Neil deGrasse Tyson has been on a quest to eradicate ignorance surrounding science, and lately that quest has taken him to some unusual places. He’s been taking on flat-earthers and climate change deniers, always a worthy cause. And then there’s his habit of picking apart popular entertainment for flaws, tearing big holes in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 and picking fights with Star Wars fans.
Now he’s back with more thoughts on the scientific validity of Game of Thrones‘ seventh season. Surprisingly, he seemed pretty okay with the show for the most part, given how fast and loose the show played with movement across geography. Maybe that’s because Tyson isn’t a heavyweight when it comes to maps of Westeros. He does, however, know his combustion physics.
Intriguing Thermal Physics in #GameOfThrones: BlueDragon breath would be at least a factor of 3X hotter than RedDragon breath pic.twitter.com/RvpBkqJ1sw
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
Taking magic out of the equation, that could help explain why the Night King’s wight dragon was able to cut through the Wall with such ease. A lot of debate has gone into what the deal is with the undead Viserion and whether he’s an ice dragon that breathes freezing air instead of fire or what. Considering the breath looks like fire and melts like fire, we’re going to stick with it being fire. And now you can drag Neil deGrasse Tyson’s say-so into any future drunken debates on the subject!
Here’s some more from Tyson on the science seen in Game of Thrones:
Good Bio-Physics in #GameOfThrones: The Dragon Wingspans are sensibly large, as their body weight would require for flight. pic.twitter.com/gzD5wI38u5
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
The sensibly large wingspan of Dragons in #GameOfThrones contrasts with aerodynamically useless wings of Renaissance cherubs. pic.twitter.com/I8L8ILBtUu
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
Come on, Renaissance artists! Get it together! Leonardo da Vinci had that stuff theoretically pinned down since 1485.
Good Biology in #GameOfThrones: As in #LordOfTheRings, Dragons forfeited their forelimbs to make wings, like birds & bats. pic.twitter.com/pguBe6rosQ
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
On the negative side, Neil seemed to agree with us that the big undead dragon reveal near the end of season 7 was a bit unrealistic, what with the wights somehow dragging Viserion out from the bottom of the lake with chains.
I thought the frozen dead dudes couldn’t swim, but aside from that…
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
Bad Physics in #GameOfThrones: Pulling a dragon out of a lake? Chains need to be straight, and not curve over hill and dale. pic.twitter.com/VIJlIuDz3L
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
The sight of a chain with questionable tension is exactly the kind of thing I can see driving Neil nuts. And now that he’s mentioned it, it’s the kind of thing you’re probably not going to be able to unsee. Damn you, Neil deGrasse Tyson! Why must you use science to ruin everything!