As a '76 h.s. grad, he would've been running for Bronx H.S. of Science (PSAL) during the golden era of NYC track. I'm sure he was a pretty fit guy, but I'm pretty skeptical of the 4:25 in a legit race. I poked around some online results in the newspapers as well as the PSAL all-time lists - no dice for Tyson.
As Frank Shorter once said, everybody ran a 4:20 mile in High School
Kalaby wrote:
As a '76 h.s. grad, he would've been running for Bronx H.S. of Science (PSAL) during the golden era of NYC track. I'm sure he was a pretty fit guy, but I'm pretty skeptical of the 4:25 in a legit race. I poked around some online results in the newspapers as well as the PSAL all-time lists - no dice for Tyson.
So many of us "those who really enjoy running and racing" would have loved to have run 4:25 in HS. We know it's a highly respectable HS performance. I hope he's not bring absent-minded about this or worst...tripping. With the necessary effort...we can know if he's accurate or not. He tosses around numbers in astronomy a lot so ...he ought to have respect for representing magnitudes with care?
dril wrote:
Not interested in watching shows that present "evidence" to support nonsensical theories.
Are you "very" knowledgable in physics or biology?? If not your opinion is not worth much in this issue.
schmysics wrote:
Interesting, slowest pitch to reach home plate is 30 MPH thrown at a 45 degree angle.
We need him to post on letsrun regarding some scientific facts he was throwing out in that interview applied to running.
I think LetsRun has the potential to get Tyson to post on the boards. If his claims are legitimate, he clearly has some interest in the sport.
Check out this discussion he had on Reddit. Anyone have any ideas on how to contact him?
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qccer/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ask_me_anything/c3wgffyA lot of good runners were former wrestlers who switched late (wejo, Dan Lincoln). Wrestlers do some running for training, and staying lean is key because they want to maximize strength while staying in their weight class.
I sent Tyson an Email asking if he would do in interview or question and answers for LetsRun. Don't get too excited, as I'm sure he gets pounded with emails daily and probably doesn't even read most of them. Maybe if we all send him one with the same Subject he'll read them? Anyone that cares enough, follow this link and shoot a quick email to him. It can't hurt.
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/contact
Lets make this happen!
Just read an article about Tyson fabricating information and quotes to fit his slanted agenda. Very doubtful that he ran 4:25 for the mile on a track. As a scientist, he should know that the burden of proof is on him to provide evidence of his time if he's going to brag about his athletic ability back in the day.
Liar Liar, link?
dril wrote:
Not interested in watching shows that present "evidence" to support nonsensical theories.
Gotta make it interesting to the general public if it's gonna be on a major network.
At least it's not another Aliens came to Earth to visit ancient civilization shows on the History Channel.
If anyone famous can correctly recall their mile time it would be him. He was in good shape when he was younger.
Sledge wrote:
If anyone famous can correctly recall their mile time it would be him. He was in good shape when he was younger.
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bq3ockKCYAEIsSY.jpg
No evidence of him running that kind of time in an actual race. Is it possible he did it at practice or on a relay leg? - yup, but as a scientist he'd know that the burden of proof would be on him to show that he actually ran a 4:25 mile.
Really doubt that he ran a 4:25.
Running could have been part of his training for wrestling and as a numbers nerd, he could have been timing himself and constantly calculating his expected finish times.
I think 4:25 mile in HS was a bit of a stretch. It would have won the Bronx championship in most years and probably placed in NYC championships. It makes for good media publicity and discussion. It doesn't take away from his astrophysics.
THIS:
Unfortunately, Tyson has become the unofficial Mr. Science. He's even often referred to by media types as “The Smartest Man In America”. He's not, of course...not by a long-shot.
As a grad student in New York studying a related field, I became quite familiar with Tyson. To understand how he rose to prominence, you need to know of the Hayden Planetarium. Being the administrator of the Hayden is more like being a school principal or college administrator. But, the Planetarium isn't important for its science...it's important because that's where all the galas are. Fancy political shindig for Mayor Bloomberg with all the uptown swells? Have it at the Hayden. Clinton Global initiative fundraiser shuttling the diplomatically immune to and from Turtle Bay? Have it at the Hayden. Mark Zuckerberg is launching a new line of smart-hoodies and needs the titans of hip-hop to shill for him? Have it at the Hayden. And since he administrates the Hayden, Tyson was always on hand...hobnobbing, offering bon mots of science to people who understand nothing about physics.
And yes, the fact that he was black was a major plus. If you've ever been to a scientific conference you will quickly note that the diversity of the attendees makes the Obama campaign team look positively ethnic in comparison. There's just not a lot of American blacks in the physical sciences.
REPOSTER wrote:
THIS:
Unfortunately, Tyson has become the unofficial Mr. Science. He's even often referred to by media types as “The Smartest Man In America”. He's not, of course...not by a long-shot.
As a grad student in New York studying a related field, I became quite familiar with Tyson. To understand how he rose to prominence, you need to know of the Hayden Planetarium. Being the administrator of the Hayden is more like being a school principal or college administrator. But, the Planetarium isn't important for its science...it's important because that's where all the galas are. Fancy political shindig for Mayor Bloomberg with all the uptown swells? Have it at the Hayden. Clinton Global initiative fundraiser shuttling the diplomatically immune to and from Turtle Bay? Have it at the Hayden. Mark Zuckerberg is launching a new line of smart-hoodies and needs the titans of hip-hop to shill for him? Have it at the Hayden. And since he administrates the Hayden, Tyson was always on hand...hobnobbing, offering bon mots of science to people who understand nothing about physics.
And yes, the fact that he was black was a major plus. If you've ever been to a scientific conference you will quickly note that the diversity of the attendees makes the Obama campaign team look positively ethnic in comparison. There's just not a lot of American blacks in the physical sciences.
Sounds about right. Tyson is known to play a bit loose with his language and "facts".
http://www.nsbp.org/REPOSTER wrote:
And yes, the fact that he was black was a major plus. If you've ever been to a scientific conference you will quickly note that the diversity of the attendees makes the Obama campaign team look positively ethnic in comparison. There's just not a lot of American blacks in the physical sciences.
We are underrepresented in physics, but we have a strong presence. It makes a huge difference to have a single prominent scientist that kids can look up to. It provides an alternative to sports heroes/musicians which can seem like the only role models and those careers the only options.
First and foremost, Tyson is a self-marketer. He is willing to be somewhat clownish. He is very smart, he presents himself very well--manner of dress, speaking voice, etc.--but his willingness to brown-nose, and his understanding of basic acting skills, are what have helped him become successful. There is really nothing wrong with that. Tyson has done very well for himself.
http://thefederalist.com/2014/09/16/another-day-another-quote-fabricated-by-neil-degrasse-tyson/http://thefederalist.com/2014/09/15/did-neil-degrasse-tyson-just-try-to-justify-blatant-quote-fabrication/qf,9dijengq wrote:
Liar Liar, link?
Tyson is a guy who tells stories. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you remember it's entertainment and not science.
To play devil's advocate, I started running indoor track in order get in shape for baseball.
I got down to 2:06 indoors for 800 while still considering myself a baseball player. At that point I decided to switch to track and that outdoor season ran 2:03 and 4:30.
If I'd stuck with baseball essentially I'd have been a 2:06/4:45-ish guy who runs to get in shape for baseball. This was as a sophomore. I could see someone being a 4:25 miler as a senior while still considering track their second sport.
