Bill Nye on Creationism

Bill Nye is best known for the TV show he had during the 90s. Countless numbers of kids would tune in to learn how to do simple experiments in their home without having the need to for a full on lab. Following in the tradition of Carl Sagan with his show cosmos Nye aimed to bring science to the masses and try and get people more interested in it again. Once his kids science show ended Nye was on the quit side for a few years and has come back out into the light to battle against what he sees as a dangerous mentality that is being forced into public schools.

Creationism is the literal belief that the events in the bible in regards to the start of life are true. The earth is roughly only 10,000 years old and dinosaurs co-existed with man. Besides the more obvious reasons that this makes little to know sense this whole "theory" can be viewed as really nothing more than cheap marketing tricks (or at least we are making that claim here). Ken Ham who Bill Nye had to debate on one occasion, is a prime example of everything that is wrong with this religious movement. Ham and his followers want to see this model being taught in the science classroom along side evolution. Despite that fact that enough evidence has been presented to prove evolution is real and the fact that all of the life sciences are based off of this simple concept, it hasn't stopped the trend of people rejecting it on the grounds that it goes against their faith. 

The creationism movement has also become a new field in the battle ground for a separation of church and state. As more radical elements of the religious right in this country have gained momentum we are seeing school distracts where text books much teach Christian belief in the science classroom and has even seen teachers getting fired for refusing to teach the model based on the Christian origin story. For Nye this not only means that less kids will become interested in science but the economy of the United States could be in jeopardy since we will have less of the innovators we need to create new jobs and keep the US a couple of steps a head of other nations in the world. 

Conspiracy Theories

The reason many people buy into conspiracy theories is the same reason why many people find themselves attracted to religion. It's the call towards something bigger than yourself and an easy explanation as to why the world around you is the way it is. Many of these claims and groups that make the claims boarder on the edge that many religious institutes tend to find themselves in. While the notion of a conspiracy taking place can happen and has happened before (the plot to kill Caesar or the Ides of March), most of the time when someone states a conspiracy is in action most of the time once it get's tested it tends to fall apart. For this reason it is important to not only be skeptical of people in power but also of the motives of the people who are also crying out against said authority. The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend.

Extraordinary Claims

Conspiracy theories make very extraordinary claims. Sometimes these claims might not be as complex as the cliche image of a conspiracy theory most of the time it is someone who is making connections where connections shouldn't be made. When ever a claim is made it is important that it have evidence to back it up. Rumors or ideas based in false hood can have dangerous real world repercussions that for better or worse tend to manifest themselves in ways that most would rather not have happen.One of the more popular theories out there is that the government is controlled by a shadow government. This basic theory manifests it's self in various forms depending on who happens to be discussing it at said time.

The shadow government theory is the perfect example of how faulty most of these theories tend to be. Most of the evidence that is presented tends to be nothing more that the normal, well I know a guy who knows a guy, or the I saw it with my own eyes. These claims as evidence don't prove very much. The way the human operates makes relaying on this kind of evidence inconclusive. Ten people can all see the same event and still tell a different story about the same event. Memory is a very strange thing that we are still working on figuring out. With the boom of technology and the willingness of people to share classified information, why than has the only proof that has presented is first person accounts? Edward Snowdan was entrusted into one of the most well guarded parts of the US government and managed to look countless classified documents. Why than, with the shadow government theory stating it goes back centuries, has there not been real evidence that shows there is such a group been found yet? Theories may say it's been covered up, but with the bask human interaction with people who compete for power, does it really make sense that no rivalry would ever arise? Especially when it comes to who gets to control the world?

Social Groups

When it comes to conspiracy theories one of the major factors that tends to go into who believes what theory is the social group that you belong to. For example if you tend to lean more on the conservative side of the spectrum the likely hood increases that you very well may believe the birther side, on the flip the more left you lean the probability increases that you are going to think that 9/11 was an inside job. For some people they will just believe everything that they are told with asking any real questions about the information that they are presented with.

One unique trend that can be seen with the world of conspiracy theories is the increasing levels of Americans that buy into most of these if not all of them that are placed on the table. When polls are done to see who believes and who doesn't, like most things that need faith, Americans have higher numbers than most other countries. Part of this could come from a distrust of authority that resulted from the revolution from Great Britain, but more than likely it has more to do the religious aspect of the United States. When you look at the alternative networks that push stories like this most of them tend to have an undertone of right  wing religious beliefs that are hidden behind the language used by pseudo-skeptics. 

Debunking Theories

With most conspiracy theories applying common sense to the vast majority of them should be enough to disprove most of them. A lot of the times when theorist put out their ideas they tend to be half baked at best. The level of research tends to be limited or in some cases, comes from sources that are questionable at best. For example, the common theory of a species of space reptiles ruling the globe can be disproved easily by two things, one the probability and two basic evolution. There is a logical reason why we don't see lizards the same size as humans every, and with the ones that are close to our size or a little bigger there are limitations to their design non of which make them a sentient species. While conspiracy theories make good stories, there is really nothing more to them than that. When a real conspiracy happens they tend to not stay covered up for very long and are never as gripping as these theorists would have us think. 

Climate Change Denying

Climate change is an issue that the vast majority of the world believes in. The dangers that have been projected have gotten organizations such as the Pentagon to take global warming as a real threat. Despite the fact that the evidence is in and even people who where once skeptical about the change in the climate have now come out and said that the evidence is in. Sadly in the United States there has been a massive effort by certain political and corporate interests to try and combat any legeslation to address this issue. The sad excuses used by these groups not only make little to no sense but it has extremely dangerous repercussions with not wanting to except the reality of the situation. One of the most common lines of reasoning you will find from people who want to deny the evidence and maintain a crash coarse into a future that will be on the bleak side is the scientific community is split on the issue. This statement alone should have people questioning the ability of these people to make decisions related to this problems. Not only do the vast majority of them seem to not understand the science involved with climate change (the classic I'm not a scientist line) but they also don't seem to under stand basic mathematics when it comes to proportion. The clip below is a hilarious bit showing the real "split" in the community and how foolish global warming deniers really are.

Bill Nye and Ken Ham

Creationism has become an issue that has many school distracts debating on the viability of this so called model. Despite the fact that evidence grows every year and it is accepted by most of the world as fact, there are still a few who think it is completely wrong and that they are right and should present a religious arguments into science classrooms. While creationism has been around for a bit of time now the level of impact it has had when it comes to the education system in the United States have gone up to new levels. The debate posted below shows how much of a "fighting a brick wall" kind of fight this really is. Ken Ham who has made a name for himself pushing his brand of Christianity has made very little real arguments during this whole thing. It is kind of sad that Bill Nye has had to take the stage to try and have a sensible conversation with a charlatan of this degree. Recently Ham has been caught in a legal struggle in which he is accused of using tax breaks to fund the building of a religious park that will only hire people who subscribe to his religious views. He used the excuse of job creation to take tax payer money to not just create a theme park but to also build a life size Noah's Ark to prove that it was possible for such a ship to have existed at any point. 

James Randi Exposes James Hydrick

James Randi is a skeptic and an illusionist. While his work as a stage illusionist gets claim from many others in the professional field, what he is better known for is $1 million skeptic challenge. The way it works is anyone who claims to have outside powers can claim the prize money if they can prove what they claim to do is legit. Each time someone has tried it their so called "powers" seemed to have failed. Everyone is giving a chance to show their skill but part of the challenge is the person who makes the claim has to still do it when new variables are entered into the equation. If you would like to know more about James Randi you can click this link here : James Randi Foundation, or you can check out our page of organizations if you want to learn or join the skeptic movement.