By Tori Preston | Social Media | September 25, 2017 |
By Tori Preston | Social Media | September 25, 2017 |
America’s Scientist In Chief, Neil deGrasse Tyson, has been known to dip his toe into the waters of pop culture. He’s not above using his Twitter account to fact-check the science of films like Gravity or Interstellar — and considering he’s an astrophysicist, spacey movies are well within his wheelhouse. But yesterday he was apparently cleaning up his DVR, because he’s finally gotten around to sharing his thoughts on the season finale of Game of Thrones with the Twitterverse.
That’s right: Neil deGrasse Tyson has fact-checked dragons. Which, FYI, aren’t actually real. But neither is space-Clooney, so it shouldn’t preclude both from following some basic scientific principles. Overall, he had positive things to say about GoT’s presentation of the mythological beasts:
Good Bio-Physics in #GameOfThrones: The Dragon Wingspans are sensibly large, as their body weight would require for flight. pic.twitter.com/gzD5wI38u5
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
While still sticking it to the Renaissance:
The sensibly large wingspan of Dragons in #GameOfThrones contrasts with aerodynamically useless wings of Renaissance cherubs. pic.twitter.com/I8L8ILBtUu
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
And even giving LoTR fans something to be happy about:
Good Biology in #GameOfThrones: As in #LordOfTheRings, Dragons forfeited their forelimbs to make wings, like birds & bats. pic.twitter.com/pguBe6rosQ
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
Of course, not all of his observations bode well for next season:
Intriguing Thermal Physics in #GameOfThrones: BlueDragon breath would be at least a factor of 3X hotter than RedDragon breath pic.twitter.com/RvpBkqJ1sw
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
Sadly, the finale wasn’t without its factual errors:
Bad Physics in #GameOfThrones: Pulling a dragon out of a lake? Chains need to be straight, and not curve over hill and dale. pic.twitter.com/VIJlIuDz3L
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 24, 2017
And proving he’s the master of more than just science, he even managed to put a GoT spin on current events:
In the #GameOfThrones Universe, to "bend the knee" represents the very highest form of respect and loyalty.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 25, 2017
Look, if Neil deGrasse Tyson is going to critique fantasy alongside sci-fi now, do you think he might be open to requests? Because I’d like to see the science on basically all of Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Especially the laser lasso.