8 ms·
This is ridiculous. They're claiming that merely associating himself with the government is a tacit support of Trump's attack on science. Bill is there to promo
by volgo 9y ago
This is ridiculous. They're claiming that merely associating himself with the government is a tacit support of Trump's attack on science. Bill is there to promote NASA's space exploration initiative.
If you withdraw from participating in the government for the mere reason that it's connected to Trump in general, you're not gonna push any of your agendas forward.
- pducks32 9y agoWhile I’d agree with you I’d submit that a lot of the science community has odd feelings about Bill Nye so I can see how that can exacerbate people into writing things like this. Maybe they wouldn’t normally believe that and would agree with you but this circumstance changed that. Idk
- toomuchtodo 9y agoI don’t care for Bill Nye or Neil deGrasse Tyson personally, but science needs every advocate in these dark times.
- craig1f 9y agoA bad advocate undoes the work of a good advocate. Bill Nye doesn't really use scientific methods. His last show was a mess, because he made assertions he didn't back up. Bill Nye has done good work on the past, but he is undoing the work he has done lately.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoPerfect is the enemy of good enough. We have congressional reps who proclaim there is no global warming because it still snows (while holding up a snowball on the floor of Congress). Again, every advocate is needed, even if they make mistakes (as we all do).
- basch 9y agothe world needs more Beakman
- oh_sigh 9y agoIf you get children pumped up about science and the natural world, does it matter if you don't use scientific methods?
- 1337biz 9y agoI agree with you on questioning Bill Nye's credential to become such a prominent science figure. But the article is just a ridiculous hit job trying to poison the scientific community.
- JustSomeNobody 9y agoWhat odd feelings are those? After all, they've given him a handful of honorary science doctorates.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- wnevets 9y agoYeah I was really hoping for more, this is kind of a joke. For example at one point Nye was very anti-GMOs despite the science and ignoring the science is worthy of such a headline.
- dogma1138 9y agoHe wasn’t anti GMO he was saying that transgenics needs more study which might be correct. We can’t feed the world without GMOs but splicing genes from cuttlefish into tomatoes to make them produce a specific protein might have some consequences down the line we aren’t aware of yet.
- wnevets 9y agohe specifically mentions GMOs https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2016/10/why_bill_nye_changed_his_mind_on_gmos_109763.html https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2016/10/why_bill_nye_c...
- dogma1138 9y agoNot exactly the anti-GMO crowd pretty much muddled the distinction between Transgenics and GMOs. On more “scientific” forums including popular science like Star Talk Nye always explained that it was Transgenics that he had concerns about and using GMOs when talking to a crowd which already decided that GMOs only applies to cucumbers which were spliced with chicken DNA was pretty much the only way to go.
- wnevets 9y agoOnce again even on star talk bill specifically mentions GMOs https://youtu.be/6tn6ohImsZ0?t=2m45s https://youtu.be/6tn6ohImsZ0?t=2m45s
- MisterBastahrd 9y agoAt the SOTU? Nonsense. the SOTU is simply a way for a President to campaign for himself. Always has been, always will be. I give Congress and the Supreme Court a pass because of their traditional role in being there. Everyone there who is not a government employee is there out of fealty, not obligation.
- debt 9y agoThe problem is he's "the science guy" which by extension many laypeople associate with actual scientists. By attending the SOTU, to laypeople it makes it look like scientists agree with the president's positions on climate change. Unfortunately, I believe this demonization of Bill Nye is appropriate.
- JustSomeNobody 9y agoHow is this an appropriate attitude to have? Not attacking you, but are you saying that NO scientist or "science guys" can try and influence politics right now just because there is someone in the office who, very obviously, doesn't understand science? Edit: I believe if you want to change behavior, you model the behavior yourself. If you shut yourself out of the discussion, then so will others. You don't tell people how to fish, you show them how to fish. You don't tell people to learn science, you show them the science.
- debt 9y agoIt's more of a PR issue. It seems the large community of scientists, disagree strongly with Trump's positions on nearly everything. Bill Nye circumvents that community completely but yet still represents an entry point of science for many(most?) laypeople. I don't think laypeople are nuanced enough to know that a "science guy" isn't a "scientist". So it's setting back scientists a little bit from a PR perspective by having this hack be seen publicly associating with the Trump administration.
- JustSomeNobody 9y agoThen they need to step up and start influencing Trump. You can't wait until the next election. That fool might get re-elected.
- mcguire 9y agoYou can show people how to fish without appearing at a PR dog-and pony show with someone who is actively opposed to what you claim to want to do.
- 9y ago
- dkarl 9y agoHe isn't just doing business with the government, talking with policy-makers, or showing up to make sure his side is represented. He's attending a formal event as the official guest of a partisan politician. They aren't there to talk or work or negotiate. They're there to appear. And Bill Nye has offered his appearance, his own personal halo, to an enemy of science and an enemy of many decent values that scientists hold dear. If you want to consider this part of the long game of Bill Nye using his power in Washington, fine. What does this accomplish? It tells Republicans that they can buy anything from him if they offer him TV exposure. Don't you think if he cared a little bit less about his own celebrity he could have maybe done something good with it?
- FiatLuxDave 9y agoTo quote Spock, "There's an old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon could go to China."
- manicdee 9y agoYou can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Elon Musk already learned that lesson.
- bb88 9y agoThere are lots of issues other than climate science that need debate. And demonizing the other side for their beliefs doesn't help. It's one thing if you want to be critical of their ideas, but attack the ideas, stop attacking the people.
- dkarl 9y agoDemonization is when you generalize from some bad things a person does, such as trying to defund and suppress climate research, and attribute it to the person being an essentially bad person who naturally gravitates towards evil in everything. An example of demonization would be if I said Jim Bridenstine consistently works to suppress climate science, therefore he must like human suffering, hmmm, makes you wonder if he likes rape. That's demonization. Saying he's an enemy of climate science, and also that he has incorrectly cited science as proving that gay couples don't make good parents, and that I think these are horrible things, is not demonization. As for ad hominem, talking about Bridenstine's politics is not an irrelevant aspect of the debate, like if I said he was stupid or a bad soccer player. In fact, they're the only thing that matters. Bill Nye is attending as Jim Bridenstine's formal guest to a government event, a gesture of personal support of Bridenstine in his capacity as a government official, so what Bridenstine does in that capacity is important for interpreting the meaning of Bill Nye's attendance.
- btilly 9y agoNot so ridiculous. He has a purpose in wanting to be there. They have a purpose in wanting to have him there. Both purposes will get served. Generally not equally. You have to look at the combination, and decide whether you like what happens overall. Look, for example, at the example the offer gives where he debated a creationist. His purpose was to be able to present the science to people who normally reject it. Their purpose was to raise funds for a religious project. Both happened. But most third parties agree that his helping the Ark get built made a bigger difference than his getting a opportunity to present science to people who were unwilling to listen to him.
- ScottBurson 9y agoThat was my first reaction too, but I think the authors make a good case that by attending with Rep. Bridenstine, Nye tacitly displays support for a right-wing anti-science agenda. If he went as a guest of Nancy Pelosi, say, it would send a very different message.