"...it is as intellectually lazy to assert that something is bunk as it is to not question what the person tells you about it." - NdGT

Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Latest Science Projects - WSJ: 

"What is the hardest part of your job? 

 “One [thing] is the conduct of others, of your own species telling you that you can’t make it or you shouldn’t do this or that. Look at how many people tell you that you won’t succeed. That number is limitless. Why would they even know? They think they know, but they’re in the way of those who are trying to succeed…. People can get in the way.” 

 How do you know which scientific theories to believe? 

 “If someone wants to sell you something that has suspicious claims related to it and [they] say, ‘Here’s the crystal. Rub it and you will be healed,’ the question is, what is your reaction to that? If you say, ‘Oh that’s bunk,’ and keep walking, well, why did you say that? I mean, it is as intellectually lazy to assert that something is bunk as it is to not question what the person tells you about it. They both require no thought. Full acceptance and full rejection. 

What’s harder is the inquiry and that is the wiring of the scientific brain. Where did these crystals come from? What are they made of and how much do they cost? If you ask the right series of questions and the claim is a house of cards, your questions systematically dismantle it. If it’s legitimate, you start acquiring information that can give you confidence if it works.”" 

"If Dr. Tyson were science czar, he says, he would allocate 10% of the federal budget to research and development. He doesn’t favor any particular area. The beauty of science, he says, is that discoveries in one field often carry over to other fields, with sometimes unexpected results. Magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays and CT scans were all invented, he points out, thanks to principles of physics that were discovered outside of medicine. He mentions that a 1917 paper by Albert Einstein on the stimulated emission of radiation established the groundwork for lasers. “Is he thinking at the time: Lasik surgery! That’s why I’m doing this. Or cosmetic surgery! Or bar codes!” says Dr. Tyson. “No.” The first laser wasn’t invented until decades later, “but it was based on that paper.”"