Bill Nye the science guy.

Page 3 of 6 [ 96 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

utterly absurd
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Feb 2024
Age: 19
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 1,646
Location: Wisconsin

11 Jun 2024, 7:19 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:

This is a funny excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Bill Nye:

"On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on May 12, 2019, he (Bill Nye) discussed climate change and the proposed Green New Deal, and said:

Here, I've got an experiment for you—safety glasses on. By the end of this century, if emissions keep rising, the average temperature on Earth could go up another 4 to 8 degrees. What I'm saying is the planet's on f*****g fire. There are a lot of things we could do to put it out. Are any of them free? No, of course not—nothing's free, you idiots. Grow the f**k up. You're not children anymore. I didn't mind explaining photosynthesis to you when you were 12, but you're adults now and this is an actual crisis. Got it? Safety glasses off, motherf***ers."

"What I'm saying is the planet's on f*****g fire".

He sounds like more of a demagogue than a scientist with this quote. :lol:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nye#

Sounds to me like he's giving the topic the seriousness it warrants.

_________________
Diagnosed ASD/ADHD age 5. Finally understood that age 17.
Have very strong opinions so sorry if I offend anyone--I still respect your opinion.
Neutral pronouns preferred but anything is fine.
Feel free to PM me--I like to talk about most things other than sports.

blitzkrieg
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 8 Jun 2011
Age: 114
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 17,820
Location: The line in the sand

11 Jun 2024, 7:22 pm

TwilightPrincess wrote:

^ Have you actually read or listened to Nye address climate change or are you just going off of what you read on Wikipedia? People are free to discuss climate change or any other topic that’s not in their field of expertise. We are also free to evaluate the claims and perform our own research on the topic. You don’t need to be a scientist to have an informed opinion on a given topic.

I've listened to bits of him on YouTube tonight and historically. His bow-tie is, in my opinion, his most notable feature.

I just don't respect under-qualified people who gain undeserved adulation for science 'communication' that they make money from.

I agree that a person can have an informed opinion on a given topic without being a scientist, but it would be a lesser opinion from a layperson than it would be from someone qualified in a particular scientific field, who has the relevant expertise to have a genuinely informed opinion. And by genuine I mean having an advanced understanding, versus the usual basic or mediocre understanding of a layperson.

blitzkrieg
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 8 Jun 2011
Age: 114
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 17,820
Location: The line in the sand

11 Jun 2024, 7:23 pm

Also, having expertise in one scientific domain doesn't mean that a person is knowledgeable about all aspects of science.

I think sometimes people just use the word 'scientist' as an umbrella term without really considering what it means.

TwilightPrincess
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 28 Sep 2016
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 29,212
Location: Hell

11 Jun 2024, 7:25 pm

Bill Nye is not under-qualified for what he does. You don’t need to be a leading scientist to get people excited about science or to educate them on the topic.

_________________
"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.” — Elton John

utterly absurd
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Feb 2024
Age: 19
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 1,646
Location: Wisconsin

11 Jun 2024, 7:28 pm

People who write about history didn't personally experience the events they write about, but they do a lot of research and therefore are qualified.
People who write about science may not be actual scientists, but they do a lot of research on the topics they write about and therefore are qualified.

IsabellaLinton
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 1 Nov 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 72,422
Location: Chez Quis

11 Jun 2024, 7:29 pm

Pick a topic blitz: electricity, magnetics, energy, the human body.

You name it; he's likely done it.

Watch a full episode and imagine being a kid pre-internet.

https://www.billnye.com/the-science-guy

I picked this one about eyeballs.

It's the same stuff I learned in undergraduate Psychology, but taught to schoolchildren.

https://youtu.be/cFVbLnXWn6A?si=fZuRuke_4B7YgzAW

_________________
I never give you my number, I only give you my situation.
Beatles

Last edited by IsabellaLinton on 11 Jun 2024, 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

funeralxempire
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Age: 40
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 29,520
Location: Right over your left shoulder

11 Jun 2024, 7:30 pm

How much of an expert does one personally need to be in order to direct others to pay attention to what experts have to say? :scratch:

_________________
I was ashamed of myself when I realised life was a costume party and I attended with my real face
"Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you're doing it. Right now." —Former U.S. Airman (Air Force) Aaron Bushnell

TwilightPrincess
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 28 Sep 2016
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 29,212
Location: Hell

11 Jun 2024, 7:40 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:

I agree that a person can have an informed opinion on a given topic without being a scientist, but it would be a lesser opinion from a layperson than it would be from someone qualified in a particular scientific field, who has the relevant expertise to have a genuinely informed opinion. And by genuine I mean having an advanced understanding, versus the usual basic or mediocre understanding of a layperson.

What’s relevant here isn’t having a degree (or degrees) but the time and energy one has devoted to research and being able to teach in an entertaining and, yet, informative way. Nye’s work is typically well-sourced. It’s not like he’s just spouting off whatever comes into his head when the mood strikes with no justification, not that even scientists are always perfect when it comes to that. They are human after all.

My point is that Nye is a great place to start if a person is new to science or a bit rusty. One can always do more research with the sources he provides or look elsewhere.

He’s inspired some kids to become scientists. For others, he opened the door to critical thinking even if their environment wasn’t otherwise conducive for it.

_________________
"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.” — Elton John

flat_affect
Raven
Raven

Joined: 25 Feb 2024
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 113
Location: Florida

11 Jun 2024, 9:09 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

He was so hot.

IsabellaLinton wrote:

I think that main actor guy is pretty hot though.

Who are you, Paris Hilton? :lol:

_________________
Aspie Quiz 164 of 200 | ASQ: 41 | RAADS-R: 179

IsabellaLinton
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 1 Nov 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 72,422
Location: Chez Quis

11 Jun 2024, 9:10 pm

What do you mean?
Sorry, I know who she is but can't make a connection.

_________________
I never give you my number, I only give you my situation.
Beatles

Fnord
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 May 2008
Age: 67
Gender: Male
Posts: 60,902
Location: Stendec

11 Jun 2024, 9:13 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:

I have read some of his Wikipedia article and apparently his highest academic achievement (excluding his honorary doctorates) is a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering gained in... 1977.

His pinnacle scientific achievement is inventing a "hydraulic resonance suppressor tube used on Boeing 747 airplanes".

He is a failed astronaut having applied to NASA four different times and having been rejected with those applications.

His published works consist not of peer-reviewed scientific papers in respectable scientific journals, but 'books' - books that make money.

He is a climate change alarmist despite seemingly having no academic background in geological or climate science.

His profile makes him look like someone who profits monetarily from being a media personality whilst dumbing his 'scientific' subject matter down to the point where probably a lot of the original science is lost.

Those cannot refute the messages often resort to criticizing the messengers, because . . .

Sir Magnus Alfred Pyke, OBE, FRSE, FRIC (1908 – 1992)

_________________

The previous signature line has been cancelled.

flat_affect
Raven
Raven

Joined: 25 Feb 2024
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 113
Location: Florida

11 Jun 2024, 10:12 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

What do you mean?
Sorry, I know who she is but can't make a connection.

_________________
Aspie Quiz 164 of 200 | ASQ: 41 | RAADS-R: 179

IsabellaLinton
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 1 Nov 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 72,422
Location: Chez Quis

11 Jun 2024, 10:13 pm

lmooooo ok thanks!
I didn't know about that.

I hadn't paid much heed to her since she went to prison.
Whenever that was?

_________________
I never give you my number, I only give you my situation.
Beatles

flat_affect
Raven
Raven

Joined: 25 Feb 2024
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 113
Location: Florida

11 Jun 2024, 10:24 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

lmooooo ok thanks!
I didn't know about that.

I hadn't paid much heed to her since she went to prison.
Whenever that was?

I haven't paid much attention to her, either. I just remembered that show with her and Nicole Ritchie from ~20 years ago. "That's hot" was one of their catchphrases .

_________________
Aspie Quiz 164 of 200 | ASQ: 41 | RAADS-R: 179

IsabellaLinton
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 1 Nov 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 72,422
Location: Chez Quis

11 Jun 2024, 10:26 pm

Maybe I have a fever?

_________________
I never give you my number, I only give you my situation.
Beatles

flat_affect
Raven
Raven

Joined: 25 Feb 2024
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 113
Location: Florida

11 Jun 2024, 10:34 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:

Maybe I have a fever?

That's hot :wink: