How Bill Nye Became 'The Science Guy' | Big Think

How Bill Nye Became "The Science Guy"
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Modern "theories" suggesting the Earth is flat are ignorant of basic experiential data, historical scientific findings, and how technologies like smartphone functions, says Bill Nye the Science Guy.
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BILL NYE:

Bill Nye, scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Making science entertaining and accessible is something Bill has been doing most of his life.

In Seattle Nye began to combine his love of science with his flair for comedy, when he won the Steve Martin look-alike contest and developed dual careers as an engineer by day and a stand-up comic by night. Nye then quit his day engineering day job and made the transition to a night job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle’s home-grown ensemble comedy show “Almost Live.” This is where “Bill Nye the Science Guy®” was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central, originating at KING-TV, Seattle’s NBC affiliate.

While working on the Science Guy show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five children’s books about science, including his latest title, “Bill Nye’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs.”

Nye is the host of three currently-running television series. “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” airs on the Science Channel. “The Eyes of Nye” airs on PBS stations across the country.

Bill’s latest project is hosting a show on Planet Green called “Stuff Happens.” It’s about environmentally responsible choices that consumers can make as they go about their day and their shopping. Also, you’ll see Nye in his good-natured rivalry with his neighbor Ed Begley. They compete to see who can save the most energy and produce the smallest carbon footprint. Nye has 4,000 watts of solar power and a solar-boosted hot water system. There’s also the low water use garden and underground watering system. It’s fun for him; he’s an engineer with an energy conservation hobby.

Nye is currently the Executive Director of The Planetary Society, the world’s largest space interest organization. 
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TRANSCRIPT:

Matt Harden: Hey Bill, can you prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the earth is a sphere and not flat? I have a lot of Facebook friends who say that it's an act. Thank you.

Bill Nye: Is the earth flat or round? It's round. Now, let's see, how do we go about proving that? Go to the seashore. Go to the seashore and figure out why you can't, if you live on the East Coast figure out why you can't see Spain from the East Coast or North America? It looks like you might have a St. Louis hat on. I'm not sure. Just go to the middle of the Mississippi River and look south. Why can't you see Louisiana? Why can't you see New Orleans? What's the problem there? Then climb a tower or go to the top of a hill or a mountain and you'll see a little farther, but you will not see to the other side of the earth, places we know to exist. For example, I've been to London. I can tell you other people have. I've been to Vancouver British Columbia and you cannot see Vancouver British Columbia from Boise Idaho, let alone from New York City Or Toronto or what have you. Just start there then if you'd like look at pictures from space where you see the earth as a sphere. Those pictures are not faked. And I'll tell you if nothing else here is why you can tell they're not faked. Just to create the paperwork that NASA has created, NASA in this one case, just the paperwork to send anything out in space, to send people into orbit or to send them to the moon, that amount of paperwork would make faking it prohibitively expensive. No one could afford to generate that much documentation.

Then the other thing if you want to get into this, if your friends are really serious, have them get on a boat or a ship and go out at sea and you'll noticed you can't see infinitely far. Furthermore, if you get into it enough pick up a book about navigation or go online and learn about navigation. A very, very Important thing you have to take into account when you try to navigate the ocean from a ship or a boat is how high you are off the sea surface. The higher you are off the sea surface the farther you can see, ...

[laurak]

I remember having my mom wake me at 5am everyday to watch Mr. Wizard. Then a few years later I discovered Bill Nye, the Science Guy. By far my two favorite shows from childhood. I had a VERY traumatic childhood and these shows were my escape for short periods of my day. It's amazing to me that two men that I have never met were literally the saviors of my adolescence (and sanity). My heroes. They helped me to see and experience amazing things that were real and constant and true beyond the frailties and faults of mankind.

[kadoman]

Thank you Bill Nye, I was a poor kid in Louisiana, the school system is still horrible... I remember being so very excited when I came home from school.... to watch "Bill Nye The Science Guy!!!"... Bill!...Bill!...Bill!... I wanted to be a Scientist, like you... No one believed I could do it... not even me... but now, I am studying to became a Experimental Physicist... Thank you... I cannot wait for your new show. 😃

[ArtyFartyBart]

I thought he was bitten by a radioactive scientist

[Masterpieceman]

BILL BILL BILL BILL!! Bill Nye the Science Guy!

[RogerWazup]

Bill Nye is a great educator and promoter of science. He did amazing work as The Science Guy, helping to make science fun for countless children; and now he helps in the fight against an anti-science, anti-education mentality that many Americans have for religious and political reasons.

[GamersOnGames]

So, I doubt Bill Nye will ever see this, but when I was in middle school or high school, I greatly enjoyed watching Bill Nye, particularly over "Beakman's World" which was your competition.  And I think the best part about Bill Nye was the fact that it helped keep me interested in science when my teachers were so ambivalent, so unenthusiastic, that my love of science was dying.  You rekindled it.  My wife and I are expecting our first, and I told my wife recently that our kids will watch Bill Nye the science guy because it's a quality show, and I want to make sure my kids understand, and can at least appreciate science.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

-Dave Simpson
Gamers on Games

[blue_tetris]

To watch a Bill Nye video on Big Think, I will sit through another shitty "How American Businesses Re-Structure Web-Based Six Sigma Frameworks in a Social-Media-Driven Market Landscape to Compete Globally" video.  That's how great this guy is.

[deborahlpollitt]

Bill Nye the Science Guy was the first science program I've loved since I watched Mr Wizard do amazing experiments and explain science when I was a kid. You still bring out that amazed kid in me.
Thank goodness you're still bringing scientific facts to the discussions of so many of our current issues.

[coureurdebois]

"i was working for these guys.... *in deeper voice* they were all men" *raises eyebrows*

i knew it all along....




Illuminati confirmed.

[terrahyde]

Oh my gosh! He mentioned Mr. Wizard! I loved Mr. Wizard. I got to watch re-runs of it at school. Bill Nye + Mr. Wizard are the reasons that I continued to explore science and mathematics.

I have seen all of Bill Nye the Science Guy, now I need to go back and watch all of Mr. Wizard. We need one of these for the current generation.

[KalibreSteelblast]

Mr. Nye.

You carried the torch so well. You set the flame the illuminated the world past the natural ignorance inherent in young people, and sparked not just interest, but appreciable _love_ for science. I would think that Mr. Wizard would be proud of what you've done, and what you're continuing to do, and I hope that one of us carries the torch onwards, into the classrooms and the parts of the world that need it most.

[EMWUZX]

You know, it's cool.

It's cool that I can see science advocates like Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins, all with their grey hair and "philosophical" look, and I just know that these guys have existed forever. Most of the people like them have gone unrecorded in history, but some, a select few, have made enough of an impact to be recorded.

In the modern world everyone is recorded, so I get to see such spectacular figures, figures that may have otherwise been lost to the ages and figures that fuel my hunger for knowledge and my desire to put the puzzle together.

Thank you Bill Nye and all science advocates everywhere. Thank you. I'm happy to hear the voice of a genius.

[Biokrave]

No one at all:
Bill Nye: I use to work at Boeing

[mroriginal]

I forgot about Mr. Wizard. That man instilled a love of science in me from a very young age. Now I must go in search of Mr. Wizard vids.

[Stretch]

Bill, I watched you, along with Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert), and also Julius Sumner Miller. All, including yourself Bill, are all so infectious with the energy you exude on your show. It is very motivating and easy to get caught up in the love of Science after watching you three.

I'm looking forward to the LaightSail to launch in 2016. Hopefully, we can launch multiple units at the same time in different directions, as they all start to collect data and report back to Earth. The more the merrier, and the better chance for the success of the mission!

[thomasa]

I really like Bill Nye also, I grew up in Washington state and grew up watching Almost Live and loved watching him. I think he is a very smart person and does a great job communicating science. I may not totally agree with him politically I am a Libertarian but science is undeniable and he is very funny and very good at communicating science. He is a great guy. Good intentions. Thank you Bill Nye for everything

[andybiscuits]

Bill inspired so many people, including myself, to have a love for science. I now work on aircraft and gather as much scientific knowledge as i can. Thank you Bill

[benjaminbrigman]

being 14 and knowing who you are, im gonna keep your show going with my kids. when im older of course.

[CyanideShock]

Bill Nye, the first man i have watched on youtube who explained how far moving from one state to the other was for non Northern American viewers!

[diogenesofseattle]

On that note: how long until Hollywood green lights the long awaited superhero franchise: SpeedWalker?