Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham

[Chris]

Who's watching this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI

[Smellyoldgit]

I haven't got the bandwidth to deal with all the stoopid, and that's just Ham's intro!
I'll go for a summary in the morning - too much screaming at the PC frightens the dog.

[ghoulslime]

Ham is such an imbecile!

[Smellyoldgit]

PZ's rolling commentary on Pharyngula tells me 1) Nye's done reasonably ok, 2) Ham's a thick, lying cunt. Did I miss something?

[mondrian]

Smellyoldgit wrote

PZ's rolling commentary on Pharyngula tells me 1) Nye's done reasonably ok, 2) Ham's a thick, lying cunt. Did I miss something?

There's two problems as I see it. Ham stays in the grey areas. He doesn't quite lie nor does he quite tell the truth. Also, 50% of the world has a below average IQ (a scary thought) and the twat knows and capitalises on this.

Because he stays in the grey areas, anyone who doesn't know any better can get fooled by the cunt. That's why he has an audience.

One example was when Ham asked if DNA had produced any new functionality and used the example of amoeba adapting to feed on citric acid? Ham stated that it was able to do this through an existing gene which switched on. Ham's point was that DNA contains all the required genes, doesn't need additional ones and was created by god.

FFS, in recent times, DNA hasn't produced any new functionality that I'm aware of but sure as hell produced a myriad in the world's biological history. How the hell did man develop from single cell entities if it didn't? DNA mutates quite naturally and produces new functionality. That's what it does. However, evolution does't happen overnight. It's a fantastically slow process and takes millions of years. Ham knows this and uses it to support his shit. Nye should have been all over Ham like a rash on that one. Sadly, he didn't.

[mondrian]

mondrian wrote

There's two problems as I see it. Ham stays in the grey areas. He doesn't quite lie nor does he quite tell the truth. Also, 50% of the world has a below average IQ (a scary thought) and the twat knows and capitalises on this.

Because he stays in the grey areas, anyone who doesn't know any better can get fooled by the cunt. That's why he has an audience.

One example was when Ham asked if DNA had produced any new functionality and used the example of amoeba adapting to feed on citric acid? Ham stated that it was able to do this through an existing gene which switched on. Ham's point was that DNA contains all the required genes, doesn't need additional ones and was created by god.

FFS, in recent times, DNA hasn't produced any new functionality that I'm aware of but sure as hell produced a myriad in the world's biological history. How the hell did man develop from single cell entities if it didn't? DNA mutates quite naturally and produces new functionality. That's what it does. However, evolution does't happen overnight. It's a fantastically slow process and takes millions of years. Ham knows this and uses it to support his shit. Nye should have been all over Ham like a rash on that one. Sadly, he didn't.

Apologies - it was E Coli - not amoeba.

[Smellyoldgit]

To save watching a 2.75 hour epic, with far too much Hamspeak - this is a reasonable summary.
Of course, Nye won, and Ham is a thick cunt.

[mondrian]

Smellyoldgit wrote

To save watching a 2.75 hour epic, with far too much Hamspeak - this is a reasonable summary.
Of course, Nye won, and Ham is a thick cunt.

[mondrian]

Other things that Ham does that really gets up my nose is that he calls upon 2-3 scientists that believe in creationism implying that there's a lot of scientists who believe likewise. What he neglects to say is that 90% of scientists believe that creationism is total shit.

He also identifies an issue with current thinking and then uses that example to destroy current thinking. For example, E Coli's ability to metabolise citrate being due to the switching on of an existing gene, according to Ham, implies that DNA doesn't produce new functionality - cunt.

Also, does he attack and prove current thinking is wrong? No - because he can't. He just puts forward his own idiotic ideas. Fuckwit.

[Smellyoldgit]

I wonder if the credulous dolts funding AiG are happy with Hammy's $120k+ 'salary'? and a free internet cookie if anybody can find how much personal wealth the sleazebag has creamed into amassed in his coffers.

[Davin]

That summary is much better than the debate.

[mondrian]

... And that's why religion persists in spite of the fact that, logically, it should have died out long ago. It has now become BIG BUSINESS.

[Node18]

nye mopped the floor with him

[Smellyoldgit]

Tee-fucking-hee!

[Davin]

Must be one funny looking line if I'm on the same side of it as Pat Robertson...