Ol’ Kenny baby is getting a chance to ‘debate’ Bill Nye the Science Guy. Flogging tickets for $25.
:rolleyes:
Via the Hamuseum’s website:
Hmmm…that’s about a two-hour drive for me. Tempting.
Of course they’ve become rare. I can’t imagine very many serious scientists wasting their time on such nonsense.
I don’t know how Ham stacks up as a public speaker, but my bet is on a “Gish Gallop” where he just blurts out a long, fast list of things he asserts contradict evolution – including items that have nothing to do with the actual debate.
(I remember, with amazement, hearing Gish denounce foolish scientists for believing in odorless, colorless gases. It quite took my breath away!)
(emphasis mine) Nye, with his measly earned BS in (Jebus help us!) Engineering and US Patent #7,254,904 for a (I can’t bear to say it) ballet toe shoe (shudder!), is toast. No, wait–he’s not an idiot. Perhaps there is hope after all! That is, if Ken doesn’t Gish Gallop all over him and declare victory without Bill getting a word in. What is the defense against that, other than not bothering to debate (the choice of the sensible)?
While it’s about a debate, I’m not seeing a debate here. Off to MPSIMS.
Kenny’s spinning on his facebook like the propeller on a beanie:
I wonder how many tickets will be available to the general public, and how many will be distributed to Ham’s supporters? The fact that this debate is being held at the Creation Museum instead of neutral ground is bad enough.
Not to rain on anybody’s parade, but calling people “creotard” doesn’t help our side.
It’s a trap! I’m afraid Nye is walking into a no-win.
The only reasonable way for this debate to go is for Nye to start his opening statement with “Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era? No.” and leave. The reason prominent creation/evolution debates have become so rare is because most intelligent evolutionary biologists just straight-up have better things to do then waste their time banging their heads against a brick wall. Ken Ham is not a reasonable person, and to assume that this is the case, or that there is anything to be gained in a debate which puts a scientific discipline backed by centuries of extreme evidence and scrutiny on the same stage as an unscientific hypothesis which makes zero sense, is extremely foolish of Nye. Dawkins nailed it when he explained it here. At this point in the “discussion”, you don’t “debate” with creationists. You laugh at them.
And then there’s the fact that this is Ken Ham we’re talking about. I’m sorry, for whose benefit is this supposed to be, exactly? Ham is a constant and habitual liar, and his website, Answers in Genesis, proves this. He, for all intents and purposes, does not believe in science, and considers the bible to be infallible. The debate is basically starting with one party saying “I will never give an inch because doing so would force me to reevaluate not just my beliefs, but essentially dismiss my entire worldview and my career”. That’s a pointless, harmful waste of everyone’s time. What the fuck was Nye thinking?
EDIT: Shit, this is being held at the creation museum? What the fuck was Nye thinking? The only rational answer here is “cancel”.
I know yahoo answers generally sucks, but answers to the question -
Are there ANY atheist willing to debate Dr. Ken Ham? (with the follow up of - So I take that as a no. Since all of you sounds like real morons with no critical thinking ability.)
gives us some great gems.
“Why would one wish to debate an idiot on his personal fantasy?”
“Debating creationists on the topic of evolution is rather like trying to play chess with a pigeon; it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory.”
“There is as much point in “debating” Ken Ham as there is in debating a border collie. Probably even less, because border collies are cute and playful. But they do understand about as much about evolution.”
As a Christian myself, and fairly devout, I can’t help wondering why Bill Nye would debate an IDIOT like Ken Ham.
I mean, why waste your time on someone who isn’t willing to listen, and can’t possibly learn anything from what you will say?
Nye can’t win, ecause no matter how brilliant his points are, and no matter how stupid Ham will sound. Ham will declare victory. He’ll spin whatever goes on into a defeat for the opposition. So why is Nye going to bother?
I wouldn’t walk across the street to see that stupid museum, much less pay to see a debate of unrepentant unwillingness to observe scientific fact over an open mind.
Too funny. 
I agree - no matter how carefully structured and moderated, these public debates always allow the creationists the opportunity to spin and create a false impression that they’re winning.
For example, using the so-called ‘Gish Gallop’ technique, where the creationist flits from one topic to the next, blurting out a long list of nonsense that is too voluminous, nebulous, or unreferenced to be addressed - and the more gullible component of the audience is left with the impression that the creationist has a lot of strong arguments and that his opponent is a spluttering dunce.
Maybe Nye will manage to avoid this somehow though.
That’s probably just the carbon monoxide getting to you. 
So basically I’m seeing Ham getting people to pay $25 a ticket to come to his museum. Even if Nye gets a cut, it’s a win for Ham before a word is spoken.
It’s not hard to guess why Ham would want to have this debate. He’s an expert at bringing people down to his level and beating them with experience.
But what’s in it for Nye? :dubious:
It doesn’t seem likely he would be unaware about how the creationists play the debate.
I imagine he thinks he has a trick up his sleeve and will succeed where others have failed. I hope he’s right.
It seems to me there are three reasons to have a debate.
-
Honest intellectual exploring of the issue. I doubt either Mr. Ham or Mr. Nye have any illusions this is what’s going to happen.
-
Pandering to your base. Pretty clear this is what Mr. Ham will do; Mr. Nye doesn’t need to.
-
A monetary payout for showing up. Hmm, anybody know what Mr. Nye’s finances have been like lately?
Wanna bet that his mike gets cut off “accidentally”? God did it!
I’m a great fan of Nye, but I’m not sure his strong-point is in an honest-to-god (hah) debate. Please don’t be offended, Bill, but I hope you get some pointers from the experts. Maybe Randi, Dawkins and Dillihunty offstage, whispering into a wireless mike. Sorta like Peter Popoff in reverse.
I can’t wait for the video.