Did Neil deGrasse Tyson Reach a Tipping Point with Creationists?

Neil deGrasse Tyson's hosting of the Cosmos reboot has been popular, to say the least. According to fan and foe alike, the new show offers a tremendous upsurge in public interest in general science, similar to the original series and Carl Sagan's journey with the viewer through the universe. Now it appears that Tyson's iteration has done something similar. One, the show has left an indelible mark with the Creationist movement. Salon saw the effects recently.

Creationists and intelligent designers alike struggle with learning life has no divine purpose. If their mythology is deemed untrue, they will be responsible for finding their own purpose, and if we have learned anything from the reaction each week from these camps over Cosmos, it is that they struggle with an inability to think for themselves, and it’s the very last thing they want any of their followers to do. A freethinker is an enemy to radical religious beliefs. Yet these groups forget that countless religious people accept scientific facts every day, because religion is not an excuse for ignorance.

Second, while it was delayed by a Nascar race, Tyson was able to chime in during the race on Twitter.

Rubber tires on asphalt grant a maximum speed of about 165 mph in the 24-degree banked turns at Charlotte Motor Speedway. — Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) May 26, 2014

Last month he even eloquently described the accumulation of wealth: