Jon Stewart Calls B.S. on Asteroid Mining. Neil de Grasse Tyson Says It’s For Real.

“Do you know how rarely the news in 2012 looks and sounds how you thought news would look and sound in 2012?” joked Jon Stewart on a recent episode of The Daily Show. Stewart was poking fun at the media frenzy surrounding Planetary Resources, the billionaire-backed space mining company that unveiled its plans to the public this week. 

At Big Think, we are certainly part of this media frenzy, as we believe Planetary Resources is embarking on a truly significant endeavor. Nonetheless, we find Stewart’s critique is an appealing perspective, and one worth sharing. After all, we are a species that creates things, and we are a species with a sense of humor. As we struggle to invent new things, and new ways of doing things, humor is a powerful tool to help us mine the abyss of uncertainty. 

Watch the video here. 

Consider Stewart’s fundamental question about asteroid mining. Can this really be done? 

Big Think fans will no doubt have noticed two of our favorite experts in this video. There is Dr. Michio Kaku with his version of the ‘Philoso-fro.’

Stewart also employs the help of Neil deGrasse Tyson in a segment he calls “Bullshit or No Bullshit.” Planetary Resources is for real, says Tyson. While the famous astrophysicist is positively bullish about asteroid mining, he is more skeptical when it comes to other commercial space endeavors, as he expressed in a recent interview with Big Think.

Watch the video here:

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