--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 2002, having spent more than three…" description: "\"“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg" --- # In 2002, having spent more than three years in one… ![“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of…” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg) > ““In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street. A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street.”” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He illustrates how precise language and mathematical reasoning can reveal errors in legal contexts. **In simple terms:** Precise language can expose legal mistakes. Key Takeaway Pay attention to detail in communication. Themes critical thinking law science Mood analytical skeptical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - jury duty - court testimony - science communication Key Concepts measurement evidence evaluation legal reasoning Questions to Reflect On - How can scientists better influence legal processes? - What are the limits of quantitative arguments in court? A Different Perspective Legal systems may not always value scientific precision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astrophysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrophysics/) [Big bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-bang/) [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Black holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-holes/) [Called Jury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-jury-3330215/) [Defendant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defendant/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Judge Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-asks-2844492/) [Judge States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-states-4421259/) [Jury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jury/) [Jury duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jury-duty/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws of physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-physics/) [Laws Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-physics/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Three years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-years/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-seeking/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Voir-dire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voir-dire-202223/) ## Related quotes > [I was a fat kid who didn't discover the joys of active play at the time of life when we're supposed to be imprinted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-moran/i-was-a-fat-kid-who-didn-t-discover-the-joys-of-active-play-at-the/) [Victoria Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-moran/) > [“During voir dire, the interviews for jury selection, each person is asked under oath about their experience with the criminal justice system, as defendant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-conlon/during-voir-dire-the-interviews-for-jury-selection-each-person-is/) [Edward Conlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-conlon/) > [Objection!" 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They fed it the same information that prosecutors had given judges in those… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/smart-scientist-climberg-and-his-team-built-an-artificial/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Trump is not the victim of the judicial system; he is or has been the defendant in 3,500 lawsuits - that's not the mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-todd-whitman/trump-is-not-the-victim-of-the-judicial-system-he-is-or-has-been-the/) [Christine Todd Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-todd-whitman/) > [The defendant wants to hide the truth because he's generally guilty. 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In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. 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It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The idea that God resides in the unknown is what philosophers call the God of the gaps. And we have this thing called science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-idea-that-god-resides-in-the-unknown-is-what-philosophers-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Everybody's got money for vacation time. Look at how much we all spend just to get - well, I get sick on the loop-the-loop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everybody-s-got-money-for-vacation-time-look-at-how-much-we-all-spend/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Explore all 1,143 Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More Astrophysics quotes > [“The toxicity of medical and industrial gas to the human depends on where it is used. A gas that is regarded as safe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-toxicity-of-medical-and-industrial-gas-to-the-human-depends-on/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“For reasons I have yet to understand, many people don’t like chemicals, which might explain the perennial movement to rid foods of them. 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On reflection, I realized that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/industrial-liquid-gas-containers-were-left-open-and-venting-gas-into/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The remarkable feature of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them. After the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-remarkable-feature-of-physical-laws-is-that-they-apply-everywhere/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“In the beginning, there was physics. "Physics" describes how matter, energy, space, and time behave and interact with one another. The interplay of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-beginning-there-was-physics-physics-describes-how-matter/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Filling out the entire electromagnetic spectrum, in order of low-energy and low-frequency to high-energy and high-frequency, we have: radio waves, micro waves, ROYGBIV, ultra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/filling-out-the-entire-electromagnetic-spectrum-in-order-of-low/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Browse all 114 Astrophysics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astrophysics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for jury duty. I show up on time, ready to serve. When we get to the voir dire, the lawyer says to me, “I see you’re an astrophysicist. What’s that?” I answer, “Astrophysics is the laws of physics, applied to the universe—the Big Bang, black holes, that sort of thing.” Then he asks, “What do you teach at Princeton?” and I say, “I teach a class on the evaluation of evidence and the relative unreliability of eyewitness testimony.” Five minutes later, I’m on the street. A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we’d like to ask the court, and I say, “Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The ‘thousand’ cancels with the ‘milli-’ and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.” Again I’m out on the street.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-years-in-one-residence-for-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astrophysics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-years-in-one-residence-for-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_astrophysics_in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-yea_2135409.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 2002, having spent more than three years in one residence for the first time in my life, I got called for…” — Neil deGrasse Tyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In 2002, having spent more than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-years-in-one-residence-for-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-2002-having-spent-more-than-three-years-in-one-residence-for-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```