Bill Nye on conversion therapy
Submitted by Robyn on Mon, 05/29/2017 - 2:49pm
The alt-morality folks have their panties in a bunch over Bill Nye's new Netflix show.
It must be said that this is not the most subtle attempt at humor or social criticism. Nye can be as grating, sometimes, as the anti-science wing of the Republican Party he seems to delight in skewering. Nevertheless, conversion therapy is neither effective nor safe, as the American Psychological Association has found. On that crucial point, Nye is correct.
In point of fact, ice cream is able to neither procreate nor dance.
Comments
And the first comment on Newsweek
Was of course that Bill Nye is an "engineer" and not a "scientist"...
I love the use of a clip from 20 years ago to attack him today. As if science has to be static and unable to use new evidence, like religion...
" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "
Actually, Bill Nye is a scientist.
Funny thing: The writers, editors, et cetera at Newsweek don't get to decide who is a member of my discipline. I however do get to make that call. Bill Nye made that transition some time ago. Scientists think differently than engineers, just like engineers think differently than technicians.
During the Challenger Investigation, Richard Feynman addressed a technician as Doctor. The technician explained his status to Feynman, Feynman explained the above to the technician and then proceeded to refer to him as Doctor for the rest of the investigation.
One of my brothers has a technician's degree. In reality he is an engineer. But in the state of Oregon he is not allowed to use that designation.
Their real concerns:
They are a dying demographic. They must face the possibility that people like my granddaughter will never internalize their hateful ways. That thought keeps them awake at night.