Neil deGrasse Tyson might just be the world’s most famous astrophysicist. Because of this, he’s often approached to debunk or prove some of the most popular theories. The one he’s asked about the most is entirely to blame on Pink Floyd.
In 1973, Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon and pop culture revolution was born. From its iconic album art to the theory that it syncs up perfectly to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, The Dark Side of the Moon has been a staple since its initial release. But Tyson has gripes with its scientifically inaccurate title. “There is no dark side of the moon,” Tyson tells The Hollywood Reporter when he stopped by to discuss his Emmy nomination for his talk show StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson. “There’s a far side and there’s a near,” he explains. “But all sides of the moon receive sunlight across the month.”
“The fact that Pink Floyd had an album with that title means I had to spend decades to undo [that fact] as an educator,” he continues.
Tyson’s whole point was that pop culture is its own force that it’s hard to undo something that people believe — even when there are facts behind it. “If you don’t know that the whole moon gets light, you don’t know how to make a next creative thought,” Tyson argues.
The article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter