via Bill Nye Quotes – BrainyQuote
Bill Nye made two statements that are not entirely accurate and may not be good for humanity if followed to a logical conclusion. Perhaps he may have simply made a minor error while talking with great enthusiasm but here are his quotes.
“Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back.”
“Science is the best idea humans have ever had. The more people who embrace that idea, the better.”
Both of these quotes sound kind of nice and would seem to be a good thing to tell the kids. I am familiar with science being an electrical engineer. My questions are can you really believe in science and is it the best idea humans have ever had? Pure science has the potential to create amoral systems which are controlled by people who claim to have a greater knowledge of science. Good science should teach us to question and examine everything to determine if it is real. Science should not be a dogmatic religion that forbids questioning of those who know better. Shaming people who don’t believe in your theory is an easy way to make sure that no one questions your theory. What if your theory isn’t quite real or needs modifications?
It is necessary to have some type of good moral human control of the technology that science produces or we will produce problems for real people. Good science is never settled by someone shaming you until you have to believe in it. The best idea that humans have ever had is constitutional representative democracy combined with freedom of religion because it stops one group of self-proclaimed experts from telling everyone how to live their life. Group consensus on a course of action is acceptable provided it does not infringe on a minority’s rights to believe and live the way they choose. I always question the ulterior motives of anyone who is trying to shame me into choosing their perfect belief system and that includes scientific experts.
Scientific theories should not be made into a belief system religion that says any unbeliever is holding back humanity by questioning a settled scientific dogma. Mr. Nye should know this since he is an engineer. Engineer’s are required to make things work based on reality. There are many scientific theory’s that do not have any actual application and this means there may not be a way of proving they are real although they may be true. The belief system that Mr. Nye proposes in his statements is vague and it seems to unnecessarily insult anyone who questions any scientific theory. Forcing someone to believe anything by using innuendo insults is inappropriate. All science should instead be subject to question if real evidence suggests its modification.
