Bill Nye Science Guy to Debate GOP Rep Gohmert on Gravity

[unhappycamper]

http://www.juancole.com/2014/02/science-gohmert-gravity.html

Bill Nye Science Guy to Debate GOP Rep Gohmert on Gravity
By Juan Cole | Feb. 19, 2014
Satire

David Gregory’s Meet the Press today hosted a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on whether gravity is just a theory.

“Sure,” Gohmert said, “things fall down all the time. But that doesn’t mean gravity is a law. Look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It’s still there after hundreds of years. Things don’t always fall down.”

Nye pointed out that Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity in the 17th century and it is settled science.

Gohmert challenged Nye’s certainty. “The cultists who tout science always speak as though we know for sure that scientific discoveries are true. Gravity has only been theorized for a couple hundred years. It’s too early to tell. How much money do they want us to waste on suspension bridges and other expensive technology aimed at keeping things from falling down, on the basis of a theory?”

[Mass]

1. Excellent.

[Scuba]

2. Bill Nye should be ashamed of himself. After all, Gomer is unarmed and Nye is not.

[Thinkingabout]

3. It is all about being given an opportunity to sound stupid, unfortunately

he leads his followers in the wrong direction. I would hope he does not get re-elected. We need smart intelligent people in order to responsibly vote on bills and sponsor bills, Louie doesn't.

[tanyev]

4. Louie might want to wear a cooling cap during the debate.

[xocet]

9. That seems awful hi-tech for Rep. Gohmert. Wouldn't he be more comfortable with a propeller beanie?

n/t

[pepperbear]

5. please tell me someone saw the word "satire" at the top of the piece.

[demwing]

6. It's easy to tell this is satire - Gohmert is speaking in complete sentences

Last edited Wed Feb 19, 2014, 01:25 PM - Edit history (1)

using words like "tout" and "theorized."

Definitely not the fucknut we've all come to know and love

[xocet]

10. Quit casting aspersions on his asparagus! n/t

[iandhr]

7. The line between satire and reality is often blurred.

[didact]

11. Consider...

All physics textbook should include this warning label:

This textbook contains material on Gravity. Universal Gravity is a theory, not a fact, regarding the natural law of attraction. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.

The Universal Theory of Gravity is often taught in schools as a fact, when in fact it is not even a good theory.

First of all, no one has measured gravity for every atom and every star. It is simply a religious belief that it is "universal".

Secondly, school textbooks routinely make false statements. For example, "the moon goes around the earth." If the theory of gravity were true, it would show that the sun's gravitational force on the moon is much stronger than the earth's gravitational force on the moon, so the moon would go around the sun. Anybody can look up at night and see the obvious gaps in gravity theory.

The existence of tides is often taken as a proof of gravity, but this is logically flawed. Because if the moon's "gravity" were responsible for a bulge underneath it, then how can anyone explain a high tide on the opposite side of the earth at the same time? Anyone can observe that there are two — not one — high tides every day. It is far more likely that tides were given us by an Intelligent Creator long ago and they have been with us ever since. In any case, the fact that there are two high tides falsifies gravity.

http://ncse.com/rncse/27/5-6/gravity-its-only-theory

[BadgerKid]

13. Her stance makes me weep.

Without the predictability of gravity, there would be no man-made satellites, which have been of enormous technological and societal benefit.

Too little (inaccurate) knowledge is a dangerous thing.

[TxDemChem]

12. Hilarious!

I see a lot more Nye vs. idiot poe and satire in the near future.

[sakabatou]

14. Satire is too close to reality

[ffr]

15. Theory: a conceptual framework that explains existing observations and predicts new ones

I don't think Rep. Louie Gohmert knows the definition of the word theory. He's using it in the form of the word he should be using, which is hypothesis. But there too, by definition, that would be wrong as well. Gravity is not a hypothesis. It is a theory. Therefore, it is a fact.