Neil deGrasse Tyson Ridicules Creationist Demands For ‘Equal Airtime’ On ‘Cosmos’

Neil deGrasse Tyson isn’t amused with the creationists, who keep on insisting that their beliefs should be included in the hit reboot of Carl Sagan’s popular TV show Cosmos.

Tyson, who currently hosts the show, flat-out rejected their demands to include biblical literalism and creationism on the science show.

According to UPI, Neil encourages the portrayal of all opposing views on TV, which he says is important in keeping the media balanced. However, he noted that the same is not applicable with science, where all must be factual and backed up by scientific principles and theories.

Tyson, an astrophysicist from Columbia, says that there is nothing scientific with creationism and biblical literalism.

He said:

“You don’t talk about the spherical earth with NASA and then say let’s give equal time to the flat-earthers,”

Inquisitr recently reported about creationist group Answers In Genesis, who accused Cosmos and its host Neil deGrasse Tyson, of being “scientifically unbalanced”. They claim that the show does not give equal chance to creationists and evolution deniers.

They added that their views on how the world was created and how life began must be shown in equal standing with the scientific consensus of the Big Bang and the theory of evolution.

Although there are a few exceptions, most creationists believe that the world was created by the Judeo-Christian God in seven days, 6000 years ago. They also believe that all humans descended from a single couple, Adam and Eve.

Despite criticisms from the religious sector, Tyson’s Cosmos generally garnered praise from the secular and scientific community.

Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins praised Neil’s presentation and overall production of the show:

I enjoyed Episode 3 of @NeilTyson‘s cosmos, like the 1st 2. He was generous to Edmond Halley but, I suspect, rather unjust to Robert Hooke.

— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) March 24, 2014

Neurologist and Psychologist Oliver Sacks congratulated Tyson and the pilot:

Bravo @neiltyson, congratulations on the debut of the new Cosmos, looking forward to watching the rest of the series http://t.co/gPDDqIXiYB

— Oliver Sacks (@OliverSacks) March 13, 2014

Tyson would know what’s science and what’s not – especially if it talked about the universe and its origins. He has a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Harvard, a masters degree in astronomy from University of Texas – Austin, another masters degree in astrophysics from Columbia and a PhD in the same field from the same institution.

Neil deGrasse Tyson also directs the Hayden Planetarium.

[Image from John Rolling via Flickr]