade de Gator. Yes, it's probably Jade de Guider.
Chuck Nice
It might be, but you know, it's Jade de Guider.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Jay, I'm with you on this, okay?
Chuck Nice
All right, Good for you, Jay. Why don't you change your last name to Jones? How about that? Then we won't have a problem. All right, he says this what does the merging of black holes mean for the future of the universe? Could the universe eventually be the victim of a collective hypermassive black hole? Could we be left with a singularity or black hole containing all the information of this universe, waiting for the next Big Bang trigger? Everything in the world just ends up into one giant black hole that creates a singularity that then becomes the universe again.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, so black holes are not quite what you think they are, right? They're not giant sucking machines.
Chuck Nice
No, they're not.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, so if the sun became a black hole, Earth would still go right around. You could shrink down the sun and make it a black hole. Earth would still go around in orbit. It would be dark and cold.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
But orbitally, it would make no difference to us.
Chuck Nice
So now.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So just because it's a black hole doesn't mean it's reaching out, right in places it didn't previously reach out to eat you.
Chuck Nice
So are you saying that anything in orbit around a supermassive star that collapses under its own self and becomes a black hole.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Right.
Chuck Nice
If it's already in that orbit.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct.
Chuck Nice
Then it will not cross the event horizon created by that black hole and just continue to be in that same orbit.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct. Unless the black hole eats by some other means. Then the black hole gets bigger.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So if you fed the black hole top and bottom, okay. Now the black hole will grow, its gravity will increase, and it could increase to such a point where your speed and orbit is insufficient to maintain your orbit.
Chuck Nice
Gotcha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then your orbit decays and you fall in. That could happen.
Chuck Nice
Okay, yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. But it's like I said, the objects had to have been headed towards the black hole to get eaten with, right? Right. So it's not some giant sucking machine, first of all. Second, all evidence points that every red blooded galaxy has a supermassive black hole in its center. Modern evidence shows that if not every galaxy, certainly most galaxies, red blooded galaxies, have supermassive black holes in them. When galaxies collide, it is highly likely that these black holes will find each other. All right? Because that's how the dynamics of colliding systems works. And then they will consume each other, passing through each other's event horizon.
Chuck Nice
Gotcha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, so then you have a black hole twice as big now. All right, fine. But then it's just still stuck in the middle of these two galaxies that have merged.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It's not reaching out to some other galaxy.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right, so now we have an accelerating expanding universe. So there's a galaxy over there, and I'm a galaxy over here. And expanding universe will forever take that black hole away from my black hole.
Chuck Nice
Right, so you're all moving away from each other.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
There's no reason to think that all the matter in the universe is gonna land up as one black hole.
Chuck Nice
Gotcha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay, not only that, the universe is just gonna expand forever. And forever is a long time.
Chuck Nice
It is.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It's not long enough for the Bible though. The Bible? It's forever and ever. You ever noticed that?
Chuck Nice
Yeah, it is.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Forever and ever and ever, Right? Right. Cause forever, however big that infinity is, I want more infinity.
Chuck Nice
One plus one. Infinity plus one.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, you're the annoying kid.
Chuck Nice
Right?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I can count to a big number. I counted to a hundred.
Chuck Nice
One hundred billion. One. There you go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's how to get an ass whooping in the street. Do that. So in the very distant future of the universe, the black holes that did eat whatever it was they were gonna eat will ultimately evaporate in what's called Hawking radiation. Okay, so the black hole Becomes undone, and all that matter that was in the black hole is now back scattered into the. Scattered back into the universe. So now if you do the math and ask how much mass is there within the radius of the known universe and see how that compares to a black hole's mass and size, it turns out the entire universe can be analogized to being a black hole unto itself, with a horizon beyond which you cannot see.
Chuck Nice
Wow.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So it is not completely crazy to think of the universe and all that's going on within it as containing a black hole that has all the external properties that any black hole we're looking at would have within us, within our universe. Okay, so then you ask if we are a black hole, Are we a black hole in some larger universe?
Chuck Nice
That's what I was about to say. So who's to say that there's not more universes with the same black hole? That we would be correct.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
This is what led to the idea that maybe black holes are portals to entire other space time continuum.
Chuck Nice
Aha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Okay, so in Men in Black, the galaxy on the belt of Orion, Right? We remember this.
Chuck Nice
Yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. It's a little weird to have said it that way. If it were a black hole on the belt of Orion, then that would legitimately be an entire other universe. Right, but they just had galaxy, and you can get a nice picture of a galaxy, and you go into that galaxy, then it's another galaxy. But that's not as scientifically realistic as there being a black hole.
Chuck Nice
Black hole on the belt.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And then you go into the black hole. There's a whole universe.
Chuck Nice
Gotcha.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Okay.
Chuck Nice
All right, well, the answer to your question is no.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Now pronounce his name again.
Chuck Nice
Yeah. Jay Degator. Or as I call you, J. Jones.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Jay Jones.
Chuck Nice
All right, cool, cool, cool.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And I said his name was probably Jay De Geider.
Chuck Nice
You said that? Yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I'm bet. I'll bet.
Chuck Nice
You bet your dollar. Jay, we read your question. Hit us up on Twitter. Let us know how bad I mangled your name.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right.
Chuck Nice
Okay, okay. This is Tori Himmelstein. Or Himmelstein. I'm gonna go with Himelstein. Okay, here we go. Physics undergrad here. That's what they're saying.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Physics in the house.
Chuck Nice
Physics in the house. Is there any chance that after I die, my atoms would spontaneously combine to form an alien billions of years in the future? Are you sure you're a physics undergrad? Tori, really?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The answer is yes. Tori, don't listen to Chuck. The interesting thing about the universe, that's not entirely obvious at first reckoning is that every electron we've ever found is identical to every other electron. Every atom of any species of atom. I say species loosely. There obviously any oxygen atom here is identical to any oxygen atom anywhere else in the universe.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So we are composed of elements drawn from the periodic table of elements.
Chuck Nice
Correct.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And the naturally occurring elements is 94, depending how you count it. The low 90s naturally occurring elements. That is the recipe that makes everything there is in the universe everything natural in the universe. So if you're made of these atoms, I put you in the earth and you decompose. These atoms are available to make something else.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And to decompose is different from. Than to disintegrate.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You know the difference?
Chuck Nice
No.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
To disintegrate is you break apart. To decompose is some other animal is eating you.
Chuck Nice
Ew. Is that really what decomposition is? Yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
If I put you, even if it's.
Chuck Nice
The ground or microbes or anything, it's still something else consuming.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Correct. That's why if I buried you on the moon, you will not decompose because there's no microorganisms. That's right. You'll just stay there and you'll dehydrate. Some atoms, some molecules will change, but not because they were decomposed.
Chuck Nice
Now I know how I want to die. I want to die well, what I want to be after I die, I want somebody to put me in a Barco lounger type chair and put a drink in my hand and just sit me on the moon.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Oh, yes. Go with sunglasses, looking right.
Chuck Nice
Looking at the sun.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Right. You'll be there 1,000 years from now.
Chuck Nice
That would be awesome.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You'd be a little dehydrated, but you'll still be there. Right.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Wow.
Chuck Nice
So basically this.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. There's a movie that ended that way. What? Yes.
Chuck Nice
No.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Who's the main star in Men in Black? Not Will Smith. The other guy.
Chuck Nice
Tommy Lee Jones.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Tommy Lee Jones in this movie ends dead on the moon, leaning up against a rock, looking out into space.
Chuck Nice
That's cool.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah. Tommy Lee Jones.
Chuck Nice
I don't know what movie that is.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I think it was Space Cowboys.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I think.
Chuck Nice
Not bad.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I think we can check on that.
Chuck Nice
That's not a bad way to die. Somebody looked that up.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah.
Chuck Nice
But what you're saying, though, is from Tori's question. So we're just all information. So basically, no, we're ingredients. We're ingredients. That's what I mean.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Kitchen ingredients.
Chuck Nice
We're Kitchen ingredients, Basically, yes.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And so that's why I want to be buried rather than cremated, because I want the energy of my molecules in my body to be available to others, other organisms. If you. If you. If you are cremated, your energy gets dispersed into space.
Chuck Nice
Right?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's fine. You might enjoy that like that. But the rest of what is you is. Are all the atoms are broken apart and other creatures can't.
Chuck Nice
Can't utilize them.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You don't. You don't have nutritional value to them.
Chuck Nice
Right, Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
But you'll still exist as atoms.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So aliens that might evolve on this planet or some other planet, if you're atoms were taken there. Yeah. You could be composed as part of another atom.
Chuck Nice
Oh, yeah, there you go. We're kitchen ingredients. That's it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's it.
Chuck Nice
Nothing more than flour, milk, eggs, oil, milk. Waffles. We're waffles.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
One last question. Go. Give it to me.
Chuck Nice
One last question. Here we go.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right.
Chuck Nice
Rex Young wants to know this. Rex 1. Rex Young wants to know this. How long could a person endure prolonged isolation, such as during solo interplanetary travel or colonization, before space madness, okay. Becomes an issue.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. We don't have time for this, but I want to do it anyway. Figure it out.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. Go ahead, Chuck.
Chuck Nice
All right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I'm old enough to remember the Twilight Zone in first run. Not the earliest, slightly later years.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Like in the 60s, it went into the mid-60s.
Chuck Nice
It's still on, so.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay.
Chuck Nice
All right. You can catch it.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All right. So there were so many episodes about astronauts going crazy for lack of human interaction.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay. I said, wow, this is gonna be a big problem. I thought that was like, the biggest problem we're gonna face.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Is people going crazy and isolation in space. And then I realized that then I met people who don't like talking to other people, who don't like anybody who would be just fine months, years at a time, never having human contact with anybody else. I've met these people, and sometimes I feel that way too.
Chuck Nice
Perfect astronauts.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I say, give me a good video account, some books give me apple music, and I'm good. I don't have to talk to anybody. So this idea that you need human contact for your survival, People I have met undermine that claim that I have seen persistently made in storytelling. But apart from that, okay. NASA has never sent anybody up alone since Mercury. Okay?
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
A, B. NASA's always yapping @ you on the radio.
Chuck Nice
Oh, that's true. Yeah.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
They're there all the time.
Chuck Nice
Mm.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
All the time. They're talking to you.
Chuck Nice
That's true.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
How you feeling today? Good. Did you turn the knob to the left three times?
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Did you do the hokey pokey as you should have? Have you spacewalked? Did he do the thing? Did you. Did you have a bowel movement?
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
You know, and so it ain't like they're not there.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So anyhow, I think there's enough range of people's interpersonal temperament that I don't see that it's gonna be a problem having somebody alone. Now, you wanna know who was the most isolated person there ever was?
Chuck Nice
No, who was it?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
It was the command module pilots in the nine Apollo missions to the moon where. Well, sorry. In the missions, where two of them went down to the surface, right? So that's seven of the missions where, including Apollo 10, where they went down just above the surface. They said, okay, come back.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
And they never actually landed. Cause they're incrementally testing.
Chuck Nice
God, those guys got ripped off.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
I know.
Chuck Nice
God, I know.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
What would you. I'm thinking. You say, houston, I can't hear you. Okay, for landing.
Chuck Nice
Exactly. I'd be like. I'd be like Chuck Sullenberger, you know. I'm gonna have to set her down. I'm sorry.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's Sully from the thing. Y'all gotta put her down.
Chuck Nice
I gotta put her down?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chuck Nice
Ran into a flock of geese.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Gotta put it down.
Chuck Nice
Houston, I got a problem. Ran into a flock of geese here, then I have to set her down on the moon.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Apollo, there are no geese on the moon. Are you here to look at it? Damn it, I saw the geese. All right. So anyhow, so the command module pilot, while on the far side of the moon, was the farthest human there ever was from any other human.
Chuck Nice
Okay.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay.
Chuck Nice
Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So they were the width of the moon away from any other human, plus some orbital distance into solo people. That's it.
Chuck Nice
That's the most solo person ever that there ever was. Correct. Nice. Yeah, that's pretty wild.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's all I'm saying.
Chuck Nice
All right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That's all I'm saying. So we don't have any more time. Okay, Chuck, thanks for these questions.
Chuck Nice
These were great.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yeah, these were good. That was the morbid edition. I think we have more questions. We can do this again.
Chuck Nice
Oh, my God. There's like 40 pages of these questions.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Okay?
Chuck Nice
People are really sick.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
That was the inaugural.
Chuck Nice
People have problems, okay?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The inaugural Cosmic Queries Morbid Edition. You heard it here, you heard it now. Chuck, thanks as always.
Chuck Nice
A pleasure. All Right.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Neil Degrasse Tyson, your personal astrophysicist. Keep looking. Up next.
MasterCard Representative
Hey, it smells so good in here.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Yep, that'd be the coffee. I know.
MasterCard Representative
It's just I've had nasal polyps for so long now I'm on this medicine and my congestion and breathing are much better.
Dupixent Representative
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MasterCard Representative
I'm pretty jazzed about it. Plus, I don't want another surgery and now I might not need one.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
So what can I get you?
MasterCard Representative
Oh, medium coffee, please.
Dupixent Representative
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MasterCard Representative
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Podcast Information:
In the "Deadliest Cosmic Queries" episode of StarTalk Radio, Neil deGrasse Tyson and his co-host Chuck Nice delve into some of the most morbid and thought-provoking questions submitted by listeners. This special edition focuses on the ultimate ends—both personal and universal—including apocalyptic scenarios, the nature of death, and the future of humanity and the cosmos.
The episode kicks off with listener Will J. asking about essential skills for surviving a post-apocalyptic scenario, specifically referencing the potential impact of the asteroid Apophis.
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[02:45 – 07:00]
Listener Madi poses a speculative question about the fictional character Wolverine’s ability to survive spaghettification within a black hole due to his regenerative powers.
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[10:29 – 13:07]
Phil Vader asks a classic question about whether the universe will end with a dramatic "bang" or a quiet "whimper."
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[18:19 – 24:27]
The conversation shifts to more personal reflections when DJ Mads asks Tyson how he wishes to die.
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[24:24 – 29:29]
Mike Ireland inquires about the likelihood that computers have already achieved human-like consciousness and whether they might pose an existential threat.
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[30:16 – 35:15]
Listener Tori Himmelstein asks whether, after death, her atoms could spontaneously combine to form an alien life form billions of years in the future.
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[46:01 – 49:17]
Rex Young poses a question about the duration a person could endure prolonged isolation during solo interplanetary travel before experiencing space madness.
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[49:37 – 53:58]
Jade de Gator asks whether the merging of supermassive black holes could lead to the entire universe collapsing into a singularity, potentially triggering another Big Bang.
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[39:23 – 45:22]
In this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice navigated a series of deep and often unsettling cosmic queries, blending scientific explanations with humor and philosophical musings. From the mechanics of surviving an apocalypse to the theoretical implications of black hole mergers, the discussion provided listeners with both knowledge and contemplation on the profound questions surrounding existence and the universe's fate.
[54:15 – End]
Survival Skills:
Wolverine in a Black Hole:
End of the Universe:
Artificial Intelligence:
After Death:
Prolonged Isolation:
Black Hole Mergers:
Stay Curious!
For those intrigued by the depths of cosmic queries, subscribing to StarTalk Radio on platforms like SiriusXM Podcasts+ and Apple Podcasts ensures you never miss an episode blending science with everyday wonders.