Neil deGrasse Tyson and Meaningful Work
Astrophysicist Utilizes Meaningful Work, the Matthew Effect and Extraordinary Advantages to Become Successful.
By Zackary Lawler | Math Education Major
Nine-year-old Neil deGrasse Tyson was taken to the Sky Theatre at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Neil’s eyes didn’t blink the entire time he was there. Because Neil was living in the Bronx, he could never get a good look at the stars, “It looked like there were only about twelve,” but at the planetarium, he could see “what seemed like millions” Neil was so amazed, he began to wonder if this were a hoax, but when the lights came on, he didn’t care about that anymore. His thoughts began to explode. “The universe called me,” he said simply. And he would never be the same (Krull and Brewer 2).
Author Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, “It’s not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It’s whether or not our work fulfills us” (Gladwell, Outliers 150). At nine years old, Neil didn’t care about the salary of being an astrophysicist. That’s not why he chose his career; he chose it because he had a passion, a desire to explore the cosmos. That passion, according to Gladwell, is a key component to becoming successful. In Outliers, Tyson has taken many key components that Gladwell discussed such as meaningful work, the Matthew Effect, and extraordinary advantages. With these components, Tyson has published eight astrology books, won twelve awards, was nominated for a Grammy award, and was named “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People magazine (People staff).
Tyson has helped discover faraway galaxies, identify dangerous asteroids that could affect the earth, and helped construct our view of stellar formations in space, but this didn’t satisfy him. Tyson wrote books about science such as, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier. Although these books were very successful, one of which sold forty-eight thousand copies within the first week, this didn’t satisfy Tyson’s love for science. He needed more. He started his own podcast, which consisted of sixty episodes that all discussed science. This isn’t part of the job for Neil, as this was his passion. He did all of these things because his work had a purpose.(Lewin).
According to Malcolm Gladwell, a key to success is having work with a meaning behind it. In Outliers, he talks about Jewish immigrants, Mr. and Mrs. Borgenicht, who moved to New York from Europe in search of a better life. After moving, they noticed something peculiar, there was a lack of children-sized aprons for sale in the market. The Borgenichts took this opportunity by the horns and started selling child-sized aprons. Their hands felt like putty after they worked for hours every day making these aprons. What made this all worth it was Mr. Borgenicht was his own boss, driving himself to work harder and being rewarded for his efforts. He was providing something needed in a community. His work was meaningful (Gladwell, Outliers 142–151).
Another example Gladwell used in Outliers was the unprecedented skill that Asians present in mathematics. He states “[Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan] have substantially outperformed their Western counterparts at mathematics” (Gladwell, Outliers 230–231). He hypothesized that the reason behind this is because of their culture. In Western culture, mathematics isn’t treated as seriously as it is in Asian countries. Americans don’t see it as meaningful work. On the other hand, those countries that are adept in math see more meaning in performing it. They make their work meaningful, rather than formulaic and mundane. This meaning creates passion and drives towards success (Gladwell, Outliers 230–234).
Asian countries with mathematics, the Borgenicht’s with manufacturing and Tyson with science, all display the trait of meaningful work. The reason they excel in what they do is that it matters to them and they become inspired and are therefore motivated to do better. This is a major key to all of their success. If Asian countries found no interest in math, they would not be “[outperforming western society]” as Gladwell said. If Mr. Borgenicht didn’t feel rewarded for making aprons, then he wouldn’t have worked as hard as he did. And if Tyson didn’t find astrology meaningful, he wouldn’t have published a book that appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Neil’s work had purpose and meaning to him, so he was willing and anxious to pursue greater heights. Not because he needed to, but because his work was meaningful to him.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell describes what is known as the Matthew Effect. Accumulating advantages that add up to great success. In Little League Hockey, the young players with potential and the ones who stand out are the ones that become successful. Not just because of their talent but because of their accumulative advantages. Once a player stands out in just a single game or practice, the coach wants to focus on them. Why would a coach focus on the bad players when he could make the best players better? Those players get more attention, more time on the ice, and better practicing quality. All because they stood out once, they are exponentially better than the mediocre players. The advantages keep compiling and building off each other until they reach the major league. This as Gladwell states in Outliers, is the Matthew Effect. One little advantage leading to another, ending in great success (Gladwell, Outliers 15–26).
In another one of Gladwell’s books, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, he dissects the tale of the shepherd boy, David, who defeats the giant, Goliath. David didn’t seem to stand a chance against Goliath in any way. David was shorter, weaker, and had less armor which was seen as a disadvantage. However, being small meant David was more nimble and could dodge Goliath. Goliath’s armor became a weakness, slowing him down in the fight. David biggest advantage was his slingshot. David didn’t need to get close to Goliath to win. He just had to keep his distance and wear him down. All of these little advantages lead to David overcoming the giant, Goliath (Gladwell, David and Goliath 3–15). Tyson, like David, had his own advantages in life that helped him overcome his own giants.
Neil’s parents didn’t have to think twice on what to get him for his upcoming birthday. Neil’s parents weren’t rich and they didn’t know much about science, but they saw the passion in him throughout the years, and they knew exactly what to get him. Neil came down to open his birthday present, palms sweating with excitement. He was anxious to see what was inside the long, rectangular box. Neil could never have imagined how much this gift would influence the rest of his life. “A telescope!” Neil screamed. He couldn’t have asked for anything more (Krull and Brewer 5).
From the age of nine to thirteen, Neil would always visit the Sky Theatre. His interest in the cosmos “made him a young star at the planetarium” (Krull and Brewer 9). Neil caught the eye of the Director of Education at the Planetarium who decided to make Neil an offer: an astrological journey across Africa. They set off to observe the eclipse. Out of the two thousand scientists aboard the ship, Neil was the youngest at fourteen. Neil brought his telescope he got from his parents and it never left his side. Having his first expedition at fourteen is a rare occurrence. Neil was honored to be able to learn so much from thousands of great scientific minds all around him (Krull and Brewer).
Neil was anxious to go out on another expedition as soon as he could. At the age of fifteen, he had the honor of joining an astronomy camp who took a summer trip to the Mojave Desert in California. There were scorpions, coyotes, and tarantulas, but Neil didn’t bat an eye at them. Being so far away from the nearest town, there was barely any light pollution. Neil’s jaw nearly hit the ground when he noticed the number of stars they could observe (Krull and Brewer 11).
Neil taking his first visit to the Sky Theatre sparked his mind and desire for science, making him stand out and be able to go on these expeditions at such a young age. His parents supporting him and buying his first telescope opened up more possibilities for further exploration into the field of astrology. Just by going to the Planetarium once lead to extraordinary opportunities for Neil. All of these little opportunities accumulated into huge advantages for Neil at such a young age; this flung him on a trajectory towards success. One game standing out can make a little kid a professional hockey player, as the slingshot for David helped him beat a giant in battle. As the Matthew Effect allowed them to find success, it allowed Neil to have the opportunities veteran astrologists would work their whole lives to obtain.
At the age of seventeen, it was time for Tyson to explore colleges so he could further expand his knowledge of the cosmos. By this time, “his reputation in the scientific community was growing” and he happened to catch the eye of the most famous astronomer of the time, Carl Sagan. Sagan went out of his way to visit Tyson in New York, attempting to convince him to come to Cornell University. They spent the afternoon discussing both of their passions, science. Sagan saw potential in Tyson, so much in fact that he shared his home phone number. He offered it to Tyson out of admiration of his passion and desire to pursue science. One of the greatest minds in science saw the potential in Tyson at the age of seventeen. The chance to meet with Sagan was an eye-opening and extraordinary opportunity for Tyson (Krull and Brewer 13).
That wasn’t Tyson’s only extraordinary opportunity. His trip to the Mojave Desert and his expedition across Africa. These are all very rare, yet essential things that lead to Tyson becoming successful. To become successful, there needs to be a spark to be set apart from everyone else which let him stand out amongst everyone else in the scientific community. This opened up dozens of colleges for Tyson. Cornell, Harvard, and state universities were all at his disposal, which in turn let him earn the highest degree he could in astrophysics. He took full advantage of that opportunity
Tyson still has perseverance and passion for science, even in his older age. He vocalized that he had a problem with the NASA space program, “though the issue is not really about science, but language.” He would “quibble” about their definition of acronyms and abbreviations. As John Mayer writes in his Publishers Weekly Article:
NASA maintains a list on its website of acronyms related to SCAN, or Space Communications and Navigation — but many of them aren’t really acronyms, Tyson points out. They’re abbreviations. Acronyms are abbreviations that are pronounced as words, meaning that NGLT (Next Generation Launch Technology), for instance, isn’t an acronym. (1)
This is how much Neil cares about science. He would argue NASA on their use of the word acronym. He wants people to be well informed, he finds this important. Science is his mind, is meaningful and to present falsehoods in the scientific community truly irritated Tyson.
As the shepherd boy, David didn’t stand a chance against Goliath, the kid living in the Bronx, Neil deGrasse Tyson didn’t stand a chance in becoming a world-famous astrophysicist. Their advantages let them overcome their obstacles. One little thing at a time led to their success against the odds. The lightweight of David, as well as his slingshot. Young Neil’s telescope and his expeditions across the Mojave desert and Africa sent him to new heights. But these advantages wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have a passion for his work. Mr. Borgenicht found great pleasure in working for himself. It was fulfilling and meaningful to him. At nine years old, Neil seeing the stars for the first time made him forget about everything else. He loved science throughout his whole life, so he would seek out the expeditions and other advantages. Their passion is what set them above everyone else and gave them the opportunities to become successful.
Tyson didn’t always want to be a scientist. He was involved with wrestling, baseball, singing, and many other things. But those didn’t spark the interest in him, that wasn’t meaningful work to him. Tyson wanted to become an astrophysicist. It was his passion. That’s what drove him to become the superstar of space that he is today. He took advantage of all his extraordinary opportunities to their full use. He didn’t let any of his opportunities go. That’s how he became successful.
Works Cited
Chua, Amy, and Rudenfield, Jed. “What Drives Success?” New York Times, 1 Feb. 2018 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/opinion/sunday/what-drives-success.html. 17 Oct. 2018.
Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. Back Bay Books, 2015.
— -. Outliers The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
Krull, Kathleen, and Paul Brewer. Starstruck: The Cosmic Journey of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Crown, 2018.
Lewin, Sarah. “Neil deGrasse Tyson Talks ‘Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.’” Space, 9 May 2017, https://www.space.com/36772-neil-degrasse-tyson-talks-astrophysics-in-hurry.html. Accessed 10 Oct. 2018.
Maher, John. “Neil deGrasse Tyson Talks Science and the Power of Words.” Publishers Weekly, 22 Mar 2018. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/76345-neil-degrasse-tyson-talks-science-and-the-power-of-words.html. Accessed 4 Sep. 2018.09/04/18
People staff, “Neil De Grasse Tyson: Sexiest Astrophysicist.” People, Nov. 2000
Tyson, Neil deGrasse, host. “The Illusion of Free Will, with Sam Harris” StarTalk Radio, season 9, episode 38, National Science Foundation, 12 Oct. 2018, https://www.startalkradio.net/show/the-illusion-of-free-will-with-sam-harris/. Web. Accessed 23 Oct. 2018.
About the author: ZACKARY LAWLER
Zack Lawler, a freshman at Bethel University, seeks opportunities in student teaching to help him reach his dream of becoming a high school math teacher. Lawler likes weight training, mathematics, and ’70s disco music.
What I’ve Learned:
You must find what’s meaningful to you to become successful. Don’t force something to be meaningful. It should come naturally.
Don’t hesitate to start writing or nothing is going to show up on the page.
Don’t be nervous while giving a speech, you’ll just make everyone else nervous.
Take advantage of your opportunities. They are there for a reason.
Find interest in what you’re writing. If the author of a text has no purpose, the audience won’t be interested to read. Passion shows through hard and meaningful work.
Find more opportunities to outclass other people in your field.
If you don't put the time and effort into your work, then there’s no point in doing it.
Success doesn’t come from hard work alone. There are other factors you need to take advantage of to become successful.
The little advantages one has through one’s life accumulate and shape them into the person they become.
It’s hard to re-define what you want in life, but it is necessary. If priorities change, let them change. Don’t be hardheaded and not allow any change to happen.
Although hard work doesn’t create success, it drives one towards what they are working hard for.
Finding meaning in one's work is going to make that person work hard and excel in their passion.
Let others help you. It is one of the ways of bettering yourself.
Seek criticism. You don’t learn from compliments, you learn from criticism.
Without passion, work is just that, work. Having meaning in that work makes it something you want to do, rather than a chore or an obligation.
