William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson: When stars collide

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Not agelong agone successful Seattle, an astronomical lawsuit of sorts happened: Two superstars collided. William Shatner, of "Star Trek" fame, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, America's favourite astrophysicist, took to the signifier to research the quality of exploration. Think of it arsenic benignant of Martin & Lewis, but with much quantum mechanics.

"It's a bromance," said Tyson. "I deliberation what Bill Shatner and I person unneurotic should beryllium the textbook explanation of the bromance."

"If we person a bromance," said Shatner, "I'd beryllium precise privileged."

The 2 grew adjacent past twelvemonth connected an upscale cruise to Antarctica, wherever they ended up being the after-dinner entertainment. "The organizer said, 'Why don't we enactment the 2 of you connected this mini-stage that they person connected the ship, and we conscionable chew the fat?'" said Tyson. "And past the organizer said, 'Why don't you guys instrumentality this connected the road?'"

Their archetypal larboard of call? Seattle, wherever they debuted a wide-ranging, sometimes meandering, but ever intriguing signifier amusement they're calling "The Universe Is Absurd!"

When Shatner asked his spouse for a dependable bite, deGrasse Tyson solicited a proposition from the audience: "Pick thing retired of the universe. Go. Anything. Doesn't matter."

"Pluto!" yelled 1 enthusiastic assemblage member.

DeGrasse Tyson obliged: "More than fractional of Pluto is made of ice, truthful that, if it were wherever Earth is close now, vigor from the Sun would evaporate that crystal and it would turn a tail. And that is nary benignant of behaviour for a planet!" Mic drop. "That's a dependable bite!"

For deGrasse Tyson, manager of New York City's Hayden Planetarium, and an authorization connected conscionable astir everything we cognize astir the universe, it's a accidental to get wrong the insatiably funny caput of the 94-year-old Shatner. "What benignant of magic potion is helium drinking?" deGrasse Tyson laughed. "By the way, you tin bash the math, he's been live for 3 cardinal seconds, okay? I did the math, you don't person to. So erstwhile Bill Shatner speaks, it's coming from a spot mode deeper than immoderate of the remainder of america tin perchance match."

And for Shatner, who ne'er formally studied astrophysics, it's a accidental to marque up for what helium sees arsenic mislaid time. "I consciousness atrocious astir it, due to the fact that that cognition of what constitutes the operation of nature, we cognize truthful little, but the small we cognize is truthful awesome, it's truthful spellbinding," helium said. "The information that I wasn't conscious of however spellbinding it is arsenic a youth, I could person been overmuch much educated astir it."

Four years ago, Shatner became the oldest idiosyncratic ever to spell into space, and he's been globetrotting ever since.

Shatner asked deGrasse Tyson, "Do you inactive scratch your caput successful awe?"

"Every nighttime I look up," helium replied.

So, is this the dynamic betwixt the 2 – Shatner with questions, deGrasse Tyson with answers? "Unfortunately, that's the mode it is," Shatner replied.

"No, but he's got contented and beingness acquisition that I value, and I respect," deGrasse Tyson added. "So, I'm present to drawback immoderate of that."

As for Shatner's instrumentality connected deGrasse Tyson, "He has access, some due to the fact that of his mentality, and the books and the studies, truthful he's into modern-day mysticism, which is the survey of the stars and however it works and what goes on."

"You telephone that modern-day mysticism?" deGrasse Tyson asked.

"Because you don't cognize for definite that what you're saying is perfectly information until much experimentation."

"That's the frontier. We're scratching our heads."

"Exactly," said Shatner. "So, helium is an explorer. He is an explorer. He is connected that verge. He teaches that. And it is mystical successful each consciousness of the word."

I asked, "This is wherever I deliberation you are politely and respectfully successful disagreement, due to the fact that Dr. deGrasse Tyson volition accidental thing like, 'We cognize what the velocity of airy is and what the fastest things tin determination is.' And you say, 'Well, we'll spot astir that!'"

"Yeah, we've had that argument," said Shatner.

DeGrasse Tyson seems conscionable good not knowing everything – for example, what was going connected earlier the Big Bang, and the profound thought of somethingness coming from nothingness. "We don't know. Next question!" helium said. "No, arsenic a scientist, you request to beryllium comfy successful the beingness of a question that does not yet person an answer."

Of course, the eventual question, the 1 we truly don't cognize definitively, is wherever we spell erstwhile we die, thing that Shatner, arsenic helium loses friends and colleagues, finds himself considering much often. "You know, I alteration betwixt the fearfulness of death, my fear," helium said. But, "I person truthful overmuch emotion astir me. I person a wife, and children, and grandchildren. I adjacent person 2 great-grandchildren. And I person 2 large dogs. I've had dogs each my life, each my big life. And so, each my beingness is fertile, is vibrant. And I don't privation to permission it. And that's the sadness. I don't privation to go."

"Are you curious, though, astir what you volition find out?" I asked.

"Not capable to die!" helium laughed.

"Even your curiosity has a limit?"

"Right. It stops close there!"

So, William Shatner's celebrated curiosity bumps up against the borderline of his universe. And arsenic the amusement wrapped up successful Seattle, Shatner closed things retired with 1 of his unsocial spoken-word songs, accompanied by trumpeter Keyon Harrold.

Do not turn old
no substance however agelong you live.
Do not hide pain
but someway larn to forgive.

The universe, it turns out, mightiness beryllium a spot absurd, but what an absorbing ride!

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interrogation with William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson (Video)

Extended interview: William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson 32:17

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Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Karen Brenner.