Neil deGrasse Tyson MasterClass Review 2024 (My Verdict)

A Shorty Award-winning science communicator and an internationally recognized astrophysicist (Neil deGrasse Tyson) is teaching scientific thinking and communication in the most effortless way possible.

The celebrity scientist, Neil deGrasse Tyson is covering topics like infinite measurement, scientific logic, and how to enhance communication with the help of science in his MasterClass.

In this article, I have shared a brief overview of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass, my experience in learning from Neil deGrasse Tyson, the pros, and cons of this MasterClass, how unique it is, what can be improved in the course, and many more in detail.

Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass: In A Nutshell

As mentioned earlier, the MasterClass handled by Neil deGrasse Tyson covers topics like thinking like a scientist, communicating with science, and scientific reasoning. In the end, he also wraps up with the concept of scientific literacy.

Neil shares all the obstacles in trying to learn scientific thinking and how you can avoid them. The method of teaching was top-notch and gave me a clear vision of the topic.

Throughout the course, there were no misleading lessons because the flow of sections was neatly curated. To be honest, taking up this MasterClass felt like joining a science club. Literally.

The MasterClass had 13 lessons which can total up to 2 hours of watch time. As a reward, the instructor also drops quick tips on how to communicate effectively.

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.”

Apart from all the learning, the MasterClass also provides PDF formatted workbooks which made it much easier for me as a student since the workbook had the instructor’s biography, quick notes about the course, and also a section of glossary that was helpful.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Who is he?

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an aspiring science communicator and an astrophysicist. He intends to create science as an open platform to be easily understood by the common folk.

Apart from being a star in the science fraternity, his personality has taken over the world through the work he has put in his books, podcasts, shows, and even social media for that matter.

From being nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award to winning a Shorty award, Tyson has been awarded and honored several times that he has lost track of winning trophies.

Who is this MasterClass by Neil deGrasse Tyson made for?

If you are someone who feels that this MasterClass will bring next-level science concepts to the table, then you are wrong. This course is not only about science but the learning of science.

The MasterClass is perfectly curated in a way that anybody with a tad bit of scientific knowledge can get to know more as Neil has broken down complex theories into simple understanding. At least for the MasterClass, which was helpful.

In fact, we have done an in-depth review of MasterClass here, to help you get detailed insights into the MasterClass platform.

That is why I’d suggest everyone take up this course as it is an easy unfolding of everything about science and teaches how to communicate with it using logic.

By now, I understand science much better than I already know.

How are the lessons in this MasterClass?

The course had a smooth touch of categorizing the lessons in a way where there is no confusion or imbalance in the flow of learning and understanding. Tyson also made sure to give a bit of a tip throughout the MasterClass.

I also noticed that though the course is about scientific communication, it did not repeat the same subject. He went in-depth and tried to simplify critical vocabulary in easier terms.

It was really helpful. If I had to explain the entire MasterClass, then it might take longer, let me quickly brief out the highlights of the course so you’ll get an idea of the MasterClass.

Let’s get going with the start.

1. Meeting the Instructor

In the first lesson, the course starts by introducing Neil deGrasse Tyson. He later takes over and starts talking about the initiation to the course and how much it is important to know science.

Neil also subtly briefs about the cosmos and the universe as the lesson starts to begin. As the lesson progresses, he gets a little deep into the concept.

During the lesson, he suggests being vocal and fearless about knowing the truth because behind the truth lies science and that is very important. It was well said and I was amused to know this.

He concludes the lesson by mentioning that his goal is to make his students think differently, which is, in a scientific way.

2. Understanding science

Neil unveils a couple of theoretical concepts and explains them deeply from the roots. He tells the students to create questions and make logical predictions about the known so that the unknown will automatically be derived.

There were a few terms that kind of seemed new but with the provision of the workbooks, I was able to understand the meaning behind them.

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.”

MasterClass had excelled my expectations by the visual approach of animations which played along with the teachings of Neil.

Tyson also mentioned how science can go wrong at times and that should limit one’s self towards the discovery of something new.

3. Think like a Scientist

By now, Neil streamlines various aspects which are holding up to reach a certain level of consciousness about science. It could be beliefs of any kind, be it political, spiritual, or even religious, which is stopping us from asking questions, he adds.

He also proclaims that the bias that we leave behind are the ones that target us in the end. If you have a strong notion and prediction about something, Neil tells us to stick to it and not let go.

“We spend the first year of a child's life teaching it to walk and talk and the rest of its life to shut up and sit down. There's something wrong there.”

Sometimes it can get involved with critical thinking and that should not be mixed up with science. I did not know science exists in various forms apart from natural elements.

4. Measuring the infinite

The irony of the title can tell you what I am going to talk about. Yes, it is about measurements that are not as accurate as you think they are.

Would you believe it if I told you that we are ahead of time?

I got goosebumps while listening to this lesson because Neil decoded the principle of precision and how things in measurements are sometimes not accurate in reality but a mere approximation.

He fetches out an example of how a second has not lasted accurately a second since 1972.

5. Scientific communication

Here, Neil skims us through the importance of being effective in communication because sometimes communication can fail and turn into a boring lecture.

“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”

To skill this, he recommends understanding the audience first and analyzing the kind of speech you’d want to deliver. In this case, the audience could be in any number but you have to know the person’s capability of understanding. Only then it can be delivered effectively is what he said.

What did I learn from Neil deGrasse Tyson?

Pros & Cons of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass:

Some of the pros and cons of this MasterClass are as follows:

Pros:

• Right from the basics to the intermediate level.
• Easily understandable elements were used as examples.
• Technical terms were compressed to layman’s understanding.

Cons:

• Less practical knowledge.
• No proper detailing in the provided workbooks.

What can be improved in this MasterClass?

There was not much that needed to be improved because Neil has made it so easy that the entire MasterClass was quick to grasp in understanding thoughts and concepts.

I did feel that the course was too basic. Having a scientist as an instructor, we’d expect much more than what we were seeing in the MasterClass. If you are someone who knows the field of nature and would like to learn more about it, then it might be a flop for you.

As I said, things might seem repetitive for them. Apart from that, the practical teaching was less.

How is Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass unique?

You might think all the videos induced as lessons are going to be found on YouTube. Well, let me tell you something. I thought the same as well but Neil has made sure that the content that you learn from the MasterClass can be found nowhere else which means he has locked it only for his students.

If I had tried to learn from YouTube, I am pretty sure it would have helped but not as much as the knowledge I gained from the full-fledged MasterClass by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the legend himself.

I was glad that I took up the MasterClass. I got to see, learn and also understand the various principles in the spectrum of universal science.

What’s the budget of this MasterClass by Neil deGrasse Tyson?

At the moment, there is only one plan that is available which is,

All-access pass – $180/-

Since MasterClass thought it would be appropriate, the users can get the best out of the platform by paying for the entire subscription as a single plan.

This way, you get to learn from other celebrity instructors as well. Like, while taking up this MasterClass, I also was learning cooking by the legendary MasterChef judge, Chef Gordon Ramsay.

You basically get access to 80+ other courses available in the entire MasterClass community.

Here are some of the alternatives to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass:

If you’d like to look for alternatives for the same subject then I would suggest the MasterClass handled by Chris Hadfield which is based on space exploration.

It might not be the exact copy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s MasterClass but you’ll gain scientific knowledge about space and things related to it.

Also, this MasterClass is available in the MasterClass platform itself so you don’t have to search up various websites and advertisements.

Final Verdict of Neil deGrasse Tyson MasterClass Review (2024)

Being a fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson myself, I had a great time learning from the legend. The way he handled each lesson was on-point and I don’t think this kind of teaching can be seen elsewhere.

Learn Scientific Thinking About Neil

As I mentioned earlier, it is the thought of bringing down complex theories into an easy understanding of subjects that made me comfortable with the course.

There were some big takeaways from this MasterClass because now a lot of things, in reality, seem scientifically incorrect which I want to immediately rectify. As you can tell by my writing, it changes the perception of a person into viewing the world from a different perspective.

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