Neil deGrasse Tyson — "I'm a big believer in the power of curiosity. It's what drives us to explore, to…"
I'm a big believer in the power of curiosity. It's what drives us to explore, to discover, to learn.
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More from Neil deGrasse Tyson
"The universe is a mirror. It reflects back to you what you put into it."
"I'm not a morning person. I'm a 'whenever I wake up' person."
"I don't have pet peeves; I have major psychotic fucking hatreds."
"I'm often asked whether I believe in God. I'm an agnostic."
"The universe is expanding. We are all expanding. Everything is expanding. What are you doing?"
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
Curiosity is a fundamental engine of human progress — it compels us to ask questions, venture into unknown territory, and build knowledge. Rather than passive acceptance of what we already know, curiosity demands engagement, pushes boundaries, and ultimately transforms ignorance into understanding. It is not a luxury but a driving force that separates stagnation from advancement in every domain of human endeavor.
Relevance to Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tyson built his career communicating science to mass audiences precisely by modeling and celebrating curiosity. As director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, he consistently argued that wonder is the foundation of scientific thinking. His own trajectory — a Bronx kid captivated by the night sky at age nine who became America's most prominent astrophysicist — embodies curiosity as a life-organizing principle.
The era
Tyson rose to cultural prominence in an era of science skepticism, declining STEM enrollment concerns, and debates over evolution and climate change in public education. His emphasis on curiosity as a value was a deliberate counter-narrative — arguing that innate human inquisitiveness, properly nurtured, could reverse anti-intellectualism. The digital age simultaneously democratized access to scientific knowledge while also spreading misinformation, making curiosity's cultivation more urgent.
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