Neil deGrasse Tyson 58th Birthday: 9 Quotes About Science, Creativity, Teaching And Opinions

Renowned astrophysicist — and guy who makes some people angry on Twitter by being a buzzkill when science fiction movies are released — Neil deGrasse Tyson turns 58 Wednesday, adding one more notch to an already successful life and career as a famousCELEB scientist.

Tyson, whose career has brought him such accolades as the NASA Distinguished Public Service medal and guest appearances on popular television shows such as the "Colbert Report," "The Daily Show" and "BBC Horizon," has amassed a big following of devoted fans. Currently the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, Tyson also stars in the popular podcast and television show “StarTalk” and is well known for his past work on the TV series “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” a reboot of “Cosmos,” the show created by Tyson’s mentor and inspiration Carl Sagan.

To celebrate his birthday, we compiled some of his best quotes:

“The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it." –A CNN interview in 2011.

“I never want you to quote me citing my authority as a scientist for your knowing something. If that's what you have to resort to I have failed as an educator." — Tyson in 2010 speaking about a bogus 2012 Armageddon.

“As an educator, it's my duty to empower you to think. So that you can go forth and think accurate thoughts about how the world is put together." —Tyson in 2010, also talking about that bogus 2012 Armageddon.

“Knowing where you came from is no less important than knowing where you are going." — From “In the Beginning,” a 2003 essay published in Natural History Magazine.

“If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it's not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.” — Tyson on Twitter in 2015.

“The urge to want some bit of information to be true often clouds our ability to assess why that information may be false.” — Tyson with a similar message on Twitter in 2016.

“Objective truths are established by evidence. Personal truths by faith. Political truths by incessant repetition.” — Tyson weighing in on the 2016 U.S. presidential race in August.

“With so much enthusiasm for the 2nd amendment in the USA, the least we should expect is to win every Olympic shooting event.” — A Tweet during the 2016 summer Olympics.

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else sees, but then thinking a new thought that has never been thought before and expressing it somehow.” — From “Global Ideas from Pluto’s Challenger,” a question and answer session with Tyson in 2009.