Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children. Evolution denial unique to US

[madfloridian]

More from the video transcript:

Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children

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.”

..."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.

[defacto7]

1. Yes, Bill!

That's the fact. There couldn't be a much more long reaching problem for American education than the basic tenets of science being under siege by stupidity. The minds of our children are being attacked by myth and dogma for the sake of keeping them stupid, pliable and controllable.

Hey, people of the stupid.... Let our children go!

[madfloridian]

2. Excellent statement.

Myth and dogma rather than science. That is the truth.

[Sky Masterson]

3. Thank you!

!

[damnedifIknow]

4. Seriously spot on.

Preach creationism to me all day but when you're through I'll tell you the truth. Evolution is a no brainer.

[drynberg]

5. IT IS A SAD DAY THAT THIS NEEDS TO BE SAID; HOWEVER

That said, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) has said it very well. Will it change one RWer? I wish...

[madfloridian]

6. Exactly, we shouldn't even have to say it at all.

I was raised Southern Baptist, they were indoctrinating in this for years. Recovering Baptist now since they called Iraq a holy war.

[progressoid]

7. Big Think is a great series of videos.

[madfloridian]

11. Thanks, it seems to be.

I had really just noticed it, bookmarking.

[redqueen]

8. I <3 Bill Nye.

K&R

[SkyDaddy7]

9. Me too!!!

[hue]

10. K&R!