Yesterday, we ran an item on Bill Nye the Science Guy, Ken Ham’s opponent in that 2014 debate about human evolution.
Nye, it seems, hasn’t aged well. Some are noticing, including science writer Alex Berezow:
It was clear that something was amiss a few years ago when, amid Nye’s renewed celebrity status, it came to light that he aired an episode of Eyes of Nye that perpetuated anti-GMO propaganda. Nye was subsequently criticized by the scientific and (especially) science writing communities. Not long thereafter, Nye had a change of heart.
Good! Better late than never. But was this “conversion” based on a new understanding of biotechnology or simply a calculated marketing move? Evidence points toward the latter. As late as 2015, Nye was still pushing anti-GMO nonsense. That year, he published a book called Undeniable, which promoted evolution over creationism. Alex Berezow, “Bill Nye Is A Terrible Spokesman For Science” at American Council on Science and Health
In the book,* which Berezow says was entirely lacking in references, Nye apparently made anti-GMO statements. And he has since found his way into the GMO camp — a move that Berezow thinks is not authentic. Berezow adds, “Ultimately, it seems that Bill Nye just panders to whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear. He thought (incorrectly) that they wanted to hear why GMOs were bad, so he altered his message when he got pushback. He won’t get pushback for exaggerating climate change, so it’s likely he’ll keep this up for a while.”
Remember this when people suggest relying on Nye for information about evolution, as opposed to information about what somnolent educrats are saying about evolution. Is this overall personal history relevant to a general decline in Darwinism?
- Note: Confused about the title Undeniable? Bill Nye wrote a book, published November 4, 2014 (St. Martin’s Press) called Undeniable:Evolution and the Science of Creation. We’re told at Amazon that “Bill Nye has set off on an energetic campaign to spread awareness of evolution and the powerful way it shapes our lives” and that the book was sparked by “a controversial debate in February, 2014.” That would be the debate with Ken Ham. In 2016, Doug Axe of the Biologic Institute used the same general title for his book Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed (Harper One, 2016) (Harper One)
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See also: What Bill Nye is doing now It’s not clear why people who behave this way expect their causes to be taken seriously. UD News’ take on Bill Nye is that he was a schoolroom celeb but didn’t really age into a science guru for adults
The amazing energy efficiency of cells (cf Alex Berezow’s story at ACSH)
Bill Nye’s Knowledge Of Science Could Benefit From A Visit To Wikipedia (Barry Arrington) (And yes, even Wikipedia!)
These Vids Certainly Show A Different Side To Bill Nye…
and
Goes Around, Comes Around: 500 Women Scientists Are Eating Bill Nye…