Neil Armstrong inspired millions when he took those first steps on the moon. But the man others saw as a heroic explorer saw himself as a big nerd who loved math and science.
"I am and ever will be a white-socks, pocket-protector nerdy engineer. Born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in the steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace and propelled by compressible flow," he says in the new PhD Comics YouTube video above, which features audio from a speech he delivered at the National Press Club on February 22, 2000.
In the speech, Armstrong highlights how engineering improved our living standards and exposed injustices. He say he hopes technology will continue to make our society better in the 21st Century: "Science is about what is, and engineering is about what can be."
Related
Before You Go
