Bill Nye Protecting Science Education

I was so very impressed with Bill Nye on Tuesday night. I was skeptical that this debate could elevate a lay person's understanding of science, and the concern for science education.  This seems particularly acute because of HB 207 currently under consideration by the Virginia House of Delegates Education Committee.  It's a bill introduced nationwide and supported by the Discovery Institute to introduce Creationism in science classroooms.

     Nye: "I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your world, that's completely inconsistent with the world we observe, 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 engineers that can build stuff and solve problems."

But this debate was a real debate, and moderated very well.  Both Bill Nye and Ken Ham had excellent slides, and both were polite even when challenging.  This was one of the best and most well-managed debates I've ever watched. Political debate moderators should learn something.

The debate did not take place in a school, it took place in the Creation Museum (a church). Second, the focus on this debate was whether Ken Ham's Creationism is a viable explanation of the history of life, and not a debate on the validity of evolution, biochemistry, astronomy, physics, and geology.

And finally, where Ken Ham's message and strategies limited his appeal to only new-Earth Creationist's who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible as translated into American English, Bill Nye's explanations of all its contradictions were so wonderfully tangible to any listener.

If you watch only one segment, skip the opening remarks and Ken Ham's platform, and watch Bill Nye's presentation.  The link below shout take you to it directly.  You can rewind or skip forward from there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI&feature=share&t=58m