I Didn't Fall in Love with Neil deGrasse Tyson...
But It Was Close.
How an Interview About Aliens, and a Walk Through Havana Quietly Became a Meditation on God, Humility, and What It Means to Be Human
07.23.2026 | Article and Photography by Yasmina Cadiz
Note on the imagery: The photos featured in this piece were captured during a rare period when U.S. travel policy opened up to allow citizens to visit Cuba under creative exemptions for art, film, and photography.
A recent Diary of a CEO video title baited with a hook of whistleblowers, extraterrestrials, and one of humanity's biggest unanswered questions. I don't usually watch that style of YouTube programming, but it was Neil deGrasse Tyson... and the stars aligned. (If you've read my articles before, hopefully that last bit made you smile.)
What I didn't expect was to spend nearly two hours thinking about God.
Not the God people fight over or one confined to a building, a book, or a belief system. It was something older—closer to pure wonder.
By the end of the interview, I was left with something that can only be described as puro amor. It was such a beautiful surprise: discovering someone who sees the universe very differently than I do, yet somehow feels deeply familiar. That was the real gift of this conversation.
Throughout the interview, Neil kept returning to one idea. Not aliens. Not black holes. Not simulation theory.
Humility.
"We don't know."
"That's interesting."
"Show me."
"Let's test it."
"I could be wrong."
Those aren't signs of weak conviction; they're signs of intellectual courage.
Listening to Neil, I realized something that surprised me: scientists and saints often begin from very different assumptions, yet at their best, both remain students of reality. One follows evidence. The other follows faith. Both, ideally, require enough humility to admit there is always more to discover.
That posture reminded me of one of Jesus' simplest invitations:
"Seek and you shall find."
Different conclusions. Different worldviews. A surprisingly similar posture—an openness to continue searching rather than pretending we've already arrived.
The Most Christ-Like Thing Neil deGrasse Tyson Said Had Nothing to Do with Religion
Toward the end of the conversation, Neil quoted something that held me still for a moment:
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."
I sat there thinking... there it is.
Not because the sentence proves anything about religion—it doesn't. And not because Neil is trying to preach—he isn't. It touched me because it echoes virtues that so many traditions have held sacred for centuries: compassion, humility, service, truthfulness, love of neighbor, staying curious, and living for something larger than yourself.
Many Christians see those traits as the image of God in humanity. Others see them simply as humanity at its best.
Different explanations. Remarkably similar aspirations.
Neil isn't presenting a Christian worldview. He would almost certainly describe these virtues through the lens of science, evidence, and our shared humanity. And that's exactly why the moment felt so beautiful.
Sometimes truth arrives wearing clothes we weren't expecting.
Humility Is More Interesting Than Certainty
One thing I admired more as the interview continued was Neil's comfort with mystery. There's a profound difference between saying, "I don't know," and saying, "Nothing exists." He almost always chose the first.
That's not weakness. It's humility.
Good science doesn't pretend certainty where certainty doesn't exist. Healthy faith, at its best, doesn't either. Both recognize that reality is always larger than our current understanding of it.
Perhaps that's why humility feels so refreshing. It leaves room for wonder.
Simulation Theory... or Humanity?
One of Steven Bartlett's most fascinating lines of questioning revolved around simulation theory. The popular version asks: Are we living inside a computer simulation?
Maybe. Maybe not. It's a fascinating question.
But listening to the conversation, I found myself wondering something different: What if simulations didn't begin with computers? What if humans have been creating them for thousands of years?
Not simulations of atoms—simulations of human experience.
Countries exist because people collectively agree they exist.
Money works because billions of strangers believe it works.
Borders are invisible ideas that become visible through shared agreement.
Laws, markets, corporations, and institutions function the same way.
Even culture itself acts like inherited software—patterns, assumptions, customs, and stories passed from one generation to the next. None of these things are fake; they're real because people participate in them. They are shared models of reality that shape billions of lives.
Cuba Changed How I Think About Reality
My own trip to Cuba unexpectedly became part of this reflection. Walking through Havana felt like stepping into another era—not because time had stopped, but because history had taken a completely different turn there.
The classic American cars, the architecture, the rhythm of daily life—it was all a living reminder that societies evolve based on the stories and systems they collectively sustain. In a way, every culture operates on its own unique assumptions.
Every civilization runs on an operating system. Seeing Cuba through that lens made me realize how much of what we call "normal" depends on where—and when—we happen to be standing.
The Internet Is a Simulation of Human Connection
Before the internet, connection usually required presence. Today, we simulate many of those same experiences:
Friendship becomes followers.
Conversation becomes comments and messages.
Community becomes online groups.
Validation becomes notifications.
Attention becomes currency.
The internet isn't fake; it's an extraordinary tool. But like a map, it represents something deeper without replacing it. A video call isn't sitting across the table. Social media isn't friendship itself.
As artificial intelligence begins to create companions, teachers, assistants, and perhaps someday entire communities, the question is no longer whether humans can build alternate realities. We already have.
The better question is this: Will these creations deepen our humanity... or distract us from it?
My Mom's Alien Theory
Years ago, when artificial intelligence was just beginning to enter everyday conversation, my mom looked up and casually said:
"Humans are AI in a way. What if we're actually the aliens who created this technology and simply forgot we were aliens?"
I laughed. Still do. It's wonderfully funny. But like many jokes, it hides an interesting philosophical question.
Imagine two fish debating whether water exists while living entirely within it. Or imagine descendants of an ancient civilization who had completely forgotten where they came from. The point isn't that the idea is true—the point is that perspective changes everything.
Watching Neil and Steven discuss whether aliens might already be here on Earth, I couldn't help smiling as I imagined two aliens debating whether aliens exist.
Whether or not that's reality isn't really the point. The thought experiment invites us to loosen our assumptions.
Ironically, that's something Neil does throughout the entire interview. Whether discussing Earth no longer being the center of the universe, or humans not necessarily being the pinnacle of intelligence, he keeps inviting us to step outside ourselves.
Not to abandon reason—to widen perspective.
The Mirrors We Keep Looking Into
Neil made another observation that stood out to me: most movie aliens look remarkably human. Why? Because humans imagine themselves.
That immediately reminded me of the famous observation often attributed to Voltaire: "If God created us in His image, we have returned the favor."
Whether Voltaire said those exact words isn't really the point—the insight is. Human beings naturally project themselves onto whatever they don't yet understand: aliens, God, artificial intelligence, even the future.
Perhaps wisdom begins by recognizing how often we're looking into mirrors disguised as mysteries.
The Greatest Technology Is Still the Human Heart
For all the conversation about extraterrestrials, artificial intelligence, and simulation theory... the part that stayed with me most wasn't about technology. It was about humanity.
It was about living a life that leaves the world better than we found it:
A kindness passed forward.
A mind opened.
A person encouraged.
A little less suffering.
A little more compassion.
A little more curiosity.
A little more wonder.
Maybe that's the greatest "simulation" we're all participating in: this temporary experience called being human. And maybe the goal isn't to escape it; maybe the goal is to become better creators within it—not merely building better technology, but building better people.
I didn't fall in love with Neil deGrasse Tyson. But it was close.
Not because we agree on everything—we don't—but because we share something far more important: a core belief that reality is always so much larger than our current understanding of it.
Whether you call that science, faith, philosophy, or pure wonder... the invitation is the exact same:
Stay curious. Stay humble. Keep seeking, learning, and serving.
And before you leave this strange, beautiful universe... win some victory for humanity.
With gratitude to Neil deGrasse Tyson and Steven Bartlett for a conversation that inspired this reflection. Sometimes the most meaningful journeys begin with a question we weren't expecting to ask.
Watch the entire interview (not a short clip) on The Diary Of A CEO YouTube channel.
A tourist hands an elderly Cuban woman cash. She looks up and asks, “What do you want me to do with this?”
This is that exact moment.
“Walking miles beyond the main tourist zones, I found myself in everyday neighborhoods where families live in severely aging, fragile buildings—some using plastic tarps to keep the elements out. With no central air, sitting outside of their front door is the best escape from the sweltering heat.
Basic essentials—food, clean water, medicine, mattresses—are constantly in short supply. I met local cobblers working next to three-foot piles of recycled tire rubber, the only material available to patch the community's shoes. It’s common for locals to softly ask visiting tourists if they might leave their sneakers or shoes behind when they head home.
Yet, despite these profound daily hardships, there is incredible resilience. A piece of ripe fruit or a burst of music from a window brings light to tough days. Witnessing this reality, it’s impossible not to feel a deep empathy for the people who call this island home—working so hard to get by in a world shaped by forces far larger than themselves. The Cuban people, like so many around the world living through circumstances they didn't create, deserve warmth, support, and hope. 🙏 ”
