Dr Tyson, a scientist with rock star status

Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, someone who studies the physical and chemical properties and structures of stars, planets, and other objects in outer space. He conducts his lectures in sold-out concert venues. This night was no exception in the 3,500-seat Peabody Opera House in St Louis, Missouri, USA where tickets sold for $77 (Sh7,500). My rough estimate of the profile of the audience was 90 per cent Caucasian, 95 per cent over 35 and we presume 98 per cent nerd-geeks.

There were so many aspects to this event that I found fascinating. The most astounding was that all these people were gathered to listen to a black man who does not sing or dance. True enough, when he walked out on stage, he reminded the audience that despite being in an opera house, a piano was not going to be rolled out and he was not going to perform any arias.

It is liberating that race does not play a part in this black man’s presentation. In interviews, Dr Tyson says that race is not a part of the point he is trying to make in his career or with his life: “...(being black) then becomes the point of people’s understanding of me, rather than the astrophysics. You then end up being distracted by that and not getting the message.”Since 1993, he has declined every interview that has his being black as the primary focus.

For the next two hours, he delighted us with his mastery of cosmology that he connected with the official geeks and the non-geeks like myself. He was a proponent of the reclassification of Pluto as the ninth planet. He explained the need to prioritise the “commonalities between objects, grouping the terrestrial planets together, and getting away from simply counting the planets.” In 2006, Pluto was officially declassified as a planet and we laughed as he explained the hate mail he received, particularly from children, when this occurred.

His presentation was a mixed media of slide show and oration that was a finely tuned and orchestrated dance. The lecture format works because Dr Tyson is a masterful orator who is unpretentious and humble about his contribution to the world’s study of the universe. It was at the end of the lecture that he brought effects to his conclusion. The lights dimmed, his voice dropped to a syncopated, captivating tone and an image of the galaxy appeared accompanied by relaxing music. He passed his message about how innovations were part of man’s evolution that has to be embraced, managed and accepted in order to survive.

Dr Tyson is not in entertainment but he is a scientist with rock star status. So it made sense that his show kept to the pop-science script with a hint of flair at the very end. However, at the end of the day, it was a performance that he gave and at some point in the future, his show could benefit from the right balance of entertainment input.

What comes to mind is the touch of live music to his lecture. However, with or without music, Dr Tyson is the marketing master of the strongest component of his product—him. In addition to the lecture, he sold the opportunity to attend a dinner with him for $35 per person before the show, and a one-on-one conversation for $40 following the show. He is a walking money machine with a personality and expertise that will keep the cash register in a cha-ching mode!

Denise is an Afro-soul singer and music performance coach

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