StarTalk Radio - #ICYMI - Slam Dunk Science (Part 2)

Episode Date: May 4, 2017

Our Playing with Science TuneIn party at the SXSW festival concludes with hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly exploring what makes an NBA superstar, with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, NBA All-Star Caron Butler, and actor Michael Rapaport, the co-host of the Two-Man-Weave podcast on TuneIn.Don’t miss an episode of Playing with Science. Subscribe to our channels on:TuneIn: http://tunein.com/radio/Playing-with-Science-p952100/iTunes Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-with-science/id1198280360?mt=2Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/startalk/playing-with-scienceSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/startalk_playing-with-scienceGooglePlay Music: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iimke5bwpoh2nb25swchmw6kzjqNOTE: StarTalk All-Access subscribers can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free. Find out more at https://www.startalkradio.net/startalk-all-access/ Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.

I'm Gary O'Reilly. And I'm Chuck Nice. And this is Playing With Science. Welcome back to Playing With Science here at the Easy Tiger in Austin, Texas at South by Southwest. If you've just tuned in, you are late to the party. But don't worry, we'll tell you now. Caron Butler, NBA superstar and great is with us. Michael Rapoport, actor, director, podcast supreme is here. Chuck Nice and the good doctor, Neil deGrasse Tyson is with us. So you couldn't get

any more. Bang for your buck. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Hey, Gary, before we get back into it, I know we're going to talk about what it takes to be a great player. And so Karan and I had a really fascinating conversation because he's wearing a Chicago Bulls number 23. It's not a Chicago Bulls number 23. It's the GOAT.

It's the GOAT. And you know that means greatest of all time. That's right. I'm the greatest, time. Hmm, that's right. Hmm, I'm the greatest, Howard. Hmm. But you weren't happy. No. Because you had a little bit of friction with that.

So we got into a little thing, and I got to tell you, he changed my mind. And the reason is, I said, so, okay, I can understand why you say that Michael is the greatest of all time, but I just want to ask about LeBron. And Karan said, not even in the conversation. And I was like, yo, man, now that's strong. That is very strong. So, Karan, go ahead and give me your reasoning behind why he's not even in the conversation. Well, Michael Jordan obviously changed the game in many different areas.

Right. I think as a great player, you got to have a traditional signature shot. He had the traditional fadeaway. Yeah. Not to mention the traditional shot that's on the side of every sneaker that Nike puts out. The jump man. You think of Kareem, he had the sky hook. Right.

You think of Kobe, he had He had the sky hook. Right. You think of Kobe. He had the impeccable skill set. And I'm going to stop right there. You think of Michael Jordan. You think about the final appearances. He'd been to six. He won six. This is something I didn't know.

Michael Jordan has never been to a finals and lost. Never. Ever. That's amazing. But there was one other stat, Karen, that really nailed me. He's never been to a game seven in the finals. Never been to a game seven. Never had a finals that went to game seven that he played in.

I was like, damn, these are like some serious stats you're dropping right now. Michael was taking care of business. But then you gave me something that I never thought about, which I think is just, it really changed my mind. And it was, you said that LeBron manipulated his situation. And I was like, wait a minute. Yes. You're going a little too far. I agree.

But I got to tell you, what you said made sense. Go ahead. Michael never left Chicago. Right. And in order for you to be a champion in the Eastern Conference or in the Western Conference, you had to go through Michael Jordan. So Michael Jordan basically

pulled up to the YMCA, told nine players to get in the car with him, and they said, he said, we're going to the finals and we're going to win because I got y'all. In LeBron's case, in this situation, LeBron joined

two Hall of Famers. One being Chris Bosh and the other one being a good friend of mine. Top three, two guards all the time. He's amazing. D-Wade. Not to discredit his legacy or anything like that because LeBron isn't great and he's on that Mount Rushmore. But to be better than Michael Jordan, I don't see it.

Well, you know, you made a good point, and the point was this. He is joining two all-stars who are ascendant. He stays with them, and then, of course, they're now on the backside, which means that they're like all players in their decline and then you go and then he leaves them and goes to cleveland where he joins a bunch of young players who are also in their prime and ascendant and so basically he's just like the smartest dude ever or you could he's the smartest dude ever you could call it ring chasing i mean there's different things you could call i know he, he's not ring chasing, but I agree with it.

I like the way you phrased it, manipulate the situation. Okay, look. So, we have Karen's doctor. Is there science to that? Yes, is there science in that? And science of being smart, maybe. Or, your opinion differ, or has now Karen taking you to a different thought after that explanation? I think being a champion is more than just

are you a good player in the abstract or in the analysis of just yourself. It's do other players around you perform better when you are with them? Are you selfless in your play where an opportunity arises you could make the shot but you share that love, you share the opportunity? Are you a champion in your playing? And I think I gotta agree

that Michael Jordan, all those tributaries came together to one stream. That stream is the Michael Jordan flow right there. And so I got to go with you on that. And not only the greatest of all time, I'm not so quick to say that LeBron is not in the running, but I have no argument by saying that LeBron wouldn't be in some top ten list. Oh, absolutely. he's top 10 yeah okay so so michael jordan just and also consider how many winning shots he took okay another fact yeah he gets into the open he does a head fake makes the shot oh my gosh and he just he's cool

about it it's not even like oh my gosh i got what am i gonna Oh, my gosh. And he's cool about it. It's not even like, oh, my gosh, what am I going to do? It's like he's there. So it's one thing to be great when you're not winning championships, but to be great when you have to be great. That is the highest level champion that's out there. So that's where I am on that. You with that? Yeah.

Absolutely. He's chasing ghosts now. LeBron's chasing ghosts right now so if he's able to get three more titles i tip my hat off to him okay yeah okay plus plus michael jordan has the crying michael jordan meme which everybody knows is the greatest meme of all time okay to be discussed to be discussed. To be discussed. We got to make him, like, lose at something, right? Exactly. Just make a crying meme. Make a crying meme. Go ahead.

Born or bred, superstar NBA players, players like yourself, players like Michael Jordan. I can read sometimes. I know tough juice. Was that part of why you were able to go as far as you did? You went to the top of Mount Olympus, and you've looked down on everyone else in the game being a champion. Is it a case of like, you know, guys, you just have to have it?

You've got to have that want it, that gut, that grit, that something that makes you different. Which, by the way, before you answer, that's a good time for you to talk about your book. Yeah. Your book just came out, right? And what's it called? It's Tough Juice.

I'll do it from the streets to the NBA. But it's not only stopping there. Isn't a certain Mark Wahlberg role into your life? You're going to make a film? Yeah, we're going to go into production in September, October. Nice! There you go. Yeah.

So, give me a little inside track on Tough Juice, if you would, please. Yeah, I'll just talk about my adversity coming up on the south side of Racine, Wisconsin, just north of Chicago. I grew up, ever since I jumped off the porch, I saw probably what every kid in the inner city saw, the street game. I was attracted to it. I started selling drugs at a young age. I was arrested 14, 15 times.

Ended up getting incarcerated, did a little bit under two years in corrections. And, you know, once I got out, I was exposed to basketball. And that was my ticket and, you know, my way out. And, you know, basketball just took me on a journey all around the world. You know, I've seen different things. You know, I was exposed to so many different things and was able to go to college, end up going to the NBA, was a lottery pick by the Miami

Heat. Pat Riley, he instilled a lot of great things, a lot of values in me. And my career just took a full swing to the positive. But it was Eddie Jordan that dubbed you Tough Juice, right?

Yeah, he gave me that name, you know, just for playing through injuries and, you know, adversity and tough situations. But we spoke about that in the break, didn't we? Yeah. I asked you, did you ever play 100% fit? And the answer was no. I haven't played 100% since the eighth grade.

You know what I'm saying? It was always something wrong, you know? Like, it was always something wrong. You know, like, guys got to understand, like, when you're at the collegiate level and when you go into this business of basketball, you have to understand that you're never going to be 100% again. Wow. See, a lot of these people won't understand that. If you're out there in your uniform, you're 100% fit.

Yeah, I mean, people are mean people gonna they think you're robots they think because they play you in the video game it's like like yeah why why aren't you running and jumping like i like i programmed you to right yeah how amazing is that how does that make you feel on court knowing that some kid or some guy is screaming at the screen thinking exactly that yeah it's crazy because you don't know what collision I had on the court. You don't know because the ground is undefeated. The hardwood is undefeated. There you go.

Man, you can't fight it. It always wins. It always wins. Wow. Man, well, that is a great story. Look for the book, Tough Juice, My Journey from the Streets to the NBA. Yeah, please. That's great.

You've got to go find that Yeah, please. That's great. You've got to go find that book. Please. That's great. What are we talking about in terms of this movie being made? And the movie. Mark Wahlberg production. Do you get to pick who plays you? Yeah, we're working on that now, man.

I'm excited about that. That's pretty cool. Michael B. Jordan. You know it's going to be Michael B. Jordan. You know you want Michael B. Jordan to play you. You know it. Yes. You know you want Michael B. Jordan to play you. You know it. By the way, my book coming out is called Naturally

Occurring Low Sugar Juice. My Journey from the Suburbs to the Upper Suburbs. Alright, okay. Book club is still in effect. Doctor, you not have a book yourself coming out?

It's not related to it. Yeah, but it's... When did you become shy? No, no. Yes, yes. All right, all right. I'll mention it, but we don't have to go there. It's called Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

What? Anyone here in a hurry? All right, we got book for you, just for you. That's pretty cool, man. I like that. You can order it, like, really cheap on Amazon, but it's not out for another six weeks. One never does cheap. One does less expensive.

And it's not a Mark Wahlberg production. Nobody's making a movie out of it, that's all. Not yet. I'm going to support you anyway. Okay, so. There you go. Hey, Neil, do you mind? We have some people here, I think, that want to ask you some questions.

So do you mind answering some astrophysics questions from... That lady over there in the green T-shirt who was unbelievably excited when she heard the good doctor was on the show. All right. Come here. Come on over here, young lady. She's like Tigger. She's bouncing up and down.

So, Neil, what I'm going to do is give... Since we don't have a handheld mic, I'm just going to give her my microphone so she can ask you the question, okay? And what's your name, young lady? Alicia. Alicia, what's your question? Dr. Tyson, can you hear me okay? I just want to say that this is my starry-eyed moment of South by Southwest. Good.

You're a modern hero. Yeah. Glad we could help. Alicia. We live in a really contentious time right now, and I truly appreciate your emphasis on not only science, but common sense and how important that is, and making science and mathematics approachable to young people, to the general public through things like movies and sports and stuff like that.

This is what our world is made of, and it's so important, and thank you for having an impact on our society for that. This is what our world is made of and it's so important and thank you for having an impact on our society for that. I thought you had a question. No, do you know what? That's as good as any question you'll ever ask. Thank you. Give it up for Alisa. Thank you, my darling. That was lovely. Please.

Alisa, you're adorable. Hey, this is Ben. Ben, how you doing, buddy? Great. Okay, do you have a question for Dr. Tyson? Go ahead. I do. All right. Hey, Dr. Tyson. Actually, speaking of books, I just finished reading your other book, The Astrophysical Tour of the Universe, the other day.

Oh, wow. So thanks for that. All right. Two book plugs. Ben is not playing around. I just finished your book. Yeah. Get the next one out.

Go ahead. So my question is actually more on the StarTalk side than the playing with science side. Can you make any heads or tails about the theory of the universe being a hologram? Yeah, I mean, it's evidence shows that we may be a hologram. And the problem is, like, okay, if that's true, what are we going to do about it right i mean it's one of these things where it's just kind of information that could be true but whether or not it's true it doesn't change anything about anything so i'm not using sleep over it so the idea is even if we are a hologram i still own i still owe wells fargo six thousand eight hundred dollars and i gotta

i gotta make that payment no matter what pay them in hollywood i need to do right mike i gotta pay him a hologram money you can bitcoins get your bitcoins out all right we have another uh okay anybody else raymond hey so beautiful is not a word you describe sports a lot with, but I mean, science is beautiful. What's the most beautiful athletic play that you know from a science perspective? Like, is it like an outfield catcher, whatever you think it might be? Wow, that's a great question. So from a scientific, from a physics standpoint, what do you find is the most beautiful play? Can we all chime in on that?

Yeah, that'd be great. Doctor first. The doctor first. What I like at its best is when someone goes in to take a shot in basketball, someone goes in to take a shot, they leave the ground. Other people then leave the ground with him. And now you have multiple people that are now ballistic trajectories, yet their limbs can still maneuver.

Your center of mass is going to go up and down, and I can calculate that. But your limbs are controlled by your mind, and you still want to make the shot. And hands are coming in, and you still want to make the shot and hands are coming in and you maneuver up and around and everybody is in motion and you release the ball at a point where no one can smack it away and it's has the motion of you releasing it plus your body and it still makes the basket oh so you like Dr. J, is what you're saying. It is an airborne chess game. Airborne chess. Airborne chess.

Air chess. He gave me a visual. Yes, that was. That's it. Airborne chess. There you go. I like it. Karan, what's your most beautiful play?

You're up next. I would have to say a dunk. I can't break it down like he just did. That's okay. A DeAndre Jordan dunk in Live City with the Los Angeles Clippers. Chris Paul going downhill off a pick and roll. Right. Throwing it up.

No look, but just having the belief that he's going to outjump everyone in the arena. And then he picks it up out of the air. And he takes off. And the guy who's supposed to tag, see DeAndre Jordan takes flight. And he's like, there's no way I'm going to be in that poster. So he moves out. Because you always see that rotation guy that's supposed to come over. Right.

And he's like, he act like he didn't see DeAndre Jordan. And then now you see DeAndre going to get the ball and dunking it. And then you see the owner, Mr. Baldwin, jumping up, doing his thing. And then they go down to possession and the crowd go crazy. I love that in slow motion. Very nice. All right, Michael. Is it Knicks-orientated?

No, it's not Knicks-orientated. I mean, you know, in sports you could talk about Muhammad Ali and his prime moving around the ring at 6'3", 220 pounds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You could talk about Lin Swan's ballet catches with the Steelers or, you know, Odell. Or you could talk about Lynn Swan's ballet catches with the Steelers or Odell. Or you could talk about Steph Curry's beauty or Allen Iverson going to the basket. But for me, right now, this moment, I think the most beautiful scientific, because I think there's speed, power, and the unknown.

Dominique going to the basket with the ball, touching the numbers, and the ferocity and the speed and the strength that Dominique Wilkins used to dunk has been unmatched. People have done what Doc and Jordan did and taken it to a new level, but there's still nobody that dunks with the power that Dominique Wilkins did through his whole career. So I'll go with Dominique Wilkins. All right. Human highlight reel.

That's what they call it. There is no wrong answer to this. No, there isn't. So Chuck, you're up next. Well, I'm going to switch gears. I'm going to go Michelle Kwan doing the triple salchow. Quite frankly, I don't see anything more beautiful than a woman in a pirouette that seems

never-ending as she pulls her arms in and increases her rotation and keeps going and then puts her skate down and stops and goes, yes, world, I'm here. I agree. That's the name why he liked that.

He liked the tutu. Okay, so I can't admit to watching female gymnastics because it ends up getting in trouble. But because my background is soccer, I'll just look at Lionel Messi play and I'll sit there with my mouth open and think,

I could train five million hours in my life, I wouldn't get past three steps, and the guy's running half the length of the field, I am on my knees, I am in awe, and that, for me, is just the ballet. And for my friend, soccer is known as the beautiful game, and thank you for your question.

Who's up next? All right, we have, this is Javier. How are you, Javier? Say what you have to say to Dr. Tyson. Hi Dr. Tyson. So my question is about playing basketball in the future. So in the future once we make it out to Mars and we're going to play basketball on Mars, should we change the rules of the game to account for the different gravity?

I mean are we going to have to have the basketball rim at 15 feet rather than 10? Interesting question. So Javier says, what is basketball on Mars going to be like? If we were able to play the game of basketball on Mars, how would we have to alter the game so that we could play it? Yeah, so the first human colony, if you're going to have some sort of sports activities just to keep people

healthy, it's pretty easy to put up a rim, right? It's easier to put up a rim, right? It's easier to put up a basketball rim than lay out a whole baseball diamond, all right? And you couldn't have a swimming pool, really, because there are parts of Mars that are at the triple point of water where the water boils and freezes at the same time. Do you know about this condition? It's a fascinating condition in the chemistry of materials. So you might remember when you go to mountaintops, you have to adjust cooking times

because the boiling temperature is lower in the low-pressure air of a mountaintop. It could be like 180 degrees instead of 212. Right. So it's not as hot. You've got to cook food longer. All right. If you go to lower and lower pressure, air pressure, the boiling point collapses closer to the freezing point of water. So it's from 180 degrees, 150, 100, 70, 50, 40, 34. He could go all the way.

No, go ahead. And so you have boiling water in the same cauldron as freezing water. So there you are trying to swim, and there will be chunks of ice and boiling water at the same time. And so swimming, you need like a pressurized environment for that. So you put up a basketball court. Or a milk crate. Same thing. Go ahead.

So the question is, do you make the rim higher? Because the ball is lighter and gravity is less. It's only 40% of Earth gravity there. So if you weigh, what, if you weigh 200 pounds on Earth, if you weigh 200 pounds on Earth, you weigh 80 pounds on Mars. So you can jump higher with your musculature. You can jump higher. So the question is, do you make a higher rim?

You could, but it doesn't mean your shooting is more accurate. All right? So it might just become a slam dunk fest. Because whatever was your, if you were 40% from the field, you'll be 5% from the field if you, like, double the height of the rim. So you have to figure out what we still do well with high rims. Or you just keep a 10-foot rim. And, you know, just be. And just let it be a dunk fest.

The game just becomes kind of like an acrobatic dunk fest. Yes, yes. With a much higher rim. Right. I say we must wait for Space Jam 2. No. Hey, Doc. Yeah, what's up?

You're going to be a great attorney, man. You did not do it. He is not guilty. I know you got the. All right, this is our last question. We got Jordan here. Jordan, how you doing? We got two more. We got is our last question. We got Jordan here. Jordan, how you doing? Oh, we got two more.

We got time for two more. We got time for two more? See that guy's face when you said the last question. Don't worry, I'm not going to do you wrong. Jordan, go ahead and ask a question, Jordan. I just want to say it's an honor to be here with the original Stickman. But you're Stickman, too. So, yeah, so down that same vein is Space Jam 2.

So now that we know there's seven planets nearby that are all roughly like Earth, what's the timetable for when Space Jam 2 is going to be a live-action movie, because it's really happening, because obviously there are aliens coming, and are you going to be in it, and are you going to be the Bill Murray? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. There you go. Wait, so the question is, how soon are we going there? Yeah. There are aliens coming here for Space Jam. Right. How, so the question is, how soon are we going there? Yeah. It's coming here for space jam.

Right. How long would it take? How long from our recent discovery of the seven planets around the red dwarf star, how long would it take for them to get here? Okay, so they're 40 light years away, which is relatively close, because the galaxy is 100,000 light years across. So these are very close to us in what we call the solar

neighborhood. And if I put your ass on our fastest spaceship we ever launched and aim straight there, it would take about about 400,000 years. Oh,000? Oh, that's all?

Okay. Pack your bag, dude. Yeah. We got a trip to go. Download your movies. Yeah. All right, last question. Here's our last question.

Oh, look. What's up, man? How's it going? Future so bright, gotta wear shades. Hey, Neil. Huge fan. You recently said on an interview

that the main thing that drives you in life is the short amount of time that we have here, and that's really been your main motivator. So my question is in regards to sports, specifically LeBron, is it really fair for us to judge him for moving to play with better players to be successful given the short amount of time athletes have, body generation and all that sort of thing?

All right, the other side of the coin. Good question. Good question. Thank you, sir. And by the way, for those who can't see, my man's wearing like Snapchat glasses, right? How you doing, sir? Swag. Serious pair of specs. Thank you. You know, a little bit more of a philosophical question there, Neil. Can you blame somebody for trying to do as much as they can in as little time as they can do it?

to do as much as they can in as little time as they can do it? So that's a great question because if we lived 1,000 years and we could maintain an athletic prime for longer than the 5 or 10 or 15 years that is in professional sports, that would completely change the dynamic of who you play for, how long, all of this. So you're right. So I think that does absolve LeBron on some level. The longevity factor, I think, clears him for some of what the concerns were. Yeah, so I agree.

Okay. But it still doesn't change the fact that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time. It doesn't change that. But I would have to say that that's a great question. A great NBA career is 10 years, right? Okay. If you look at that, that's

1,400 days of basketball. Wow. That's it. That's 1,400 days of basketball. If you want to have a player that's in the prime of his career for the 10 to 12 years that he's playing actively, that he can have a huge impact on a team's success, organization's success, and really seal and cap off his legacy,

I don't fault a guy going to chase a great opportunity like that. I don't fault a Kevin Durant for going to a situation where he could be a major piece in the component to get over a hump and win a championship. You know, everybody thought that that was a different type of move, but at the end of the day, we know he can what? He can score the ball. That's right.

One of the best scorers of all time. At the end of the day, we know that he's an all-time great. And that's what A-Rod did when he came to the Yankees. Absolutely. He wasn't getting a championship anywhere. He came to the Yankees, got a championship. You would put him in the top 25 all-time right now, Kevin Durant. This off-merit, off his credentials. So the only thing

now it is to cap off his legacy is the championship. So what the hell? But speaking of A-Rod, because we talk about Caron having tough juice. That was a different kind of juice. That's a whole other podcast episode. And this is New Yorker right here.

He's telling you. Okay. I was going to say, A-Rod is the only player that came someplace, got a championship, and the people still hate him. How do you do that? How do you do that? Why doesn't A-Rod open up a juice bar? A-Rod's juice bar is where we sell you that good good. Okay.

All right. On that good good note, we are going to say. Roger Clemens can be the investor. Dude, that was funny. There's a cast list. There is a cast list. Yeah, the good doctor is going to have the final word. Yeah. Wait, wait, Gary.

Yes. Can I get one last answer? You get the last word, sir. OK, so let me ask you something. In the Olympics, there are people who compete and then set a world record. Mm hmm. Typically in track and field. Right. When you set a world record, you are performing greater than at any other moment in your life. you are performing greater than at any other moment in your life. Correct. Are there moments like that in professional sports where there's a game or there's a week where you are so in the zone that you are performing in a way you may never equal in all the days that follow?

Sir, you first. Absolutely. I've been in those mindsets. Like, my body felt extraordinary. My mental state was extraordinary. I don't know what it was or what it – I was just in the moment. You know what I mean? And my body was present in the moment.

My mind was present in the moment. And I excel like all expectations. And it's like a high that I always try to chase as an athlete. I never can achieve that again, so I try to look for components and situations where I can place myself in with the talent around me to get to that

moment again, but I never could get it again, but I felt it. I was in it before. That's the next frontier science applied to sports how do you hit and even maintain peak performance when you need it and and and and for uh and and how to sustain it well that's where the big data comes in what is the mental physical chemical state of your body that gets you there? And they're working on that. At the moment, you've got the big data with the GPS and the microchip tracking that feeds back when they red flag you in training.

That takes you out. That's injury prevention. That allows you to continue with your gameplay in a better place. Going back to the question you asked, sometimes you'll be having the most incredible game of your career, and it'll be a game where basically it's out on court number 25 rather than in the center court, and you're not really the focus of the attention. When you see the big games, the really big, the Super Bowls, the tennis open, whatever it is, and the big guys step up and just blow everything out of the water, that's when you look at people and say,

that's why. That's why we are looking up at these people. When the big game comes along, the big talent delivers. That's the one thing. Michael, you had a point there? No, I agree with what you're saying. I agree with what Karan is saying.

And for me being such a basketball fan growing up, literally having hoop dreams growing up, there's a handful of times in my life between 12 and 17 where you're playing in the park. For me, it was in the park where every shot goes in no matter what you're doing. And then the next day, it's like your worst day, and you're like trying to go back to that feeling that you had. And when you're at the level with Quran where skill, hard work, and everything comes together, you could fall back on it.

But that sort of chasing that feeling, for me, it was like a handful of times. Quran's had it hundreds of times. I've had it. I've had it. Madden 2012. I've got to tell you, best game of my entire life. So, and I'm sorry. For Neil? Oh, by the way, Neil, we just got some breaking news. Here it comes.

The LHC just discovered a new system of five particles. So, you know, the Large Hadron Collider, which is the latest addition to CERN's accelerator complex, is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built. And apparently they have just discovered a new system of five particles. What exactly does that mean for us, Neil? And can we use it in sport? Well, I'd have to see that press release, but if it's five particles, it's probably a family of particles.

And what will be interesting for me to learn when I catch up on the news is whether these were predicted or whether they were a surprise. Each of those will be interesting. It's typically more interesting if you don't expect them to be there and then they show up and you say, who ordered that? Now you've got to fit it into your previous

understanding of things. By the way, the most powerful collider in the world was going to be in Texas. Going to be. In Waxahachie, Texas. Right. It's called the Superconducting Super Collider, and everybody in Texas knows that. The Superconducting Super Collider that was going to be here in Texas, what happened? And the Congress zeroed the budget, judging that that was not an interesting thing to do. And so no country owned the frontier of science.

The center of mass of particle physics moved to Europe, to Switzerland, and now they are making the discoveries, not America. That's not the way to make America great again. Damn, Switzerland! I like that last plug. All right, okay, yeah. We got where you went with that one. Let's not hate the Swiss.

They gave us Tobron after all. So that's us. Thank you to the good doctor. By the way. Oh, by the way. Oh, look, look, look. Whose paw prints are on there? The 76ers visited me a few months ago,

and they left me a signed ball. So I just want to give a shout-out to the 76ers. Yes. All right. Consider it done. Doctor, that's a fantastic gift, but I don't think that's ever going to be worth any money, the current 76ers. Come on. Why is it the worst?

That's my team. I love you, Doc. That's my team, guys. That is great. Having the 2017 76ers sign a ball, you might as well give him some toilet tissue! Don't call me that! Alright, we're going to fact check that as the fact that they're the worst team ever. The good doctor Neil deGrasse Tyson, please give it up!

Michael, you're just killing me, man! Alright, Michael Rapaport, please! Give it up for Michael Rapaport, people! The one, the only, Kurt Rahn Butler! NBA All-Star, Kurt Rahn Butler, give it up for Michael Rappaport, people. The one, the only, All-Star. NBA All-Star, Kurt Rahn, Butler, give it up for him. I'm Gary O'Reilly. And I'm Chuck Knight. And this has been Planet Science.

And we love you. Thank you for coming out to see our show. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you to South by Southwest. And thank you. A round of applause for you. Yes. And to Easy Tiger.

Thank you all.