The Dark Matter, Gravity And Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Should Have Been My Physics Professor

"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it"-Neil deGrasse Tyson

You guessed it. I am a disciple of NdGT (Neil deGrasse Tyson). Honestly maybe am just a fan,  I however prefer to call myself a disciple.
It may be a little late in the day, for me to become an Astrophysicist, But NdGT is the MAN!
And I must confess, I never heard of the man in my high school physics class or the University in the early 1980s.

I look back at those years and wonder how different things might have been for me and perhaps scores of other African students If Neil deGrasse Tyson was the master of our Physics universe. He has a passion for Physics and the universe that is contagious and rubs off just by listening to him.

 I would certainly have been a better physics student, the study of the universe which essentially is the study of our world could have been my first love.
 Physics class would have been inspiring and fun rather than the drag it was for me. I  would perhaps have taken my chance with proving the string theory or formulating new theories instead of impatiently waiting for the bell to ring, signaling the end of a class.

Physics class was the most boring in high school for me and my freshman year at University. The fun part was perhaps Physics Labs, which only happened once a week.
I remember shedding hot pathetic tears of self-pity, on the night before Quantum mechanics exams.

This is a true story. It was a late summer night, and I was at one of the Faculty of engineering lecture theaters struggling and getting frustrated with my inability to master the theories, problems, and calculations that were presented in my Quantum mechanics syllabus. When It became too much for me, I threw my hands up in the air and cried like a girl!
 There was the end of semester exams. I had to pass this course so I don't return for a resit in September. Slugging through the drudgery of studying again while other students were having a rollicking Summer holiday.

As this epiphany unfolds on me, I realize that my struggle with the study of the Universe must have been the teaching style, and perhaps my instructors did not share the same passion for the subject as NdGT. Don't get me wrong, I did have passionate teachers in other fields and I thoroughly enjoyed those subjects. 

My organic Chemistry teacher for one was so passionate about the subject that till today his voice still rings in my head; 1,2- benzene dicarboxylic acid diisooctyl ester. he loved his organic chemistry. His favorite phrase was "You must know Organic" He walked into the class with this proclamation. Went to the board and wrote down a chain of benzene rings, ester structures to get our attention.
The physics teachers were not so passionate. My waves physics Teacher constantly faced the chalkboard and muttered to the board and himself
 And I can bet my bottom dollar most students across Africa share the same problem. Without science, the continent is never going to come out of its present doldrums.

 I only managed to make the required grade because of my determination to go to medical school and physics was a prerequisite.
How I still did not make it to  Med School, is a story for another day, I came close though, I attended Optometry school.
The passion Neil deGrasse Tyson has for Physics is contagious, he creates an alternate universe with the subject matter, where he is the godfather with the magic atom that makes everything possible.

I listened to him explain the Dark matter and it blew my mind away, he made it so easy to understand.

So every Sunday night I had parked in front of my television watching his series "Cosmos a Spacetime Odyssey". And tried to sponge as much information as I could. And these days i try and catch it on the National Geography channel when I can.