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[–]IAMAVelociraptorAMA[M] [スコア非表示] stickied comment (1子コメント)

Look, I'm all for fun threads where people laugh at people saying things you perceive to be dumb. I'm also for constructive threads where people can have healthy debate on all things political and scientific.

What I'm not for is threads where there are hours of insults, sexism, personal attacks, tons of rule-breaking comments, and multiple bans having to be handed out.

Maybe next time the thread stays opened if you behave.

[–]CrudelyAnimated 2273ポイント2274ポイント  (250子コメント)

From Palin in the article:

“It’s something that our candidates should be talking about and giving us their view on and hopefully acknowledging that it needs to become in the science community less political. Otherwise, it leads us to believe that so many things then coming from the scientists could be bogus. If this is bogus, what else are they trying to tell us and control us around?”

She shows a fundamental misconception that the science community is too political, seeking to deceive the rest of us for their own mad-scientist ends. The real problem is the political community presuming the authority to discern science, to endorse or dismiss a broad majority of qualified expert witnesses based on the course of action that expertise recommends. It is as embarrassing as it is naive.

[–]jahmakinmecrazy 1030ポイント1031ポイント  (62子コメント)

Fundamental misunderstanding of the English language as well...

[–]No_big_whoop 525ポイント526ポイント  (40子コメント)

She serves up unlimited word salad

[–]wellsdb 182ポイント183ポイント  (23子コメント)

Hey, salad is good sometimes. How about if we call it word vomit?

[–]luemasify 171ポイント172ポイント  (15子コメント)

Verbal diarrhea

[–]Hell_Kite 76ポイント77ポイント  (5子コメント)

If only there were a word for that... We could call it "logorrhea" or something.

[–]Wyatt_ARP 172ポイント173ポイント  (1子コメント)

I call it a vowel movement.

[–]BizarreBill 72ポイント73ポイント  (0子コメント)

irritable vowel syndrome

[–]wellsdb 17ポイント18ポイント  (0子コメント)

I like this. Thank you for teaching me something new today.

[–]ThePratoran 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

This makes me think of Logarithmic equations. If we assume base 10 then that means she has to spew 10 times the inane bullshit just to get twice the amount of decipherable information.

[–]DrunkEllington 3ポイント4ポイント  (2子コメント)

"Word salad" has a history of use to describe the incomprehensible statements of people with schizophrenia. I think the association with crazy is apt here.

[–]edstamos 27ポイント28ポイント  (1子コメント)

Fate Sarah/Palin - Unlimited Word Salad?

[–]IAmAThorn 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

Who would she be then? Nobody useful of course.

[–]felixjawesome 20ポイント21ポイント  (0子コメント)

She's kind of like a living breathing TayTweets of the Evangelical-right.

[–]man_of_a_few_words 36ポイント37ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's a joy ride for words. She has all the words, and who cares if they come out in the wrong order.

[–]PencilvesterStallone 97ポイント98ポイント  (4子コメント)

Seriously. It's like verbal dissonance with her. Just reading her meager attempts to construct a sentence out of mischosen words gives me a headache.

[–]kincomer1 17ポイント18ポイント  (2子コメント)

Just think we could have had that idiot as vice president. Now they offer up their greatest nightmare...Donald Trump!

[–]doingthehumptydance 46ポイント47ポイント  (3子コメント)

She don't talk too good either.

[–]man_of_a_few_words 53ポイント54ポイント  (1子コメント)

Oh she talks. No worries. It's just that her sentences have a life of their own. They start one way then take the scenic route then stop for gas and end up in the shopping mall as always.

[–]321_liftoff 6ポイント7ポイント  (0子コメント)

It was too hilarious when she started praising Rand Paul in the midst of doing a stump speech for Trump. Actually, that whole speech was comedy gold.

[–]lancea_longini 19ポイント20ポイント  (0子コメント)

"Control us around". Haha. Go quit governoring around, Sarah.

[–]Pandatrain 7ポイント8ポイント  (0子コメント)

"I think I've made myself perfectly redundant."

"Yes, I think you have."

[–]relsthrough 364ポイント365ポイント  (5子コメント)

"Scientists are too political, don't believe them. Instead believe me, an actual politician".

[–]Chewy86b 129ポイント130ポイント  (2子コメント)

Palin is as much a real politician as Bill Nye.

[–]YenTheMerchant 51ポイント52ポイント  (0子コメント)

Giving Palin too much credit there.

[–]bmhadoken 17ポイント18ポイント  (0子コメント)

She's not a scientist or a politician. She's a pod person.

[–]LastSecondAwesome 8ポイント9ポイント  (0子コメント)

Stop! The dissonance! It hurts!

[–]pond_good_for_you 437ポイント438ポイント  (80子コメント)

What cracks me up is wacko talk shows talking like scientists got together to deceive the public with some agenda. One of the many huge flaws in that thinking is that scientists freaking love proving each other wrong! They live for that shit.

[–]007meow 167ポイント168ポイント  (28子コメント)

Those wacko talk shows are the same ones that have somehow pulled people into anti-intellectualism mindset, saying that being "smart" is a bad thing and that science exists to manipulate.

[–]pond_good_for_you 140ポイント141ポイント  (24子コメント)

True. I cringe when I hear the "intellectual elite" used as a pejorative, like people being smart and educated is somehow a bad thing.

[–]QuasarSandwich 86ポイント87ポイント  (22子コメント)

I got nominated for /r/iamverysmart the other day for using the word "risible" in a Reddit comment. After the initial irritated amusement, I actually got quite sad for a while, wondering what kind of society my book-loving, trivia-crazy little daughter is going to find herself in when she grows up.

[–]Neospector 93ポイント94ポイント  (0子コメント)

risible:

such as to provoke laughter.

"a risible scene of lovemaking in a tent"

Yes, thank you for that example, Google.

[–]yavin2k 18ポイント19ポイント  (0子コメント)

Doesn't anyone watch Monty Python anymore?

[–]Groundstop 30ポイント31ポイント  (1子コメント)

risible

Thanks for the new word!

Also, the example use of the word that comes up if you google the definition makes me feel a little bad for an apparently super-awkward couple that doesn't really exist.

such as to provoke laughter. "a risible scene of lovemaking in a tent"

[–]BaronWombat 21ポイント22ポイント  (0子コメント)

Mark Twain complained about the anti-intellectual problem with Americans, so I don't think this started with tabloid TV.

[–]BJPenwhistle 58ポイント59ポイント  (5子コメント)

People who think like this fundamentally lack any understanding at all about the scientific community. If there was actually some big GCC conspiracy, WE'D KNOW. And it wouldn't be some idiot like Sarah fucking Palin who'd figure it out either, it would be other scientists who would probably promptly be awarded some kind of HUGE metal medal of honor.

[–]ForgedIronMadeIt 41ポイント42ポイント  (2子コメント)

GCC conspiracy

I just knew those open source nerds were up to something. Giving away a free, high quality compiler like that? Had to be an ulterior motive!

[–]CapsUnlocker 16ポイント17ポイント  (0子コメント)

make global_warming

[–]SecretaryofPorn 10ポイント11ポイント  (0子コメント)

That evil puppet master, Richard Stallman.

[–]Technamancy 3ポイント4ポイント  (1子コメント)

I know what you intended; but gifting scientists that helped unveil a plot to alter the course of the world with a literal metal made out of the concept of honor would be badass. Lets create a new metal and gift it to these awesome dudes as recognition. Shit lets do it.

[–]versusChou 7ポイント8ポイント  (0子コメント)

Fuck yeah. And they're fucking passionate about it. There were dudes who spent their entire life trying to disprove the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. These dudes fought tooth and nail trying to find proof that proteins could possibly be the origin molecule (over RNA). Why fight so many of their colleagues for so long? Because if they did it, it'd have been an instant Nobel Prize. Proving everyone else wrong is like the dream of scientists.

[–]bmhadoken 7ポイント8ポイント  (0子コメント)

Proving each other wrong is how they get the fame and big bucks. But they've all come together and set aside their own ambitions to trick all the muggles into believing in global warming, ultimately deceiving us into... sustainable energy that's less destructive to the world around us? THOSE BASTARDS.

[–]PM_ME_JAR_JAR_NUDES 164ポイント165ポイント  (34子コメント)

One of the many huge flaws in that thinking is that scientists freaking love proving each other wrong!

Science: "You are wrong and here's a paper on how we're reasonably certain."

Technology: "That shouldn't be happening. Try turning it off and on again."

Engineering: "You are wrong and here's a diagram for how to repair the mistake you made."

Mathematics: "In this very narrow respect you are wrong and here's a proof demonstrating it."

Political Science: "You have three lavish summer homes. Why should anyone believe what you have to say?"

Philosophy: "Would you like an apple pie with that?"

[–]Waxpapers 64ポイント65ポイント  (27子コメント)

I mean, if you've gotten a PhD in political science, you obviously don't make enough to afford three summer homes. Ipso ergo facto if you have three summer homes, you're inexperienced in political science. QED. ETC.

[–]ikorolou 40ポイント41ポイント  (8子コメント)

I mean a PhD in anything is nothing to sneeze at. Even if you don't respect the field of study it's still takes a lot of work and dedication to get a PhD.

[–]Waxpapers 27ポイント28ポイント  (0子コメント)

Oh no, I absolutely respect PoliSci majors. My father has a PhD in PoliSci. I just like to needle him over it every once in a while, and that sorta spills over to here sometimes.

[–]Eric1969 33ポイント34ポイント  (1子コメント)

She has weaponized grammar.

[–]Richy_T 10ポイント11ポイント  (0子コメント)

She is a weaponized grammar

[–]kickababyv2 22ポイント23ポイント  (2子コメント)

"Let's make science less political by letting politicians decide what is, and is not true in science." -Sarah Palin

[–]Buck-O 141ポイント142ポイント  (42子コメント)

While not agreeing with Palin, I will say that there is a lot of politics in the scientific community. Corporate politics. The exact same corporate politics that invade real politics and political discussion. In everything from what scientists get funding based on their opinions, to which papers get reviewed in which scientific journal based on who sponsors that journal, and if those findings are counter intuitive to the corporate entities interests or profiteering. Unfortunately, science takes a lot of money, and too often peoples opinions can be altered by the addition of money. So in my opinion, yes, science is political, and as long as their is an agenda tied to billion dollar industry, the scientific community will largely support that claim. And I feel that is a problem that has gotten worse in the last 35-40 years.

[–]lasssilver 88ポイント89ポイント  (3子コメント)

wipe away any reference or thought of Palin...

... This is an important point. There are issues in modern science. It's not political like "party" political, but there are confounding factors. There's a wide morass of issues causing problems. Two big ones that stick out me are:

  1. Who's funding, their background and interest, could influence those doing the science and research. It's suppose to be a BIG scientific no-no, but when it's your bread being buttered what do you do? This is how people funded by Coca-Cola can come out with straight faces and claim their product isn't a major cause of obesity or health-issues.

  2. Publishing. There's just a lot out there and small-discoveries or proving "nulls" don't get much attention. So, people want the "big find", the most shocking paper, or whatever is popular that will get some print. This can subtly or overtly affect a researcher's work and conclusion. There's not much praise in re-proving something, or sometimes disproving something. (although disproving something is a little more exciting)

[–]tman37 23ポイント24ポイント  (0子コメント)

Not only money in terms of grants but scientists get paid based on what they publish. More widely published equals more prestige equals better paying positions. Unpopular, or controversial opinions don't get published as much and in some cases can end a scientist's career even if they were right.

The journals are not there to spread knowledge out of the goodness of their heart. They make ridiculous amounts of money. I have seen medical journals charge 30 dollars for 48 hour access. The reputation of your journal has a direct impact on your bottom line. If you start publishing papers contrary to the prevailing narrative on emotionally or politically charged subjects, you could lose money in lost subscriptions as institutions are forced to distance themselves.

Imagine for a second that you are a geneticist and you believe you have found a gene that results in increased criminal behavior. Now imagine that all your research shows that the gene shows up significantly more often in African Americans. A) Would you have the balls to open yourself up to claims of racism (let's be honest people would probably call you Josef Mengele)? B) Would your university allow you to publish it without fear of reprisal? C) Could you convince a prestigious journal to publish it? The example is overly simplistic but it is a good illustration of stepping on a scientific landmine. I am willing to bet the answer to all three questions would be no, in most occasions.

[–]Buck-O 8ポイント9ポイント  (0子コメント)

Well said, and on point. Wholeheartedly agree. It really isn't "party political" but it is politics in the strictest sense of the word. And there is a LOT of corporate money in the scientific community diving it. It's honestly depressing to see sometimes from the outside looking in. I wonder how some feel about it being right in the middle of it? Or if being able to do what you went to school for, and are passionate about, is enough? Regardless of who is footing the bill for your paycheck?

[–]M1ntB3rrycrnch 73ポイント74ポイント  (7子コメント)

Chemist here. Really depends on what branch of science you are talking. In the areas of biology and chemistry, there aren't really any "corporate politics". The federal gov't funds most of this research. Also, no, the "cures" to disease aren't hidden in corporate vaults. The real issue is that there isn't enough money to go around and as such ideas that are already 1/3 in the bag are the only ones funded. There is minimal risk taken by funding agencies to fund longer shot breakthroughs.

The next biggest problems are in publishing. Half the shit people have published isn't even reproducible, this is especially a problem in the biology world.

Long story short, priorities are in the wrong places and we are shooting ourselves in the foot in terms of big advances in knowledge.

[–]HisLordAlmighty 10ポイント11ポイント  (0子コメント)

The publishing industry is the real racket that's hoarding information. I read somewhere that scientists will even pay Elsevier to get research published in their top journals. The rate they charge universities and students is ridiculously inflated too. That's why I'm so excited about Sci-Hub, the free sharing network for scientific articles. If it manages to stay afloat, it could have a huge impact on the global pace of scientific progress.

[–]4Sken 17ポイント18ポイント  (3子コメント)

My mother used to work in a research environment in canada, and maintains to this day that "Anything with the word Aboriginal, Native or Indian got funding. Anything with Cancer, Tumour or Climate Change got funding. Any combination got a nobel prize."

[–]Buck-O 9ポイント10ポイント  (0子コメント)

Funny, and yet totally sad. Buzz word funding is the bane of any funding, government, scientific, or otherwise. I worked for a school district in IT right out of highschool, and had to sit in on budget meetings, and the level of bullshit buzz phrases that got thrown around was groan inducing.

In one particular meeting, the board approved use of funds from an ecology grant to, and I'm paraphrasing here, "improve wastewater run off to reduce environmental impact for green belt wetlands areas around the district office, and improve wildlife conservation". The actual outcome? Repaving and regrading the parking, and adding additional drainage, because the superintendents parking space would flood, and that was problematic for his Miata. Oh, but we added an extra two disabled parking spaces. While simultaneously moving the superintendents parking space closer to the door than the disabled parking. Shit still pisses me off to this day.

[–]LOMAN- 15ポイント16ポイント  (18子コメント)

I agree with you, but in the specific case of climate change, isn't it fairly obvious that all "corporate politics" would be leaning towards the dismissal of climate change as real? Considering global warming is the topic at hand, it seems pertinent to acknowledge that in its particular case, as a scientist there is little to gain from corporations for arguing that climate change is a reality.

[–]Buck-O 19ポイント20ポイント  (13子コメント)

Not necessarily. There are a lot of companies that own a majority of patents on "green technology". There is also significant incentive in getting corporate lobbying into the governmental process in order to push and promote specific green solutions, be it for government contracts, or government subsidies. A prime example of that is the corn lobby pushing ethanal blending, which uses more gasoline, produces less energy by volume, and has the wonderful side effect of sucking moisture into your gas tank. Likewise the solar companies that have gotten government subsidies and then done nothing. Or "green" lightbulb manufacturers who get a massive contract with a local utility to pass out their bulbs to customers. Or, or, or... The fact is, selling on fear of global warming (not saying climate change isn't true, only that they are indeed marketing on fear), is a multi billion dollar industry. There is a pile of corporate money sitting there with the scientific communities name on it, provided they are willing to go along with the narrative that their product works. Or at the very least address a problem that allows the company to market their product as being relevant to climate science. And that isn't to say that the findings are false, or wrong, or that they should be ignored. But it does show that there is at the very least a conflict of interest, and an influence of money. Enough money that a scientific group may choose to do climate studies purely to get extra funding money, even if it isn't their area of environmental science. Which muddies the waters of peer review, and in some ways, I think, dilutes the message.

Make no mistake, climate change is real, and it is a multi billion dollar industry, and it is being used to market fear on both sides of the spectrum. Because, sadly, where their is money, their is corruption. And world governments have plenty of both, and the biggest axe to grind with climate change. That is enough to at least be skeptical of random claims, and do your due diligence to research any and all claims put forth. Follow the money.

[–]FormalCloud 16ポイント17ポイント  (1子コメント)

She's also projecting. Politics are so corrupt and it's all about getting your way that she thinks every group is the same.

Any concept outside of these narrow-minded views simply do not exist for her.

[–]croixian1 1324ポイント1325ポイント  (60子コメント)

She's just made of a special kind of stupid.

[–]AtWorkBoredToDeath 928ポイント929ポイント  (35子コメント)

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

~Isaac Asimov~

[–]IXISIXI 180ポイント181ポイント  (0子コメント)

“The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart.”

  • Kurt Vonnegut

[–]bostwickenator 144ポイント145ポイント  (16子コメント)

I have massive respect for Asimov. His ability to communicate complicated ideas precisely and evocatively is staggering.

[–]Halvus_I 142ポイント143ポイント  (9子コメント)

'If you cant explain it simply, you dont understand it well enough'

[–]SNRatio 5ポイント6ポイント  (5子コメント)

If it can be explained simply, it is easy to understand or you yada-yadaed the math part.

[–]lilbluehair 17ポイント18ポイント  (1子コメント)

That's why he's the only author with a book in every category of the dewey decimal system

aww man, I've been saying this for years and just looked it up, it's not really true. The only "work" he has in the Psychology section is a forward :/

But hey, he still has at least 2 books in every other category, still pretty good

[–]bostwickenator 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

He's still utterly the man (intellectually)

[–]mcsweden 141ポイント142ポイント  (9子コメント)

Indeed. So glad they are re-producing. S o g l a d.

[–]007meow 139ポイント140ポイント  (0子コメント)

Out of wedlock, twice... After championing abstinence as the way to go. Who needs sex ed?

[–]QuasarSandwich 60ポイント61ポイント  (5子コメント)

Seems like a good cue for TRIGGER WARNING one of my favourite offensive jokes:

Q. What's the similarity between Sarah Palin and Iron Man?

A. They've both had a Downey Junior inside them.

[–]victorykings 38ポイント39ポイント  (2子コメント)

Don't do that. Stupid doesn't deserve to be maligned by such a comparison.

[–]cowvin2 15ポイント16ポイント  (0子コメント)

she's kind of the ideal example of the dunning-kruger effect.

[–]mostly_sarcastic 687ポイント688ポイント  (69子コメント)

'Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am'

Yes. Yes, he is. And then some.

[–]notimetoexplainrun 334ポイント335ポイント  (20子コメント)

And then some more...

[–]TheSecretOfNIMBLE 117ポイント118ポイント  (40子コメント)

He's an engineer if I remember correctly.

[–]mm_ma_ma 50ポイント51ポイント  (0子コメント)

I think his actual title is "science guy".

[–]Lofton09 14ポイント15ポイント  (0子コメント)

He is an engineer, isn't he? I had dinner with him once and his scientific understanding seemed weak to me. I am a professor and am not trying to be a jerk. He is certainly a hobby scientist and is quite literate in a broad sense, especially over the later half of his career. I just wouldn't call him a scientist since he is not an expert at any specific science. Palin is a moron regardless but I wonder if this is what she was trying to reference.

[–]PeachyPunches 15ポイント16ポイント  (0子コメント)

And then a lot

[–]Masacore 369ポイント370ポイント  (21子コメント)

Of course Earth isn't getting hotter, the snow around her house is proof of that. /s

Honestly I don't care what her or any denier of climate change opinion's are anymore. I don't care if the planet is getting hotter, colder, or is just going through menopause. It's completely irrelevant to me.

What is relevant to me are the effects we can easily see fossil fuels have on our way of life.Japan China LA

Schwarzenegger said it best.

There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fueled car. Behind Door Number Two is an identical, completely sealed room, with an electric car. Both engines are running full blast.

I want you to pick a door to open, and enter the room and shut the door behind you. You have to stay in the room you choose for one hour. You cannot turn off the engine. You do not get a gas mask.

I'm guessing you chose the Door Number Two, with the electric car, right? Door number one is a fatal choice - who would ever want to breathe those fumes?

Climate change is too long term, too slow, and too irrelevant to the mass population. Facts and Studies aren't working, you want to put this in terms morons can understand? Ask them Schwarzenegger's question and watch them squirm.

Edit: Good catch u/Venom0923

[–]factoid_ 128ポイント129ポイント  (4子コメント)

I like the way Elon Musk puts it:

"If we know we have to get off oil no matter what, we know that is an inescapable outcome, why run this crazy experiment of changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere and oceans by adding enormous amounts of CO2 that have been buried since the Precambrian Era? That's crazy. That's the dumbest experiment in history, by far."

[–]Masacore 10ポイント11ポイント  (3子コメント)

I love that quote, and I agree with a lot of what Elon is doing. I would never use it in a fight for climate change though.

It's nothing against the man himself, but he does currently have the most to gain if America suddenly went full green. That plus you never use straight up logic to change the minds of the masses...instead quote a man who loves Tanks, Hummers, and symbolizes America then you'll start changing some opinions.

[–]Arthrawn 10ポイント11ポイント  (1子コメント)

symbolizes America

The Austrian?

[–]MisterPopolopogus 29ポイント30ポイント  (0子コメント)

The naturalized U.S. citizen

[–]ScroteMcGoate 53ポイント54ポイント  (2子コメント)

And Arnold is twice the governor Palin is, so QED.

[–]man_of_a_few_words 10ポイント11ポイント  (1子コメント)

Twice zero is still not much. The Democrats fixed his deficit, for Crissake!!!

[–]frezik 6ポイント7ポイント  (0子コメント)

Just numerically speaking, he was in office more than twice as long as Palin.

[–]Gl0riousGr0uch 45ポイント46ポイント  (0子コメント)

I don't want to be the last investor in Blockbuster as Netflix emerged. That's exactly what is going to happen to fossil fuels.

SHOTS FIRED!

[–]Rusty_14 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

But... But... The electric car doesn't have an engine to run full blast... The most full blast an electric car can go while sitting still is having the lights, AC and radio on...

[–]azrealrex 316ポイント317ポイント  (140子コメント)

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.In May 2011, Nye received an honorary doctor of science degree from Willamette University[68] In May 2015, Rutgers University awarded him an honorary doctor of science degree and paid him a $35,000 speaker's fee for his participation as the keynote speaker at the ceremony.[69][70] In addition, Bill Nye also received an honorary doctor of pedagogy degree from Lehigh University on May 20, 2013, at the commencement ceremony.[71] Nye received the 2010 Humanist of the Year Award from the American Humanist Association.[72] In October 2015, Nye was awarded with an honorary doctorate of science from Simon Fraser University.

Sound pretty scientific to me!

[–]morpheusmade 172ポイント173ポイント  (8子コメント)

But She was VP nominee and had a tv show and made it through half of a governors term in Alaska...

[–]kliff0rd 48ポイント49ポイント  (5子コメント)

Don't forget being mayor of a small town in Alaska.

[–]man_of_a_few_words 10ポイント11ポイント  (0子コメント)

I did sleep at a Holiday Inn once

[–]TepidToiletSeat 297ポイント298ポイント  (77子コメント)

Not to fuel the flames, but that's a lot of honorary and not real degrees though.

[–]Blahfilm 176ポイント177ポイント  (9子コメント)

TIL that Bill Nye only has a Bachelor of Science degree.

[–]PencilvesterStallone 68ポイント69ポイント  (9子コメント)

Isaac Newton developed Calculus out in the country by himself, away from the plague. Tesla dropped out. Charles Darwin was self taught. Michael Faraday had very little formal training and started his scientific pursuits with a very weak foundation in calculus, Calculus is extremely important to the ideas he developed on induction etc.

The point is, that despite the fact that college degrees have become viewed as synonymous with qualifications in a field of study, the natural affinity for rational thought and scientific inquiry and experimentation require no more than a passion for the scientific method and understanding in general. These are both things that I would say he has in spades.

[–]PlatinumJester 31ポイント32ポイント  (1子コメント)

Yeah but Bill Nye isn't exactly in the same league as Tesla, Newton, Darwin or Faraday. He's a public educator of science and occasional engineer and though he's done a great job of both neither are what you might call game changing.

[–]PencilvesterStallone 13ポイント14ポイント  (0子コメント)

I agree with you 100%. My intention on including their names was to show that some of the greatest scientists, who changed our understanding of the universe and our place in it, would fail the test to be considered scientists, insofar as it is being qualified by people like Sarah Palin.

[–]GoonCommaThe 27ポイント28ポイント  (0子コメント)

All of those people are famous scientists because they actually did rigorous scientific research. Bill Nye just talks about it.

[–]Goku_Uzamaki 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

Well he does have a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cornell. An Engineer is basically just a scientist that applies science rather than study it so he has plenty of capability to comprehend scientific data.

[–]rrepulsar 94ポイント95ポイント  (47子コメント)

But the truth is, degrees don't mean anything anyway. Experience and rigor is what matters, and Nye has a lot of both. He clearly knows how to apply the scientific method and very clearly knows what he's talking about. Palin on the other hand is a raving moron who is just a puppet for a larger system she doesn't even understand.

[–]cablesupport 28ポイント29ポイント  (5子コメント)

There was a controversy a few years ago where Bill endorsed a cleaning product which was essentially pseudoscience. He designed some experiments at home to show it worked, but he didn't include adequate controls. I never followed up on that so I don't know if he recanted, but at the time it was a very disappointing instance of a science hero like Bill showing a bias.

[–]returnofbeefsupreme 22ポイント23ポイント  (2子コメント)

He also made a public statement about the patriots at the beginning of deflategate saying that there was no way the ideal gas law accounted for the balls being deflated. Which is the exact opposite of what every other scientific inquiry since has found. And theres been a disturbingly high number of them considering how blown out of proportion that ridiculous scandal got. But, Bill Nye is a well known Seattle sports homer and im a pats fan, so take it for what its worth

[–]Neospector 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

Activeion?

There's a PhysicsForum thread acting skeptical if not a touch smug about it

I can't actually find much about the subject. Supposedly there was some "outrage" but it's either lost to the sands of the internet or just plain not there.

Here's a Reddit AMA 3 years back, and the story appears to have broken in 2010, meaning he's either just sort of not mentioned it or he hasn't actually changed his stance on it. I'm scanning the 2015 AMA now, but there don't appear to be any replies of people asking him about it, let alone visible ones that he saw.

[–]AgingElephant 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

I mean, someone gave Kanye an honorary Doctorate. Kinda devalues the people who actually study and publish papers to reach that point.

[–]MyersVandalay 15ポイント16ポイント  (4子コメント)

IMO the biggest things for his credit would be the sundial, and his work at boeing. IMO honorary things just mean he entertained people in that study, which really only testifies for his TV show work, and the TV show work only shows he was able to read the script in a very charismatic way.

[–]deadlytiger3960 78ポイント79ポイント  (6子コメント)

"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." ~Isaac Asimov.

[–]LabKitty 65ポイント66ポイント  (4子コメント)

"It's hard to debate these people when you say 1+1 = 2 and they say arithmetic is a liberal lie." -- Barney Frank (I think)

[–]saltandvinegar25 9ポイント10ポイント  (0子コメント)

As much as I dislike Barney Frank, this is very true. You can't have a reasonable discussion with them without them calling you a socialist liar.

[–]Banehead1 109ポイント110ポイント  (4子コメント)

[–]JooJoona 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yup, that is exactly it. Too stupid to comprehend one's own stupidity.

[–]openmindedskeptic 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

I feel like there needs to be a subreddit of really fascinating wiki pages that I should know about like this.

[–]nerfviking 22ポイント23ポイント  (0子コメント)

Technically true, but Nye is a lot less of an idiot.

[–]Karlen89 53ポイント54ポイント  (2子コメント)

Palin's struggle to remain relevant continues

[–]factoid_ 12ポイント13ポイント  (0子コメント)

Pretty sure she's just in it for the money. She knows she can be rich by being controversial. She abandoned her post as governor of alaska to make money on fox news. She wanted power, but has now decided money suits her better.

[–]chunkysnows 40ポイント41ポイント  (0子コメント)

He's not a scientist. He's a science guy!

[–]cyking 45ポイント46ポイント  (6子コメント)

You don't have to be a rocket appliance to figure that out.

[–]kittenrice 106ポイント107ポイント  (14子コメント)

She continued: "oh, yeah, hey, doncha know, and the obama, I was at my house, how do you explain that? It was cold, you know, so then and, global warming? more like...did I tell you I was going to be vice president? What do they even do?"

[–]Jorhiru 69ポイント70ポイント  (12子コメント)

"Cloud proud clingin ringin singin gun swingers!"

[–]InfiniteApathy 45ポイント46ポイント  (0子コメント)

Please stop before I have an aneurysm

[–]youreasiriustar 25ポイント26ポイント  (9子コメント)

I honestly can't tell if this is parody or if it's an actual quote. After that one speech where her teleprompter broke, anything seems possible.

[–]weldill 31ポイント32ポイント  (8子コメント)

Here's that actual quote. I can't say it's much better.

[–]MachoNacho95 15ポイント16ポイント  (0子コメント)

MY BRAIN HURTS

[–]ScroteMcGoate 13ポイント14ポイント  (1子コメント)

Trump doing his damnest to not bust out laughing. "Heeeeey, this lady, eh?"

[–]notsooriginal 5ポイント6ポイント  (2子コメント)

I watched it 5 times and I'm still not sure what she said. Even more confusing is the fact that people cheering without being able to understand what she was saying.

[–]JoeScotterpuss 25ポイント26ポイント  (0子コメント)

As Colbert puts it: I just had a snack so Global Hunger can't be real.

[–]Fus_Rho_Duh 83ポイント84ポイント  (2子コメント)

Some of the dumbest of people have the loudest voice.

[–]ButtholeSurfer76 40ポイント41ポイント  (1子コメント)

It's easy to be confident in stupidity. Knowing one's own ignorance humbles us so that we don't spout bullshit we don't know anything about. Ms. Palin is too stupid to be aware of her ignorance.

[–]domecraft1 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

"All I know is that I know nothing" ~ Socrates

[–]RemoteViewingTrainee 104ポイント105ポイント  (4子コメント)

Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am

when did Nye get a full lobotomy?

[–]KardelSharpeyes 59ポイント60ポイント  (4子コメント)

I don't care how cheap Alaska was to buy off Russia, the Russian's got the better deal.

[–]cracklejackal_ 40ポイント41ポイント  (3子コメント)

Alaskan here- we'd be happy to give (all of) the Palins to Russia, free of charge.

[–]KardelSharpeyes 26ポイント27ポイント  (2子コメント)

At this point you might have to pay the Russians just to take them :P

[–]cracklejackal_ 30ポイント31ポイント  (0子コメント)

10/10 Would pay

[–]JooJoona 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

Plenty of room in Siberia.

[–]djxfade 120ポイント121ポイント  (19子コメント)

Sometimes, I wish people like her woke up one day and thought, "What have I done today to make progress for humanity?"

[–]raptureRunsOnDunkin 259ポイント260ポイント  (11子コメント)

No no no. See that's actually her problem. She does wake up every day and ask her self that question.

This is the result.

[–]TronLightyear 82ポイント83ポイント  (7子コメント)

exactly

she doesnt see herself as part of the problem, she thinks shes doing something great every day

[–]digital_end 77ポイント78ポイント  (5子コメント)

Give me an evil person any day over a person who thinks they are a saint trying to save the world.

An evil person can realize the damage they're doing and grow.

Someone who is convinced themselves that what they're doing is good will kill your children with a warm sincere smile and then sleep soundly that night knowing they did the right thing.

[–]IgnoreEverything 17ポイント18ポイント  (1子コメント)

That is why I hate Umbridge more than Voldemort

[–]digital_end 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

I almost can't watch "The Fog" because of this woman. The actress does a great job of conveying the zealotry, and the worst is the ability of a zealot to attract others when they're desperate and afraid.

That type of thing is just very disturbing to me at my core. It's not an anti-religious thing either, it's anything like that. Mobs formed around an extreme personality.

[–]fairly_bookish 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

We'd be much better off if people like her would wake up and think, "Maybe I should just stay in bed today."

[–]Halvus_I 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

― C.S. Lewis

[–]silent_xfer 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

Considering she just woke up, probably nothing.

[–]TaiBoBetsy 91ポイント92ポイント  (23子コメント)

I mean, I can see her point. Bill Nye is an entertainer. His credentials in the scientific community are incredibly limited, and he does not actively pursue any tangible research on a team. His inventions include a sundial for mars, ballet pointe shoes, and a water filled plastic bag he calls a magnifying glass.

From looking at his profile, his largest qualifications for calling himself a scientist are two published science related books, however these appear geared towards promoting the sciences rather than discovery. He does not have any published research journals or papers, which is pretty damning.

While I agree, the man likes science and does a lot to promote it, I also find him pretty unnecessarily polarizing at times, and has championed some pretty bad theory in the past, but I suppose that's no disqualification. The man has done a lot to promote science through entertainment and his work on educational boards, and he is an entertainer whose career now revolves around science. By that metric, certainly he's more qualified than Sarah.

But do I think Bill Nye would enter a research lab at MIT and start calling himself a scientist? Hell No.

[–]zenlike 37ポイント38ポイント  (1子コメント)

I'd call him a 'science educator,' which I don't think should be perjorative.

[–]ejh3k 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

I have been scrolling through trying to find this wording, which I believe he uses to describe himself more than anything.

[–]MustangTech 46ポイント47ポイント  (7子コメント)

he doesn't call himself a scientist, he's a "science guy"

[–]TaiBoBetsy 25ポイント26ポイント  (6子コメント)

Oh I know, I'm not saying he does. The perception is that he's a 'scientist' which is the purpose of this thread.

[–]Swibblestein 15ポイント16ポイント  (1子コメント)

"I'm not going in really as a scientist, as such. I want to remind everybody I'm a mechanical engineer" - Bill Nye

Bill Nye, is, by his own admission, not a scientist. He is a science communicator, and it's important to understand the difference.

He does an excellent job communicating science, and doing so accurately. He is an awesome guy. But he is not a scientist.

Just, thought I'd throw that out there for all of you. Yes, Sarah Palin is a moron. Yes, she's wrong on climate change. But so often I see non-scientists describe themselves as scientists, or describe others as scientists when they are not, and that's not correct either.

[–]light_is_life 11ポイント12ポイント  (0子コメント)

Palin is a de-Nye-er.

[–]masteriskofficial 30ポイント31ポイント  (3子コメント)

LAMAR SMITH IS A FUCKING IDIOT. He came and gave a talk to my Aeroscience class when I was in 12th grade (2013). Finished his lil' "I'm in charge of NASA's budget, isn't that cool?" speech, then opened it up for questions, assuming/lightly suggesting that they be about what it's like to be in Congress. We (20 students, aged 16-18) tore him to fucking shreds. Simple questions too!

"What is your stance on SOPA & PIPA?" He had no idea what they were about. Said something about Google searches.

"What are your thoughts on the Commercial Crew & Cargo Program?" He thought it was SpaceX, VIRGIN FUCKING GALACTIC, and of course didn't know about Boeing or Orbital.

15 minutes into what was supposed to be a 45 minute event, he mumbled something about a meeting and walked out as quickly as he could. Holy FUCK our principal & superintendent were mad at us (we were the flagship engineering program at the school). We were cracking up, until we realized how sad it was that a bunch of 17 yr olds annihilated the man that literally oversees NASA's entire budget.

[–]Grayscail 12ポイント13ポイント  (0子コメント)

been waiting 3 years to find somewhere to rant about that?

[–]SaoPaolo90 9ポイント10ポイント  (1子コメント)

Let's let what she's saying sink in for a moment. The fact that she's using herself as an example of someone who isn't a scientist as a metric to judge someone else as also not being a scientist is entirely self-defeating. If she's saying 'Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am', it's safe to assume that she's telling you that she isn't one (which she obviously isn't) in order to say that he isn't one either. Problem with that is that she then makes it very hard to justify having any say in what makes a scientist at all, given that she's already admitted that she isn't one. It's just such an unbelievably stupid comment.

[–]TeenageHandM0del 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

A dangerously ignorant individual

[–]themoosemind 8ポイント9ポイント  (0子コメント)

Bill Nye might not be a high-degree scientist (only a h-index of 4 according to another redditors post and only a B.S. in mechanical engineering), but he has a Bachelor of Science. And a h-index of 4. Whereas Sarah Palin has a "bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism".

Always when I read from people saying climate change is a hoax, I have to think of this image.

edit: I just found the Wikipedia article: Scientific opinion on climate change

Also, a quote by Palin:

Donald Trump is so reasonable

Enough said.

[–]badken 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

'The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.' - Bukowski

[–]Donkeywad 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

She's still acting like a jackass to remain relevant. No different than a fame-whoring VH1 reality show contestant.

[–]frezik 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

Fortunately, the science of Climate Change does not hinge on Bill Nye.

[–]Amanoo 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

As are the 97% of scientists, who also happen to agree on the matter of climate change, I'm sure.

[–]the_colonialist 23ポイント24ポイント  (18子コメント)

She is not wrong but I am sure Reddit will lose its collective mind.

[–]AtomicSteve21 9ポイント10ポイント  (11子コメント)

Right for the wrong reasons.

But then you have to decide what defines science.

1) Having a science degree (does engineering count?)
2) Performing scientific feats (what qualifies?)
3) Science Education (does teaching about science make you a scientist?)

[–]chromosome22 20ポイント21ポイント  (1子コメント)

"Global warming? That's just God hugging us closer!" -- Tina Fey's Sarah Palin

[–]BaronWombat 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

Not sure where this fits into the current conversation, but...

The first attribute of being a Scientist is understanding how Science works. Ms Palin fails this test,while Bill Nye makes a living as an expert explaining it. She doesn't even make it past this first test.

Secondly, one could forgive someone who is ignorant because the relevant facts are not available to them. In her case, she refuses to accept the facts. Which in my book qualifies the use of 'Stupid' as a valid descriptor.

Some 5 years ago I predicted her days of prominence were ending as her looks were beginning to fade (which is really the only reason the GOP male herd even bothered to pay attention in the first place). Her 'rebel' charisma has soured into harridan bar fly screeches for attention, effectively reduced to being seen as a bored mangy parrot with a mean streak.

[–]chicagomusician 5ポイント6ポイント  (2子コメント)

Can you imagine, how fucking mindblowing it would be if climate change was made up by the scientists?

I mean, don't get me wrong, I know climate change is a fact and Sarah Palin is a fucking idiot for denying it(for fucks sake, it was just fucking cold in April in Chicago),

But can you just imagine? What if?

What if we were wrong, being misled, and the deniers were the ones who were right about it all?

Shit would be nuts man.

[–]cheeezzburgers 24ポイント25ポイント  (53子コメント)

Technically it is true, Bill is a mechanical engineer by education.

[–]mytwocents2222222222 37ポイント38ポイント  (46子コメント)

Engineering is a science degree.

[–]TaiBoBetsy 9ポイント10ポイント  (5子コメント)

Does that make me a scientist? eyes his computer science degree

[–]Ekorn 15ポイント16ポイント  (2子コメント)

Are veterinarians, dentists and nurses scientists?

[–]upro 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

I earned a neuroscience degree years ago, and by no stretch of the imagination would I be so pompous as to call myself a scientist.

[–]tripletstate 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

An 8 year old at a science fair is more of a scientist than she will ever be.

[–]padrepio23 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yis7GzlXNM Awesome, especially Tyson solving the equation.

Edit: Actually the best part is Weird Al

[–]Kongsfjorden 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

MS in glacial sediments here:

Where to begin, I mean the just the abysmal outlook for her state from the methane releases as permafrost goes away, coastline stability degrades from the lack of sea ice, the temperate glacial system, just wow.