Amber Rose recently interviewed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on her podcast and triggered a hilarious response from the scientist with a pseudoscience question. Rose chose to ask one astrology question to Tyson of all people, who literally lost it at the mention of it. While the scientific community backed Tyson in his funny outburst, the astrology supporters in the comments were pretty disappointed in him.
Amber Rose asked Tyson whether he believed in concepts like Mercury in retrograde, which the astrologers believe influences the moods of people. Tyson was quick to dismiss it, even drawing an analogy that would perfectly explain the pseudoscience behind it.
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Hilarious Outburst At Amber Rose’s Pseudoscience Question
Neil deGrasse Tyson was one of the recent guests on Amber Rose’s podcast, I Hope They’re Not Listening. The famed astrophysicist touched upon topics ranging from aliens to racism. While discussing Tyson’s area of expertise, Rose asked the question of whether the planetary movement affects our lives. She particularly expanded her question with the example of Mercury in retrograde, which many astrologers believe has some detrimental effects on our physical lives.
Tyson explained that such belief systems came into existence almost 2000 years ago when the Earth was believed to be at the center of the solar system. At the time, people would see Mercury moving across the sky and then going backward in its motion. However, he explained that what those people saw was Mercury moving around the sun from the Earth. This mistaken motion later came to be known as Mercury in retrograde in astrology.
Neil deGrasse Tyson came up with the analogy of a car on a race track. From the viewpoint of the audience in the stands, the car first moves from right to left and then left to right. However, the people know for a fact that the car is just going around the race track. He sarcastically pointed out that no one will call its motion “a car in retrograde.”
Tyson bashed the astrology perspective and shared that the belief was a leftover from a time when people actually believed that another planet could influence something that happened in one’s life. He added that it is a pre-scientific belief system rather than a cosmic perspective on the world. Tyson told Amber Rose:
“It is left over from a time when people’s egos were so large that they actually believed that a planet in the sky gave a rat’s a** about anything in your life. ‘I am so important that that planet knows I exist and it knows when I was born and it’s going to influence my life.’ Right? What kind of ego does that take? That is not a cosmic perspective on the world. That is a pre-scientific belief system.”
However, Tyson understood why the pre-scientific community believed in the planetary motions. He shared that they would associate their crop growth with the position of the constellations in the sky, which had a repeated pattern. However, he explained why modern astrology might be flawed with their calculations.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explained Some Of The Scientific Flaws In Such Cosmic Perspectives
Neil deGrasse Tyson explained that the very science behind such beliefs would not support them. While only 12 constellations are considered in the Zodiac signs, Tyson shared there are actually 14 constellations. He also explained that the alignment of the sun with the constellations in the last 2,000 years has shifted by an entire constellation. It meant that those born in one sign may not remain in the same sign after a period of time.
He further explained this concept by explaining that when the Sun enters Scorpio, it doesn’t spend much time in that constellation before entering Ophiuchus, where it spends more time. This meant that most people born in the sign Scorpio were actually born in Ophiuchus. He further added that many of these people may have even Libra as their sign due to the shift in the constellation.
Before putting the entire topic to bed, Neil deGrasse Tyson also explained why the Moon’s tidal force is not an indicator of its influence on people’s physical and mental well-being.
