Bill Nye Thinks Science Will Survive the Trump Administration

Bill Nye is perhaps best known for the zany persona he cultivated for years as a science educator — always filled with cheer for the subject matter at hand. But that fun zaniness disappears in the new documentary Bill Nye: Science Guy in a moment bound to send a chill up the spine of anyone who believes that American students should learn basic science. In the film, Nye confronts famed creationist Ken Ham as he undercuts evolution in a conversation with an elementary school-age child at Kentucky’s Creation Museum. “Young woman, I would say to you that there’s a process that humans have developed over millennia by which we know nature and we call that science,” Nye says. But the girl tells Nye she doesn’t buy it. “I believe with Mr. Ham,” she says. Nye told TIME ahead of the documentary’s release that he’s optimistic about the future of science in America as younger generations replace their predecessors in places of power. But still, the incident — like many scenes in the film — is a wakeup call for viewers. “My biggest concern is that this idea that one’s own opinion is given the same weight as what’s scientifically understood,” Nye tells TIME. “We want to be able to get people to evaluate evidence and think critically about events and phenomena they see in nature.” Nye has spent the last two-and-a-half decades trying to do that as a science educator, first as the hos...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change onetime Science Source Type: news