Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

As an astrophysicist and host of last year's " Cosmos" reboot, Neil deGrasse Tyson has taken on explanations of physics, evolution and the creation of the universe itself. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that when a 6-year-old boy asked him, "What's the meaning of life?" at a small speaking engagement in Boston on Thursday, Tyson didn't balk at the question like most of us would.

Instead, he launched into a mini-lesson starting with the value of creating meaning through lifelong learning and concluding with granting his permission to splash around in muddy puddles and bang spoons on the family collection of pots and pans. The whole exchange is ridiculously adorable, and Tyson's approach to the precocious kid -- rolling around the stage like a restless first-grader himself -- will almost charm you to tears.

You can watch the whole five-minute dialogue in the video below, and if you still aren't convinced there's some hope for this world after all, also check out the Georgia boy who received a 3D-printed prosthetic arm from Stormtroopers.

Keep saving the world, nerds, one day and one young mind at a time.