I really admire Neil deGrasse Tyson, I think he's a great man, however I'm not sure I agree with this quote. There are multiple types of intelligence, and the mathematical/scientific one is only one of them. Personally, I suck at maths and science, but I think I have a knack for languages. I've also adopted the Sherlockian way of thinking about this, which is that when one finds their talent, they should focus on it instead of wasting time with things others occupy themselves with. Sherlock also compared the mind to a bookshelf, and knowledge to books: you should fill it with useful ones, not ones that you'll never need, but we all know that that's an outdated way of thinking since the mind can and should be trained to remember more.
But I think the problem isn't mr. Tyson's opinion. I think the quote just sounds weird since it's been taken out of context, and I agree that responsible adults should know at least the very basics of science and how the world works.
(Cont.) Maybe this is only the problem of religious countries such as America where some adults still believe the world was created in seven days. Maybe I'm just not able to relate to people around me not knowing anything about science, because my country is about as atheist as a country can be, so I'm used to people taking evolution and darwinism as the obvious truth. Funny thing though, my biology teacher said that some biology textbooks still mark Creation theory as one of the possible theories of the origin of humans. We all laugh at it though.
You are right, there are multiple types of intelligence, and they are all useful in their own way. You are also right that people have their own strengths, and they should focus on their strengths. I do not know what the particular context of this quote is, but what I get from it is that overall, the science literacy is deplorable in America. In the world of today, where developed nations are made and broken by their level of science and technology, this is a serious issue which foreshadows a very bleak future.
Nice to see a pro-school post amidst all the "They make us learn stuff we'll never use"posts. Of course, that doesn't mean any of you children will change you minds about learning something that you don't see the need for in the short term.
But I think the problem isn't mr. Tyson's opinion. I think the quote just sounds weird since it's been taken out of context, and I agree that responsible adults should know at least the very basics of science and how the world works.