Cosmosreturns to television this weekend as sequelA Spacetime Odyssey.
Thats one of the wellsprings that we hope to tap into.
Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson:I agree with Ann.
Somewhere in there we became complacent.
And then you realise [laughing] we need anotherCosmos!
Do you think those portrayals have fed into the hostility you describe?
AD:I certainly do.
Thats the cultural baggage that we all carry.
What do you hope this series ofCosmosaccomplishes?
AD:Well, the greatest thing that science teaches you is the law of unintended consequences.
Wow, thats quite a thought.
AD:Well thats part of it too!
Dr Tyson, how would you describe the call to action for this series ofCosmos?
NdT:I dont think about it that way.
It happened later in life for you, Ann.
What part would you say science-fiction plays in getting people to take science to heart?
NdT:Oh yes.
It was extraordinary actually.
And of what role science and technology would play in that tomorrow.
So I agree entirely with Neil Gaimans assessment of that.
How much freedom do you have to have any kind of thought at all?
Or are you forced to only think about the past or the present?
AD:I would agree with Neil Gaiman as well as Neil Tyson.
NdT:The Neils!
AD:The Neils.
I would agree that we are a story-driven species.
It made science accessible to me, a no-nothing literature student.
Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ann Druyan, thank you very much!
Read more from our interview,here.
