Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't famous just for his contributions to the field of astrophysics. His face is also plastered across countless rage comics as the "We're dealing with a badass over here" guy. So how does Tyson feel about his memetic fame?


In an interview on The Verge's web talk show, On the Verge, Tyson admitted that he was initially creeped out by the badass meme. But he eventually came around to it, deciding it was flattering rather than mocking. He also reiterates the origin of the much copy-and-pasted gesture, which sprang from a video he did about Isaac Newton, who was, in fairness, a badass.


Of course, in talking about the gesture, Tyson repeated it a couple of times, thus once again ensuring his immortality in animated gif form.

[via Geekosystem]