Dr. Dave Schools Neil deGrasse Tyson in Billiards Physics

dr_dave

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I don't think your response was inappropriate at all. Given the context, I think his comment was a bit out of place. You showed humor and adaptability with your response--an ability to go along with the flow. Your response made his comment seem less awkward, didn't reflect poorly on you, and allowed the conversation to move forward from there.

I think you handled yourself very well given the circumstances of the strong personalities who do this sort of banter for a living. I've never really listened to or read Neil before, but I liked him after this video. You showed wit, character, and intelligence on par with any of those guys, ultimately reflecting very well on a sport that (as mentioned in the video) has a very beleaguered reputation.

All that talk about Coriolis was new to me, so I even learned something, which I rarely do in pool videos, particularly those aimed at novices. I enjoyed the entire video. Many thanks!

Thank you for your kind and well written comments. I appreciate it.
 

middleofnowhere

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I am very excited to announce a podcast I just did with the famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to discuss the physics of billiards. Please check it out!

Ok, I was critical in my first comments. I put on some head phones and sat back to concentrate on what I was hearing and give a good listen. Dr. Dave, you did the best you could. You even at a point asked if you could talk.
I guess it just went the way it went, no fault of yours except for that COM date thing.
I also liked how you topped the wise a$$ with your butt comment. The Chuck guy by the way, is no scientist, he's a stand-up comedian.
I deleted my original knee jerk comments.
 
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dr_dave

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Ok, I was critical in my first comments. I put on some head phones and sat back to concentrate on what I was hearing and give a good listen. Dr. Dave, you did the best you could. You even at a point asked if you could talk.
I guess it just went the way it went, no fault of yours except for that COM date thing.
I also liked how you topped the wise a$$ with your butt comment. The Chuck guy by the way, is no scientist, he's a stand-up comedian.
I deleted my original knee jerk comments.

Thank you for the follow-up. I appreciate it. If you watched the video (in addition to listening to the audio), you might have seen that when I was trying to recall the COM date, I had some doubt. I actually thought of 1986 first, then wrongly changed my mind to 1996 before answering. As soon as the call ended, I realized I had made a mistake. I immediately asked them to cut the year from the video (or dub over it), and they said they would, but they didn't. :cry:
 

MattPoland

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That was the most painful thing I’ve seen in a while. You’d imagine they would’ve had some interest in the physics of billiards but their contribution to the conversation was incessant sophomoric humor that interrupted every attempt to discuss physics at even a rudimentary level. Really made the Startalk guys appear dumb. Like internet troll level of dumb. The only things Dave got to cover were when he had to jam and rush a 100-level concept into the conversation bullishly. I was wildly disappointed. And not for anything Dave did. He rolled with it the best anyone possibly could have.
 
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Tin Man

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This was awesome!

I don't get any of the criticism. Everyone agrees it is important to get pool exposure beyond the serious players. Then when Dr. Dave does this people are upset with the reaction of the masses. Of course people are going to make the same silly hustling jokes, or jokes about balls or sticks, or drop really elementary knowledge like it's an insider secret. That's the price of bringing pool to the public. The alternative is for us all on AZB to bicker about tournament formats.

Dave, I really enjoyed this. The idea of friction acting as gravity due to it's consistency was a fun one to learn. Your brilliance for physics and passion for pool really shown through and made this a treat to watch. Thank you for sharing!
 

vinay

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I am very excited to announce a podcast I just did with the famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to discuss the physics of billiards. Please check it out!
Great to see two people I look up to featured in one podcast! It was pretty interesting to see Dr. Tyson immediately pick up on fairly subtle effects like spin transfer. I do find the comic relief guy a bit grating and wish they'd drop him from Startalk, but maybe it helps widen the audience for the show.

I enjoyed the little dig at Dr. Tyson for ruining the 9 planets ball set.
 
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dr_dave

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This was awesome!

I don't get any of the criticism. Everyone agrees it is important to get pool exposure beyond the serious players. Then when Dr. Dave does this people are upset with the reaction of the masses. Of course people are going to make the same silly hustling jokes, or jokes about balls or sticks, or drop really elementary knowledge like it's an insider secret. That's the price of bringing pool to the public. The alternative is for us all on AZB to bicker about tournament formats.

Dave, I really enjoyed this. The idea of friction acting as gravity due to it's consistency was a fun one to learn. Your brilliance for physics and passion for pool really shown through and made this a treat to watch. Thank you for sharing!

I'm glad you liked it, and thank you for your positive perspective.
 

HNTFSH

Birds, Bass & Bottoms
Silver Member
In retrospect, I wish they would have edited out my response to the comedian about the "butt." That was a little inappropriate. I guess I don't have a future in politics now. :cry: 🤣
Given the persona of Pool I think you're safe. 🤣 And woke or not, most everyone enjoys a butt joke. Way better than fart jokes. Now you did seem excited about holding the butt a long time but I won't press on that. :sneaky:

That was a fun and informative video...great job as always. (y)
 

dr_dave

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Great to see two people I look up to featured in one podcast!

Thank you.

It was pretty interesting to see Dr. Tyson immediately pick up on fairly subtle effects like spin transfer.

I thought he would. He is a very sharp guy, especially with physics stuff.

I do find the comic relief guy a bit grating and wish they'd drop him from Startalk, but maybe it helps widen the audience for the show.

I know many people didn't like the comedian's "contributions," but I actually liked him and his contributions to the podcast. My wife and my biking friends also thought he was great for the podcast (for a general audience).

I enjoyed the little dig at Dr. Tyson for ruining the 9 planets ball set.

That was something I had planned ahead of time. I was worried I wouldn't have an opportunity to bring it up, but the opportunity finally presented itself (after they finally let me talk a little).
 

dr_dave

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Given the persona of Pool I think you're safe. 🤣 And woke or not, most everyone enjoys a butt joke. Way better than fart jokes. Now you did seem excited about holding the butt a long time but I won't press on that. :sneaky:

That was a fun and informative video...great job as always. (y)

Thanks a bunch. I'm just glad the comedian didn't explore the "shaft" part of the cue, which is screwed into the butt. :eek:

I am sure it crossed his mind.
 

HNTFSH

Birds, Bass & Bottoms
Silver Member
Thanks a bunch. I'm just glad the comedian didn't explore the "shaft" part of the cue, which is screwed into the butt. :eek:

I am sure it crossed his mind.
Think there needs to be a sequel. You and CJ Wiley discussing how to apply physics to a good butt hustle.
 

Rocket354

AzB Silver Member
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I know many people didn't like the comedian's "contributions," but I actually liked him and his contributions to the podcast. My wife and my biking friends also thought he was great for the podcast (for a general audience).

Yes, he is the everyman. If you're trying to attract a wide audience, especially to something like physics, the mere mention of which causes some people to spontaneously fall asleep, you need someone who can joke around and relate the material to everyday life. He grated on me some, but I thought overall his contributions were very positive. I was quite surprised he knew "The Music Man" quotes off the top of his head.

After watching that, I can see why Neil has such a following. If he can take a subject I already know much about and keep me interested and engaged for 50+ minutes then he's onto something. Pool needs more publicity through such channels, and employing such methods.
 

sjm

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Thanks for sharing. I think you handled it extremely well Dave but, to a large extent, you were sabotaged. The fellow with the English accent seemed to try to steer things along a constructive course, but was routinely forced off course by the other two. The other two seemed committed to dwelling over and over on the seedy side of pool, with one of them very fixated, not without some humor. on all the money he'd lost at pool and even Neil seemed to keep coming back to the Steven Seagall skirmishes over a game of pool in film as representative of pool's culture. On balance, as a group, they paid only lip service to the game's scientific foundations, which was a shame.

Still, congratulations on helping bring pool to another potential audience.
 
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dr_dave

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Yes, he is the everyman. If you're trying to attract a wide audience, especially to something like physics, the mere mention of which causes some people to spontaneously fall asleep, you need someone who can joke around and relate the material to everyday life. He grated on me some, but I thought overall his contributions were very positive. I was quite surprised he knew "The Music Man" quotes off the top of his head.

After watching that, I can see why Neil has such a following. If he can take a subject I already know much about and keep me interested and engaged for 50+ minutes then he's onto something.

Well stated. I agree.


Pool needs more publicity through such channels, and employing such methods.

Agreed.
 

dr_dave

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Thanks for sharing. I think you handled it extremely well Dave but, to a large extent, you were sabotaged. The fellow with the English accent seemed to try to steer things along a constructive course, but was routinely forced off course by the other two. The other two seemed committed to dwelling over and over on the seedy side of pool, with one of them very fixated, not without some humor. on all the money he'd lost at pool and even Neil seemed to keep coming back to the Steven Seagall skirmishes over a game of pool in film as representative of pool's culture. On balance, as a group, those two paid only lip service to the game's scientific foundations, which was a shame.

Still, congratulations on helping bring pool to another potential audience.

Thanks Stu. I always appreciate your comments, feedback, and perspectives.

Best regards,
Dave
 
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