University of Lethbridge students, several wearing bold bow ties, began lining up outside the doors of the First Choice Savings Centre on Monday Jan. 23 as early as 11 a.m. They were there to see a man who played a part in their thirst for learning and knowledge.
Bill Nye, the world famous Science Guy, took the stage hours later at 2 p.m. A crowd of more than 2,000 U of L students, various school groups and members of the public welcomed him with a standing ovation.
Nye’s message of the day: “You’re going to change the world. You’re going to take over. It’s going to be yours.”
Nye’s television program ran 100 episodes over five years in the 1990s. It won 19 Emmy Awards and in the process, educated and entertained people of all ages.
“I put my heart and soul into that thing,” Nye said of the show.
“I worked a lot on that and I still do, but you meet people who are old enough to vote and pay taxes and so on and they were greatly influenced by the show and it’s very moving. It’s wonderful. So we’ll see if one of you takes over.”
Nye stressed the importance of being scientifically literate and being critical of things we hear.
“Don’t take people’s word for things. You will meet people that are absolutely sure of things, and they’re wrong. And then furthermore, you and I are absolutely certain of certain things that are wrong.
“Do you know what those things are? Nobody knows. That’s what you’ve got to figure out. What are the things that you’re sure of that you’re wrong about? Then you can change the world.”
Nye, the executive director of the Planetary Society, said present and future generations have the capacity to change to world. Positive change depends on remaining objective, rational and open to scientific theory.
“I don’t know what the ancient dinosaurs were thinking. They just let themselves get hit by that asteroid, but we can prevent that. No other civilization or no other groups of humans, as far as I know, have that capability,” said Nye.
Even after years of scientific advances and discoveries, debates over scientific theory and creation theory still occur.
“If you’re a creationist and you’re a grown-up, fine. Just don’t pass it on to your kids, because we need people who can solve these problems,” said Nye.
“There really is a large fraction of people who have risen to power, to decision-making capability in governments who don’t understand science, who don’t understand the process by which humans have come to know, what I like to call, ‘our place in space’ – ‘our place among the stars’.
“However, understand that if you believe in creationism, I hope that you believe in environmental responsibility. Can we work together to make the environment cleaner and healthier for everybody?”
Nye arrived at the university wearing his trademark bow tie and a Planetary Society lapel pin. “I’m rockin’ the bow tie,” Nye said.
At the end of his presentation, Nye took time to answer questions from the audience, before signing copies of his most recent book, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blast of Science.
The ULSU Food Bank received proceeds of the ticket sales from the sold-out show.
Photo by Connolly Tate
Bill Nye the Science Guy talks to reporters before his presentation on Jan. 23 at the U of L.
