I used to be a fan of Neil until I saw how he conducts himself in person. He is not only arrogant but also needlessly cruel. I watched him make a girl break down and cry in front of an auditorium full of hundreds of people by ridiculing her and the question she asked during the q and a part of his visit. It was intentional and unnecessary. And he even made condescending remarks referring back to her after later questions so it wasn't like he was accidentally too heavy handed with his initial dismissal of her.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know him and never met him so my opinion is colored purely by the content of his I have seen, and I get the same impression. For someone being poised as Sagan's successor, I'm not convinced he's got the right approach.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

He sure as hell is no successor to Sagan.

[–] Theharpyeagle 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I still credit him with really sparking my interest in science, but he's taken a the lighthearted question of "could this work in the real world?" to extremely pedantic and unpleasant extremes. Who the fuck cares if "uhm actually the stars didn't look like that when the Titanic went down"?

I don't think he's a bad person, just a jerk and not someone I'd want to be stuck in an elevator with. Nowadays you have people like Randall Muroe, Adam Savage, Steve Mould, etc. who still dive into speculative physics while keeping it fun and fostering curiosity.

[–] magnusrufus 3 points 1 year ago

I'm not sure if I would say he's a bad person. Much more certain about saying that he is not a good person. I look forward to someone else stepping into the role of scientific ambassador to the common folk.

[–] RampantParanoia2365 3 points 1 year ago

I guess his portrayal in Stargate Atlantis was actually pretty accurate.