Bill Nye Explains the Scientific Method and His Greatest Accomplishment in Life | Big Think

Bill Nye Explains the Scientific Method and His Greatest Accomplishment in Life

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Bill Nye has many feathers in his cap — he's the CEO of The Planetary Society, has a brand-new Netflix show, flew on Air Force One with President Obama, has at least six honorary doctorate degrees and two books to his name — but there's thing one he's most proud of, and he shares it with Tracey, a 19-year-old student just beginning her science studies at college. As she steps into a lifelong pursuit of science, Nye advises her on the greatest contribution scientists can make to their community. Dropping awe-inspiring facts and publishing groundbreaking findings are exciting parts of being a scientist but the greatest contribution a scientist can make is to educate people — especially kids from a young age — about the scientific method. Carl Sagan, Bill Nye's mentor, can explain this in better words than anyone: "Science is more than a body of knowledge, it’s a way of thinking, a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we’re up for grabs for the next charlatan — political or religious — who comes ambling along. The people have to be educated, and they have to practice their skepticism and their education otherwise we don’t run the government, the government runs us."

Bill Nye's most recent book is Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World.
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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:

Tracey: Dear Bill Nye. My name is Tracey, and as of today it is my 19th birthday, and I’m pursuing my education in the sciences thanks to the influence of worldly educators such as yourself. My question to you is: what do you think is the most beneficial thing a scientist can do for the community, and what do you consider your greatest accomplishment as a scientist and an educator? All the best, and thank you for your contributions to the generations ahead of you.

Bill Nye: Tracey. I’m delighted that you are pursuing a career in science. We need as many scientifically literate people as we can in our society so that when it’s time to vote and make decisions about our future we do it in an informed way with science as the background. So thank you. This is fabulous.

As far as my contribution, that’s a very nice ques...

[whatthefunction]

when I was young Bill taught me *"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof!!!"*

[drewevans]

Dear Bill
Nye,

I'm 11 years old and in my class room we just watched a video about u today!! It was about the food web and u taught me a lot that I didn't know!! Ur amazing and I'm glad u keep up all the hard work

[raymondsangl]

Hi Bill, I was wondering after your aerogel episode, could you use aerogel as an insulating container? and how well would it work?

[PrincessLollyLolita]

Thanks, Bill! Amidst all the wonderfully complex inquiries we tackle each day, everything easily becomes a bog of frustration unless we recall the systematic approach that has been honed into its current form for centuries — and then, we can learn anything!

[del--xuxk]

Bill, how you can expect to vote in an informed way when the media is misinforming you at ever opportunity?

[astrodude]

All politics aside, Bill Nye was a gentleman and an inspiration to my employees and students at the university I worked at. He couldn't have been more professional and charming. Thank you for inspiring future scientists, Bill.

[trendfate]

Thank you Bill Nye! I was one of those kids that took another look at science based on your influence.

[JoaDrath]

Hey Bill Nye, is mayonnaise a gender?

[kinpatu]

I was really trying to hold onto respect for Bill Nye, but that new show is just unforgivable.

[claraborisov]

Bill Nye, please 🙏 could you show the world a way of implementing this to our daily lives so we know how to properly source information and determine which is the most likely hypothesis? So many people don't know how to do this and end up believing fast media or end up falling for MLM's. The staggering amount of people who fell for MLM's last year and even now is depressing 😒.

[TaylorjAdams]

Pretty sure most people already understand that part about science. It's the changing of views based on further provided evidence that really needs to be gotten across (along with how for the most part established ideas aren't so much "proven wrong" as they are adapted or built upon to be more accurate).

[Aviation]

How on earth am I just finding out about this channel? Bill I've been watching your videos in school since at least 4th grade!

[jerichomorales]

is the universe a fractal? and does a fractal have infinite density? and wouldn't that mean that it's a black hole and wouldn't that mean that the universe is a black hole and if the universe is a fractal and there are black holes in the universe, what if our iris was like nebula and pupil the black hole, judging from that the inside of a black hole would he the inside of an eye?
Idk man

[chshrmd]

I have questions about the works of the Higgs boson in the genesis of the universe .The first question when did the particles appear massless? .second question When did particles get a mass of Higgs boson? How did the Higgs boson emerge after the creation of the universe? The third question How did the Higgs boson emerge after the creation of the universe? the fourth question What is the fate of the Higgs boson ؟ The fifth question What are the names of those particles that got their mass? Please send these five questions to cosmologists. We ask you to make a science fiction video about the birth of the universe From the great explosion that created the universe Hopefully this is a great film about the emergence of the Higgs boson We hope that the film will be translated into Arabic
.

[kenc]

nice, short and to the point, Kudos to Bill Nye for being a great promoter of science and the scientific method

[DarthMorius]

Do you ever notice how these kids think they have a genius question for their idol that has never been asked before, and it typically amounts to "what is the best thing you ever did, and what is the best thing we can do best to be better?". This person is a glimpse of the "future of science" and she asks questions on the same level as a kindergarten classes' show and tell. FML

[ciscoz]

The chick in the beginning look like the succubus from VHS

[belligerentbull]

After the Netflix episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy talking about gender and sex, I genuinely have a hard time believing Bill Nye actually understands the scientific method.

[thekinga]

Tested theory doesnt mean its right, it its how we see things, not how things thay are. Its like the argument between einstein and newton about the gravity, both of them which, may in the future, wrong.

[IlicSorrentino]

How did so many people put a dislike to something like this video? That's a question?