The Legend Mr. Tyson

This post will be dedicated to one of the more inspirational figures I can think to mention in today's society, Neil deGrasse Tyson. For those of you who don't know of him, he is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. This man's résumé is one of the most impressive on this planet by far, but what sets him apart from the rest of the scientific community is his presentation. Where you'd find conceit in a scientist, Neil substitutes understanding, and this quality has effectively made him the voice of the scientific community.

 As a little introduction, I have embedded one of my favorite videos starring Neil, this is a great example of the presentation that I mentioned earlier.  



Following that introduction, I can now get to the heart of this post, the crafting of one's digital persona.

Neil carries himself much differently than the standard celebrity when it comes to the internet, most of them being far too concerned with publicity and self preservation to ever speak their mind (The few of them that actually maintain their own online personality that is).  He is willing to take jabs at those who deserve it most, often expressing his resentment toward any bad judgment call made in his field. 

Neil's virtual persona is unique in the sense that he very frequently addresses controversial topics, but receives very little scrutiny and/or bad publicity for doing so.  He achieves this through that presentation I have been talking about.  At no point will Neil make an unsubstantiated claim, which is step one toward being unoffensive, but in addition to this, he manages the tone of both his voice and his writing exceptionally well.  His statements creep just inches past neutrality, but that is the beauty of his delivery.  It is subtle enough that those looking to scrutinize won't waste their time, but to the appreciative, the message generally speaks for itself, often times more than if he had elaborated on it.

Neil is also very involved with online communities that are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, or at least appreciate it at a fundamental level.  He is a hero over at reddit where the above movie spawned the meme "we got a badass over here". Neil himself is not particularly fond of this one, as it really has little to do with the subject matter of the video, but the hand gesture is so emotional that escaping the meme was out of the question from day one.

His video reacting to the meme:

The most effective form of delivery he frequently employs is comedy, something very common among those seeking admiration on the internet. Instead of responding harshly to opposition, he will try his best to turn things into a joke (often times about himself, or another group all together). It all blends well into making someone a very lovable internet phenomena.

He is certainly more than just an internet personality, and is also one of the more intelligent people in existence, but he has taken his rising popularity much better than other related stars, and this really sets him apart.  I am very good at the internet, and I have yet to find any scientist who has handled fame as well as Neil has.  He is a very interesting fellow, and there is plenty more to follow.  I would encourage everyone to check out a few of his videos (he often guest lectures at universities).