A Night at Foxwoods
February 2015 :
What?! A review of spending a night in one of the country's premier gambling facilities? Not exactly. For some reason, probably known only to him, Neil DeGrasse Tyson was booked into probably one of the largest theaters in the building - the old MGM Grand. And, with a capacity of about 4,000, the place was almost packed.
The program began 15 minutes late, with a couple walking out onstage - his parents, who introduced him. From then on, it was nonstop Neil, who regaled us with everything from the definition of science and science research, to his being blamed for the demotion of Pluto (his words: Get over it). The varied topics were all targeted to the general audience, as there were people of all ages, none of whom seemed to become bored throughout the two hours he lectured.
Afterwards, he allowed some questions - "Just a few" - which turned out to be another hour's time. Many of them, of course, were preceded with comments such as, "You're really wonderful," "We've read all your books," and the like, but it appeared many of those in the audience were teachers looking for inspiration om making science education more palatable. Included among the questioners was a young girl named Julie that we had seen just the night before at the Center for Astrophysics Observatory Night lecture, who, according to her parents, had wanted to be an astrophysicist since she was four. Neil was struck by her t-shirt, a beautiful nebular pattern, to the point where he called her up to him, and lifted her on stage for the audience to admire. She then went back to the microphone and asked him one of the most rigorous questions of the night.
Between his monologue and questions, Neil was on stage for about three hours, receiving thunderous applause on his final farewell. All-in-all, it was worth the trip. Which brings up the reason for this note: Neil is coming to Providence in September. It might be a nice night for a group of Skyscrapers to spend at PPAC with the world's leading (and, according to the polls, sexiest) astrophysicist. There is always a chance that tickets may go rather quickly, so if you think it might be fun, let's plan a night together.
