Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

This theme unfolds in three main threads woven into the larger text: Neil deGrasse Tyson identifies how science illiteracy has impacted society, demonstrates how science has (in both positive and negative ways) impacted humanity, and proposes examples of a better future relationship between science and society. The text cites science illiteracy as the primary reason that modern society seems to misunderstand or reject science. A lack of education in the sciences has resulted in misunderstandings of the meaning and processes of science, and such issues are exacerbated by the media and by social media. A lack of science literacy has led to numerous irrational and damaging behaviors, including gambling, oppression, and war. Additionally, biased science has actively contributed to negative social outcomes, such as in the appropriation of Darwin’s theory of evolution to support racism:

[W]e all could have walked forward recognizing that humans are part of one family, holding common genetic ancestry with other apes. We didn’t. Instead, many scientists of the day asserted that Black Africans were less evolved than White Europeans (151).

Tyson’s arguments center on the idea that enabling science to reach its potential to have a positive impact on society requires both science literacy and an unbiased scientific method.