SCIENCE FACT: Neil deGrasse Tyson has showmanship.
A little girl asked him a very simple question: “In your field, do you have someone that is dyslexic?”
His answer could have been simple and to the point.
He could have just said “yes” and moved on to the next question.
But he’s Neil deGrasse Tyson, so he didn’t do that.
He talked about how his colleagues and coworkers with ADD, dyslexia, autism, etc., cope with not being what some people consider “normal.”
Having a learning disability doesn’t mean you can’t do the things you love. It just means you might do them a bit differently.
He told her how people adapt to the situation they’re in.
He explained how they adjust for whatever their hurdle is. For example, if a person is dyslexic, they know they’re a bit slower at reading, so they make extra time in their workday for reading.
Or if a person has social anxiety, or isn’t comfortable making small talk, or has trouble reading social cues, the great thing about the field of science is that it doesn’t matter as much as the work you do.
You don’t have to be a social butterfly to be a great scientist. The “thing about high-level science,” he tells her, “is you can just work at your desk.”
But then! Then he got to the most important point.
What do you do when things get in your way? When there’s something that might slow you down? Or that people say you can’t overcome?
It really can be just that simple. Really really.
