Last month, I went to the historic Riverside Theatre in downtown Milwaukee to see an astrophysicist give a PowerPoint presentation on science.
Seriously.
OK, so it wasn’t just any old astrophysicist; it was Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’ on Fox. And his presentation, “Science as a Way of Knowing,” was less about scientific theory and more about scientific literacy – knowing how to ask questions and encourage curiosity. And this was his second night of back-to-back sold out shows. But the fact remains that it was a really nerdy way to spend an evening.
At any rate, the crowd of 2,400 sat in rapt attention as he discussed subjects like who a country chooses to depict on its currency is a reflection of its values, explained the difference between a hypothesis and a theory, and recited Carl Sagan’s famous speech “The Pale Blue Dot.” He opened the floor to questions from the audience.
One such question was about who his role models were when growing up. It’s a fairly pedestrian question, to be sure, but his answer was really intriguing.

He doesn’t believe in role models; he thinks they’re overrated.

Here’s a guy with millions of Twitter followers and a prime time show on a major network – a guy whom many consider their role model – disparaging the role model concept.
He explained that, as a person of color growing up in the Bronx, the streets weren’t exactly packed with astrophysicists to idolize. Instead, he built a role model á la carte. Characteristics from individuals he respected – the selflessness of his parents, the physicality of favorite athletes, or the passion of people he met at the planetarium – were assembled into the Voltron of role models.
In a recent video for Business Insider, he delved a little more into this subject. “What is a role model? It’s someone who kind of looks like you, and grew up the same way you did, and then made a profession of where you want to land. If you need a role model to become what you want to be, that precludes you from doing something that no one has done before. For that reason alone, I think role models are overrated.”
And, in a weird way, it made sense.
See, there are two upsides to this approach:

1. When you refuse to follow in someone’s footsteps, you are better equipped to blaze your own paths.
2. There’s less shock and disappointment when an athlete or actor or politician reveals their inherent flaws.

When I was little, I wanted to be a Tyrannosaurus rex. After realizing that there were some significant species and time barriers to overcome, I wanted to be Indiana Jones and the president and the Stinky Cheese Man and drive an ice cream truck and a mom. I was a little all over the place. But now I realize I was, in a less sophisticated way, doing the same thing. I wanted to work with history like Indiana Jones, to command the respect that the President had, the Stinky Cheese Man’s ability to make people laugh, to make a living doing what I love (eating ice cream; I was a fat kid), and the patience and love of my parents. So far, I haven’t been disappointed (except for the being a Tyrannosaurus rex thing).
But what are your thoughts? Do you prefer the 1-for-1 or a la carte approach to role models?
photo credit: © yuryimaging / Dollar Photo Club

Do you have a role model – someone who has influenced your career or life? Pfft. Sucker. (I kid. I kid.) Our Jill of All Trades would like to hear your thoughts on the concept of role models.
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