Neil deGrasse Tyson Assures B.o.B. the Earth is Not Flat

When it comes to planets, stars, galaxies and more, Neil deGrasse Tyson knows more than a few things. With a BA in Physics from Harvard and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia, the host of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" clearly knows a bit more than the average person.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that when rapper B.o.B spoke out on Twitter claiming the Earth is flat, Tyson stepped in.

"Earth's curve indeed blocks 150 (not 170) ft of Manhattan. But most buildings in midtown are waaay taller than that," he tweeted Sunday night. "Polaris is gone by 1.5 deg S. Latitude. You've never been south of Earth's Equator, or if so, you've never looked up."

He continued, "Flat Earth is a problem only when people in charge think that way. No law stops you from regressively basking in it. Duude--to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn't mean we all can't still like your music." 

https://twitter.com/bobatl/status/691630923851436033

While B.o.B continues to express his skepticism, we're taking a look back at some of the people who have engaged in interesting debates with Tyson.

1. Stephen Colbert: While promoting "Cosmos," Tyson was faced with an important question from the late-night host: Why don't we have to present both sides of every scientific theory? "Don't you want to be fair and balanced?" Colbert asked. Tyson responded, "That would be a waste of everyone's time. When different experiments give you the same result, it is no longer subject to your opinion. That's the good thing about science: It's true whether or not you believe in it."

2. Bill Nye: When it comes to the pop culture debate "Star Wars" vs. "Star Trek," both science enthusiasts couldn't help but join the conversation. "Oh that's easy. Oh my gosh. Oh, the Enterprise. There's no question! No question," Tyson explained. "The Enterprise has the benefit of being real. In the sense that there are real scientists and real engineers on the ship, monitoring its engine and its warp drive, its photon torpedoes. And so, it's 'fake-real,' as opposed to the Millennium Falcon, which is just 'fake-fake.'" While Nye has many "Star Wars" fans, he also had to agree with Tyson.

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3. Jon Stewart: To continue the theme of healthy debates, the then-host of "The Daily Show" couldn't help but ask Tyson if he would pick Superman or Batman to win a fight. Tyson made it clear he believes Superman is "invincible" and can win. As for Tyson, he has some doubts. "At the end of the day, what might matter is the public reception of the superhero and superhero's conduct and if Batman executes our wishes in the city and superman does what the hell he wants, that's a conflict."

4. Bill Maher: When the host of "Real Time With Bill Maher' brought up arguments between political parties, Tyson couldn't help but highlight how Congress is made up of very few scientists. "I realized this when I was a kid, I said I wonder what profession all these senators in congress were. Law, law, law, law, law, businessman," he explained. "I said there are no scientists? Where are the engineers? Where is the rest of life represented?" He later defended science to Maher against his right wing critics.

5. Joe Rogan: In a radio interview several years ago, the former host of "Fear Factor" debated moon landing conspiracy theories. While Rogan didn't necessary believe the speculation, he couldn't help but share what some were thinking. "Some people are only happy when they're sad," Tyson explained. "You can do simple statistics on this. For example, Earth has been here for billions of years and if you think it will end in your lifetime, that's awfully hubristic of you."

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