Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children

Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology. According to Bill Nye, aka "the science guy," if grownups want to "deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine, but don't make your kids do it because we need them."

-- Transcript:
Denial of evolution is unique to the United States. I mean, we're the world's most advanced technological—I mean, you could say Japan—but generally, the United States is where most of the innovations still happens. People still move to the United States. And that's largely because of the intellectual capital we have, the general understanding of science. When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in that, it holds everybody back, really.

Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology. It's like, it's very much analogous to trying to do geology without believing in tectonic plates. You're just not going to get the right answer. Your whole world is just going to be a mystery instead of an exciting place.

As my old professor, Carl Sagan, said, "When you're in love you want to tell the world." So, once in a while I get people that really—or that claim—they don't believe in evolution. And my response generally is "Well, why not? Really, why not?" Your world just becomes fantastically complicated when you don't believe in evolution. I mean, here are these ancient dinosaur bones or fossils, here is radioactivity, here are distant stars that are just like our star but they're at a different point in their lifecycle. The idea of deep time, of this billions of years, explains so much of the world around us. If you try to ignore that, your world view just becomes crazy, just untenable, itself inconsistent.

And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine, but don't make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can—we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.

It's just really hard a thing, it's really a hard thing. You know, in another couple of centuries that world view, I'm sure, will be, it just won't exist. There's no evidence for it.

Directed / Produced by
Jonathan Fowler and Elizabeth Rodd

• Category

  Science & Technology

[633495]

Sadly for you, my math stands up on a single, specific step - the formation of a protein - that must occur for abiogenesis.

You can try to expand the discussion, but I won't follow you.

I've categorically won on the point I've made.

[rogerden roger]

All the calculations? All the suppositions and assumptions? Every little step in the process? Ah there is the stumbling block isn't it. You are trying to pretend that the claim is that it all happened at once, rather than a step by step development.

Oh and by the way you have been told that evolution is not about the origin of life haven't you?

[633495]

The math is in my recent posts.

[rogerden roger]

So you are trying to say it all happened at once? This the 747 in the scrapyard argument? Somehow I think you are on a loser here.

[rogerden roger]

Please show the maths and the papers to back it up.

[633495]

Orders of magnitude, as in 10^2 versus 10^3..orders of 10.

[DarwinsFriend]

Odd thing about Nature - it often tells man and his math to just fuck off.

You are screaming your theory against a stiff breeze while standing on the shoreline, damning the ocean for making the windy weather!

[werriboy55]

Again the phrase "order of magnitude" What exactly does that mean when discussing organic proteins and amino acids?

[werriboy55]

So you are saying there is only 1 possible molecular chain that is life and it must occur all at once. Or are you calculations flawed?