To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery

Part of the reason that Neil deGrasse Tyson’s books are so accessible is that he uses metaphors from mythology and popular culture to explain complicated concepts. In the first instance, mythology provides familiar stories—often containing moral guidance—from humanity’s collective history. Myths also express humanity’s aspirations; in this case, to unravel the mysteries of the heavens beyond Earth. In the second instance, popular culture proffers written and visual examples of what space exploration might yield and what interstellar travel might entail and reveal. Pop culture often gets the science wrong—which also provides useful fodder for the authors—but it also conveys the inherent curiosity in humans to look beyond their own backyard. Even though the authors present science as a corrective to these stories and fables, science itself partakes in the storytelling impulse and imaginative leaps represented by myths and pop culture.

In Part 1, the authors describe how even in the earliest days of civilization, humans wondered what existed beyond the terrestrial realm: “Driven by our desire to soar like birds,” they write, “we first took to the skies in story form” (18). This implies that without those early stories, science would not have followed, and the field of aviation might not have flourished.