Neil deGrasse Tyson — "If I had a superpower, it would be to make everyone scientifically literate. Ima…"
If I had a superpower, it would be to make everyone scientifically literate. Imagine the world we'd live in.
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More from Neil deGrasse Tyson
"I'm not saying there's no God. I'm saying if there is a God, he's an absentee landlord."
"For me, I am a cosmic optimist. I always think that we will find solutions to our problems."
"My biggest fear is that people will stop being curious. That they'll stop asking questions, and just accept what they're told."
"The universe is not a problem to be solved. It's a mystery to be explored."
"We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us."
About Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958)
American astrophysicist, Hayden Planetarium director, and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey host who carries the Carl Sagan public-science mantle. Closely associated with Bill Nye (fellow science communicator) and Brian Greene (theoretical physicist and string-theory popularizer). For an intellectual contrast, see Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum — Ham's career has been organized around defending biblical 6-day creationism — exactly the science-education position Tyson's mainstream-science communication is structured to refute.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Tyson wishes every person could think critically using science — understanding evidence, probability, and how the universe actually works. Scientific literacy isn't memorizing facts; it's a thinking toolkit that prevents manipulation, improves decisions, and lets society solve real problems rather than arguing over whether problems exist at all.
Relevance to Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tyson has spent decades hosting Cosmos, writing books, and appearing on podcasts specifically to democratize scientific understanding. As director of the Hayden Planetarium, he consistently prioritizes public education over academic insularity. This quote crystallizes his entire career mission: science belongs to everyone, not just credentialed experts.
The era
Tyson speaks in an era of rampant science denial — climate change, vaccine hesitancy, flat-earth movements, and algorithmic misinformation spread faster than corrections. Political polarization increasingly maps onto scientific literacy gaps. His wish reflects a genuine crisis: democratic societies making life-or-death collective decisions while large portions reject empirical consensus.
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