Neil deGrasse Tyson sees your childlike sense of wonderment at Gravity and Interstellar, and explains why you’re wrong. On Saturday, Bill Nye’s bestie tweeted, “Happy to share my observations of @StarWars Episode VII #TheForceAwakens (with mild spoiler alerts) if anybody is interested.” His followers were very interested, but “out of respect” for those who hadn’t seen the film yet, Tyson promised to delay his thoughts until Monday. It’s Monday.
My promised observations of @StarWars Episode VII #TheForceAwakens follows (with only mild spoiler alerts).
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Beware spoilers below if you haven’t seen The Force Awakens yet (you have).
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, BB-8, a smooth rolling metal spherical ball, would have skidded uncontrollably on sand.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens the TIE fighters made exactly the same sound in the vacuum of space as in planetary atmospheres
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, if you were to suck all of a star’s energy into your planet, your planet would vaporize.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the energy in a Star is enough to destroy ten-thousand planets, not just a few here & there.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, once again I felt isolated and inadequate for not understanding Wookiee-speak.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the Storm Troopers still run as though they’re carrying a full load of poop in their diapers.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Unashamed of inanity, #TheForceAwakens repeats the Millennium Falcon boast of completing the Kessel Run in "under 12 parsecs"
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
( A Parsec is an obscure unit of distance in Astrophysics, equal to 3.26 Light Years. Neither has anything to do with time. )
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
Star Wars fanboys and -girls are fuming right now (“STOP SHOWING YOUR PRO-STAR TREK BIAS“). It’s hilarious and I fully support Tyson. The tweets above don’t depict the most unbelievable thing that happens in the movie, though.
In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, I’m reminded that Red & Blue teams cooperate with one another. Rare in American Politics.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015
That does. Tyson’s not totally heartless, though. “In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens,” he tweeted, “the lead character snacks on what includes Romanesco Broccoli, nature’s only fractal food.” He then shared a photo of Romanesco Broccoli, which is much more exciting than droids and laser fights and planets exploding.
