Following the El Paso and Dayton Shootings, famed scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson has apologized for a highly insensitive tweet he posted. In the tweet, Tyson shared data for other factors leading to large numbers of death. “In the past 48hrs, the USA horrifically lost 34 people to mass shootings. On average, across any 48hrs, we also lose… 500 to Medical errors, 300 to the Flu, 250 to Suicide, 200 to Car Accidents, [and] 40 to Homicide via Handgun,” he wrote, then adding, “Often our emotions respond more to spectacle than to data.”
The post caused a significant backlash, and Tyson has since expressed remorse for its poor timing.
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In a new lengthy statement shared on Facebook, Tyson said, “Yesterday, a Tweet I posted in reaction to the horrific mass shootings in America over the previous 48 hours, killing 34 people, spawned mixed and highly critical responses.”
1. The medical errors number is wrong. It’s based on grossly extrapolated data with no autopsy confirmation and assumes that if someone died after surgery it was due to the surgery and not to the underlying disease the surgery was for. 2. Mass shootings are homicides.
— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) August 4, 2019
“If you missed it, I offered a short list of largely preventable causes of death, along with their average two-day death toll in the United States. They significantly exceeded the death toll from the two days of mass shootings, including the number of people (40) who on average die from handgun homicides every two days,” he added.
“I then noted that we tend to react emotionally to spectacular incidences of death, with the implication that more common causes of death trigger milder responses within us,” Tyson went on to say.
“My intent was to offer objectively true information that might help shape conversations and reactions to preventable ways we die,” he continued. “Where I miscalculated was that I genuinely believed the Tweet would be helpful to anyone trying to save lives in America. What I learned from the range of reactions is that for many people, some information –-my Tweet in particular — can be true but unhelpful, especially at a time when many people are either still in shock, or trying to heal – or both.”
“So if you are one of those people, I apologize for not knowing in advance what effect my Tweet could have on you. I am therefore thankful for the candor and depth of critical reactions shared in my Twitter feed. As an educator, I personally value knowing with precision and accuracy what reaction anything that I say (or write) will instill in my audience, and I got this one wrong,” Tyson’s statement concluded.
