Bill Nye isn't a science guy?

[DrPizza]

Engineers are highly trained in science, math, and technology. Bill Nye is a science advocate and has done a lot for the school systems and the youth. He may not do original research, but he is well versed in science, enough to hold his own in public debates which is very demanding. This coming from Sarah Palin is absolutely hilarious. She couldn't read an abstract, let alone understand the article.

"Oh come on. What does driving a train have to do with science? I can see train tracks from my house." -Sarah Palin.

 

[soulcougher73]

Palin is about as much a politician as i am.

 

[Subyman]

"Oh come on. What does driving a train have to do with science? I can see train tracks from my house." -Sarah Palin.

I'd try to come up with a fake Palin quote too, but she is so far bat shit crazy that I can't even come up with a parody of her that out stupids her own words.

 

[Strk]

I remember them making a joke about that on Stargate Atlantis. Bill Nye played himself.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

So you are saying, "the goggles, zey do nothing!"

Damn you. Damn you straight to Hell.

 

[compuwiz1]

Sarah Palin is a mindless double breasted mattress thrasher. Of course it's been about 10 years since I looked at her for said purposes of mattress thrashing.

 

[who?]

Engineering involves doing experiments to find the best way of doing something.That IS science.

 

[Ichinisan]

"Oh come on. What does driving a train have to do with science? I can see train tracks from my house." -Sarah Palin.

I'd try to come up with a fake Palin quote too, but she is so far bat shit crazy that I can't even come up with a parody of her that out stupids her own words.

With that being said, the "I can see Russia from my house" line was Tina Fey (not Palin).

 

[Fanatical Meat]

With that being said, the "I can see Russia from my house" line was Tina Fey (not Palin).

Correct but she did say something about Alaska being close to Russia so she understands them better or something similarly idiotic.

 

[GoPackGo]

He did not get a bachelor of arts in mechanical engineering. He got a BS in Mechanical engineering, which stands for... (drumroll) a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.

I feel obligated to defend my fellow mechies.

I was wondering how one would get a BA is Mechanical Engineering!! LOL

 

[kage69]

Caribou Barbie still finding ways to make herself sound mildly retarded I see. Just...shocking.

Palin, who did jack shit at 4 colleges in 6 years eventually got herself a degree in journalism (which is effectively cancelled out by working for Fox really) and seems to think she's in a position to judge the scholastic achievements of others. Hilarious.

I think someone finally showed her the video of Ken Hamm getting brutalized by Bill Nye, and the butthurt ensued...

 

[kage69]

Correct but she did say something about Alaska being close to Russia so she understands them better or something similarly idiotic.

Here is the clip


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGSJCDw3ZBw

 

[rockyct]

That's like saying computer science degrees automatically make you a scientist. He's not a scientist at all, but is a great commentator and he works well on TV. No I don't like Sarah Palin either.

He took a hell of a lot more science and math classes than Palin did though and CS degrees rely on a ton of math, so I would say that yes, having a BS CS degree makes you a type of scientist.

I think part of the problem is that the average person doesn't exactly know what a "Scientist" does and holds people like Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson in a bit too high regard. Scientists aren't just people in labs doing experiments in white coats. They are people who use fundamental science and math ideas in their work.

The media likes to have people to call upon when they want someone to explain something that happened, so they call up their expert in "blank" and have them talk about it for 90 seconds with the host on the air. Bill Nye is successful in being the "guy" for anything generally science-y because he can give a basic explanation of a science topic in a way the audience can understand. You can't get into any deep scientific ideas in 90 seconds with an airhead tv host so he's perfect for that and I don't see anything wrong with what he's doing with that. He is veering out of his lane a bit with the climate science, but if the actual climate scientists support what he's saying, then he should continue on. He's definitely being more antagonistic towards the climate change deniers but the actual scientists can't do that and it's the language those people speak in.

 

[bshole]

He's definitely being more antagonistic towards the climate change deniers but the actual scientists can't do that and it's the language those people speak in.

Yes he isn't a climate scientist but he sure likes to play one on TV. I am also not a climate scientist but I sure like to play one on this forum. I guess we have one thing in common.

 

[Pens1566]

He's more scientist than she ever was governor.

 

[Darwin333]

BTW, Bill Nye assissted in developing and building a tool that is actually on the Mars Rover and Executive Director of The Planetary Society. What exactly is Palin's resume again?

Scientist isn't necessarily a "degree". Isac Newton only had a bachelors degree (he originally wanted study law) when he left college and started working on his groundbreaking theories. You know the little things like Newtonian Physics, optics and inventing entirely new forms of math and stuff. Was he not a scientist yet because he didn't yet have the proper degree?


"In the early 2000s, Nye assisted in the development of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions.[2] Known as MarsDial, it included small colored panels to provide a basis for color calibration in addition to helping keep track of time.[31] From 2005 to 2010, Nye was the vice president of The Planetary Society, an organization that advocates space science research and the exploration of other planets, particularly Mars.[32] He became the organization's second Executive Director in September 2010 when Louis Friedman stepped down."

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

I'm an engineer and have never considered myself to be a scientist. Bill Nye is an ME, not a scientist imo.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/tech-careers/engineering-is-not-science

Engineering Is Not Science

In political discourse, public policy debates, and the mass media, engineering is often a synonym for science. This confusion might seem an innocuous shorthand for headline writers, but it can leave politicians, policymakers, and the general public unable to make informed decisions about the technical challenges facing the world today.

Science is about understanding the origins, nature, and behavior of the universe and all it contains; engineering is about solving problems by rearranging the stuff of the world to make new things. Conflating these separate objectives leads to uninformed opinions, which in turn can delay or misdirect management, effort, and resources.

Take this year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. No one, to the best of my knowledge, blamed it on science. Poor engineering decisions allowed gas to escape from a well in deep water, which in turn caused a fatal explosion. Subsequently, the engineered blowout preventer failed, and for months oil escaped into the environment. Poor engineering got us into the mess; surely only good engineering could get us out of it. Yet repeatedly, government and other research scientists were allowed to veto the engineering tactics needed to stanch the flow. In the end, of course, it was engineering that finally capped the well.

While not all of the technological challenges facing the world today require the same immediate attention as a gushing oil well—some are as mundane as developing renewable energy sources, providing clean water, and disposing of our mountains of garbage—they still present the same duality.

Scientists might argue that the government needs to invest in basic scientific research that will lead to unspecified discoveries about energy, water, and waste. Although a good deal is already known about those things, it certainly would not hurt to know more, but what would really move things forward would be investments in engineering.

Throughout history, a full scientific understanding has been neither necessary nor sufficient for great technological advances: The era of the steam engine, notably, was well into its second century before a fully formed science of thermodynamics had been developed. Indeed, sometimes science has impeded progress. Had Marconi believed his physicist contemporaries, he would have "known" that wireless telegraphy signals could not be sent across the ocean, around Earth's curvature.

Engineers welcome any and all available scientific knowledge, but they needn't wait for scientists to give them the go-ahead to invent, design, or develop the machinery to advance technology or to check it when it runs out of control. Without understanding this, we will continue to underfund the engineering needed to solve our greatest problems.

 

[Darwin333]

I'm an engineer and have never considered myself to be a scientist. Bill Nye is an ME, not a scientist imo.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/tech-careers/engineering-is-not-science

I don't see any reason why a person can't be both...

 

[WHAMPOM]

So he's got a BA in mech engineering? I'm surprised.

She's mostly right.

Fern

I am surprised there is a BA in mechanical engineering. Most people get a BS. Oh you are Fern. Never mind!

 

[zinfamous]

And what are Palin's scientific credentials?

"Them researchers spending all that money on "fruit flies" in Paris France!"

/Waves arms madly.

 

[zinfamous]

I was wondering how one would get a BA is Mechanical Engineering!! LOL

I have a BS in English and Rhetoric and a BA in Biology with a concentration in Genetics.

 

[zinfamous]

With that being said, the "I can see Russia from my house" line was Tina Fey (not Palin).

holy shit this nonsense again.

Tina Fey simply said the same thing that Palin said, only better.

 

[zinfamous]

Correct but she did say something about Alaska being close to Russia so she understands them better or something similarly idiotic.

In response to Katie Couric (I think), who asked her about her experience with foreign policy, Palin said: "Well, up there in Alaska, Russia is practically our neighbor!" ...and then stopped. That was her answer. The end. I think Katie just sat on that and let the deafening silence fill the air for a moment. It was brilliant. It is one of a few moments that truly ended McCain's candidacy.

In the follow-up parody on SNL, I think the sketch was a hypothetical debate or conversation between Clinton and Palin. When posed the exact same question about foreign policy, Palin/Fey said "I can see Russia from my house!"

You see, when one looks outside of their house, they often see their neighbor or their neighbor's house.

IT. IS. THE. SAME. FUCKING. COMMENT.

Tina Fey never had to invent a joke to make her Palin character funny. They were nothing more than refined quotes from Palin's own vacant blowhole.

 

[Brainonska511]

I am surprised there is a BA in mechanical engineering. Most people get a BS. Oh you are Fern. Never mind!

It depends on the school. Some schools, for weird reasons, only give out BAs, like BU's College of Arts and Sciences.

In schools that give out BA and BS degrees in sciences, the former tend to have fewer requirements.

 

[zinfamous]

BTW, Bill Nye assissted in developing and building a tool that is actually on the Mars Rover and Executive Director of The Planetary Society. What exactly is Palin's resume again?

Scientist isn't necessarily a "degree". Isac Newton only had a bachelors degree (he originally wanted study law) when he left college and started working on his groundbreaking theories. You know the little things like Newtonian Physics, optics and inventing entirely new forms of math and stuff. Was he not a scientist yet because he didn't yet have the proper degree?


"In the early 2000s, Nye assisted in the development of a small sundial that was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions.[2] Known as MarsDial, it included small colored panels to provide a basis for color calibration in addition to helping keep track of time.[31] From 2005 to 2010, Nye was the vice president of The Planetary Society, an organization that advocates space science research and the exploration of other planets, particularly Mars.[32] He became the organization's second Executive Director in September 2010 when Louis Friedman stepped down."

Leonardo Da Vinci wasn't a scientist, either.

Just some lazy-ass artist with some MFA bullshit working at Starbucks.