The Roots of the Equation

Growth vs Fixed Mindset on NPR

I was listening to the episode of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! yesterday with Neil deGrasse Tyson yesterday (I’m almost as behind on podcasts as I am on blog reading), and I noticed the following exchange between Peter Sagal and Tyson after he loses the game.

SAGAL: I have to say, this is a strange moment because, as listeners know, I usually like people to win and I often give hints, but I was so pleased by the idea of fooling you that – Neil DeGrasse Tyson – so, like, by doing this, I therefore, by the rule of succession, become the smartest person in the world.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: I have slain the dragon – you know, it’s like…

TYSON: So I look – I look at it differently. I look at had I gotten all three right…

SAGAL: Yeah.

TYSON: …I would’ve learned nothing. But having gotten two wrong, I learned two things today.

JOBRANI: Wow.

SAGAL: There you go.

KURTIS: There’s a lesson.

So (as to not assume across the board – just in the particular example), not only does Tyson demonstrate a growth mindset, as is obvious, but we see Sagal talking about the typical fixed mindset – wanting to show his superiority and prove his “worth,” so to say. It was a pretty clear constrast. And if you’re looking for growth mindset role models, it’s hard to do better than Neil deGrasse Tyson.