The Bill Nye Vs Ken Ham Evolution And Creation Debate: Where The Science Guy Went Wrong

So many people in the scientific community, especially those who are in the public eye as ambassadors, have given up on debating creationists. They claim it’s a fruitless endeavor, with no way to win, because creationists have a fundamental misunderstanding of what is a scientific fact. I know that I spent some small amount of time in these debates as an early 20-something know-it-all. It’s indeed frustrating to talk with these people. Some of them are insane, and some are brainwashed, while others are just ignorant.

Ken Ham is the curator of the Creationist Museum in Petersburg, KY. His work with Answers In Genesis has actual people, with actual brains, actually believing the bullshit being spit out about dinosaurs and man living together. The whole host of “facts” they believe is astounding in their audacious wrongness. So, who better to “debate” -- a term that has to be used loosely here -- such a man than The Science Guy himself, Bill Nye? As the video below showcases, things didn’t go so well for our beloved science guru.

Here are the facts: Bill Nye is right, or at least has proper evidence on his side. Ken Ham was wrong, or at least very wrong. But Ham is an accomplished debater, and is versed in the charming ways of hucksters. Bill Nye is not a political powerhouse with the ability to sway minds. And that’s the truth of the matter when it comes to a debate. You can be right all day long, and have the better position, but if you don’t present yourself as the authority in the room you’ll lose. Ask Nixon about this after the Kennedy debate. And now, ask Bill Nye about this phenomenon.

On paper it looked so easy. Now, there’s yet another debate on public record that strengthens the creationists stance. I don’t like it. Richard Dawkins has long advised against such theatrics. Creationism is not science, it should not be taught to anyone. The best way to defeat this movement is to stop engaging. Let the thousands of school districts in the south teach the propaganda, eventually the very nature of wrongness will reveal itself and creationism will die out in our school systems. Bill Nye has made the fatal error of believing his rightness should be the determining factor in a debate, when it’s all about being a political salesman.