When it comes to Stupid, Waco, Texas is never far behind:
Bill Nye, the harmless children’s edu-tainer known as “The Science Guy,” managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.
As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.
But don’t tell that to the good people of Waco, who were “visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence,” according to the Waco Tribune.
Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.
But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”
The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.
At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled “We believe in God!” and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they’d always suspected.
Silly me, I hadn’t even realized that this was a bone of contention. Does the Moon create photons now? What about the New Moon? Is that some kind of blasphemy?
I swear, it’s like some people aren’t getting any oxygen to the brain.
And this is the state that gets to pick school books for the rest of the country.
Of course the moon doesn’t emit light. Who ever heard of glowing cheese?
If you leave it in the door of your refrigerator long enough…
I think her God hates Texas.
Boo:
You do realize this is 3 years old, right? That’s the date on the blog post. I don’t know why people haven’t caught that yet. And the blog post links to something from 6 years ago, which isn’t even an active link any more.
no, I didn’t realize that. Still funny all these years later!
Yes, it is still funny. But considering the drought down there, I wonder if they still would hate on science.
You’re kidding, right? This is the state whose governor, in response to last year’s record drought, denied it could have anything to do with climate change (since that doesn’t exist) and instead led a massive prayer rally. Oh, and it was also the first state to impose medically unneeded rape wands for abortion seekers. Among many other things.
I’m actually surprised Waco – ground zero for Biblical literalists – would even invite someone whose schtick is “science” in the first place.
Texas and stupid is like two-week-old bread and mold. You can’t have the first without the second, and usually it’s pretty pervasive. And you would not believe what they brainwash their public school kids with.
I’m so glad I don’t live there any longer!
the first state to impose medically unneeded rape wands for abortion seekers
Anyone: Why was the Virginia ultrasound bill the first one that really broke through into the national media, if there had already been other, similar bills? Did the Komen Foundation blow-up seed the media for other women’s health care stories?
I thought the VA ultrasound bill was the first to require a transvaginal probe? The others required only the standard “put the thing on the belly” ultrasound.
I could be wrong tho.
Proving, once again, that the ignorance that results from faith without evidence and persistent faith in the face of overwhelming contradictory evidence is timeless. 6 years, 60 years, 600 years; it knows no limits. It still is a drag on human enlightenment and advancement. If it continues, we will eventually pay a price in this country for our slavish addiction to such folly.
There’s a joke about the first astronauts to go to the sun. To avoid being burned, they’re going to go at night. This must have been Neil Armstrong’s strategy.
Yeah the stupid burns. But the incident was from 2006 and a quick search of mine leads to some different versions of what the details were.
All accounts seem to agree that Nye brought up the Genesis account all on his own and as a science loving guy I have to ask:
Why would he need or want to go there? The Judeo-Christian creation myth is completely irrelevant to what he is teaching.
Heh!! In Texas, the Judeo-Christian myths are never irrelevant. It seeps into even the most innocuous of things.
Yeah, that emphasizes what I’m saying. I find it a bit puzzling why Nye didn’t have a little more caution about that. Why insert it into the program FOR the locals, when one should know that they are eager to do it for you.
Captatio benevolentiae, the seizing of the audience’s good will, is, according to Cicero and Quintilian, the speaker’s first task.
In Waco, one would lead with the Bible. I have heard reports it’s a big deal down there. Baylor and such…
Captatio benevolentiae, the seizing of the audience’s good will, is, according to Cicero and Quintilian, the speaker’s first task.
In Waco, one would lead with the Bible.
OK, but if that was his reason: UR NOT DOIN IT RITE, Bill!
By the way, Martin. What the hell are you doing on the Think Atheist website, anyway??? Feeding the “liberals are evil and hate god” meme monster??? 😉
Good thing Nye didn’t mention the FSM in his talk.
He did. But when he encouraged his young audience to “use their noodles,” the fundamentalists attending missed the significance.
very nice!
Hah, Pastafarian dogwhistle!
Does the term “wacko”, as in crazy one originate/derive from Waco?
Actually any mass that is not absolute zero emits blackbody radiation so the Moon does produce its own photons. They are not in the visible wavelength range though, and their energy is dwarfed by the reflected sunlight and infrared emission caused by heating of the surface by the sun. I suppose one could use this fact to reconcile the Biblical creation myth with reality, if one was interested in wasting their time in this fashion.
The story wasn’t mysteriously pulled, it’s six years old!
http://web.archive.org/web/20100110212547/http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/
06/04062006wacbillnye.html
This was apparently from 2006:
http://motherjones.tumblr.com/post/5252684622/more-on-that-bill-nye-waco-moon-god-thing