Bill Nye vs. Everybody
What's beef? Ask "The Science Guy."
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Bill Nye is an unlikely villain. Here is a man who, according to his own website, owns approximately 72 bow ties and spends his free time inventing things like “an improved toe shoe for ballerinas.” A mention of the Emmy-winning Bill Nye The Science Guy conjures nothing but warm memories for most people—especially those who were preteens in the early- to mid-’90s. (This was before “tweens” existed, when 11-year-olds were still young enough to be tricked into learning, and Nye was the prototypical cool teacher.) And even when he has played the villain, it’s usually in the service of a greater good: On Ed Begley Jr.'s Living With Ed, Nye provides what can only be considered dramatic tension by HGTV standards as Ed's neighbor and frenemy; their highly publicized attempts to out-“green” each other devolves into what’s been termed an "ecogeek deathmatch" by Mother Jones. In other words, the Begley-Nye “feud” ranks slightly below “intramural ultimate Frisbee” on the potential-for-bloodshed meter. But in the reality outside of television, Bill Nye doesn't need invented enemies. Beyond the bow ties and toe shoes is a man who has earned the scorn of UFOlogists, fundamentalists, and even a classical oboist. As the science guy prepares to deliver a lecture tonight at the Texas Union Ballroom, Decider presents this brief history of Bill Nye-related beefs.
Bill vs. Biblical astronomy
According to a 2006 Waco Tribune-Herald article (which has since been pulled, although it lives on here), some audience members didn't share Nye's enthusiasm for "facts" when he gave a lecture at McLennan Community College. Nye reportedly pointed to a passage in Genesis that speaks of God creating two lights: the sun and the moon. Arguing against a literal interpretation of the Bible, Nye stated the sun is but one among many stars and that the moon does not emit light, but rather reflects it. A number of audience members supposedly stormed out, including one woman with three children in tow, who shouted, "We believe in a God!" Considering this is a man who costars with Ellen Degeneres in an EPCOT ride about the big bang theory, it's surprising this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often.
Grade of beef: Standard
According to a 2006 Waco Tribune-Herald article (which has since been pulled, although it lives on here), some audience members didn't share Nye's enthusiasm for "facts" when he gave a lecture at McLennan Community College. Nye reportedly pointed to a passage in Genesis that speaks of God creating two lights: the sun and the moon. Arguing against a literal interpretation of the Bible, Nye stated the sun is but one among many stars and that the moon does not emit light, but rather reflects it. A number of audience members supposedly stormed out, including one woman with three children in tow, who shouted, "We believe in a God!" Considering this is a man who costars with Ellen Degeneres in an EPCOT ride about the big bang theory, it's surprising this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often.
Grade of beef: Standard
Bill vs. Global warming's best bud
This Larry King Live special pits Nye—representing the Union of Concerned Scientists—against atmospheric physicist Richard Lindzen, who’s famous for his skepticism about humans' role in global warming. Lindzen likens scientists concerned about global warming to “little kids locking themselves in dark closets to see how much they can scare each other.” Nye counters by saying, “His view is a minority on a scale that’s impressive—so probably 100,000 to one or so, scientists vs. him. But I don’t want it to get to be a personal attack.” As Lindzen criticizes Nye's understanding of thermohaline circulation, eyebrows are raised, but both use their inside voices. This low-grade argument ends with Lindzen betting Nye a bottle of scotch that he’s wrong about “ice score records.”
Grade of beef: Utility
Bill vs. Flying saucers
A lone Scully among Mulders, Bill incurs the wrath of four different believers—coincidentally, all named “Bob”—in a single Larry King sit-down. When Nye suggests that it’s “a big step” to go from seeing a UFO on film to assuming it’s an alien spacecraft, former Air Force officer Bob Jacobs goes on an ad hominem spree. He calls him "Mr. Comedian" and "Mr. Skeptic," but crescendos with, "In 1964, you were trying to figure out what girls were. I was in the service in a scientific capacity! So get off your skeptical high horse, pal." The "I'm old" card is hard to trump, but when Nye proposes a "thought experiment," the diss of the day goes to the unidentified voice that blurts, "Are you going to do this with baking soda and vinegar, Bill?" Sure, they come off as hyper-defensive, crotchety bullies, but there are four of them, and that's enough to declare Bill officially “PWND.” (At least, according to the YouTube title and, by extension, the sort of people who use terms like “PWND.”)
Grade of beef: Choice
Bill vs. Blair
As Nye told the UFO witnesses, it's a mistake to confuse coincidence with causality. He apparently neglected to tell that to his former sort-of wife, Blair Tindall, who countered his 2007 petition for a restraining order against her with a lengthy and digressive explanation of what caused her to trespass on his property and symbolically poison his rose bushes. Among her many reasons? When their marriage—a surprise ceremony officiated by Rick Warren at an entertainment conference—was declared invalid, Nye took the opportunity to end the relationship and "ordered" her not to move into their new home. A year and a half of seemingly unrelated misfortunes later, seeing Nye offer Ed's wife Rachelle a rose on Living With Ed drove Tindall to herbicide. Though she admits to killing the roses, she also points out that Bill's petition demonstrates a fuzzy memory for her birthday, middle name, eye color, and height. She writes, "I seriously question Petitioner's recollection or observation of events, if he cannot recall basic facts about someone to whom he was engaged, and with whom he existed as husband and wife." Never mind that this sort of logic would discredit 90 percent of history's eyewitness testimony. In closing, Tindall writes, "I meant to hurt his (our) flowers only, not him." That “(our)” speaks volumes.
Grade of beef: Prime
Bill vs. Bill
This Larry King Live special pits Nye—representing the Union of Concerned Scientists—against atmospheric physicist Richard Lindzen, who’s famous for his skepticism about humans' role in global warming. Lindzen likens scientists concerned about global warming to “little kids locking themselves in dark closets to see how much they can scare each other.” Nye counters by saying, “His view is a minority on a scale that’s impressive—so probably 100,000 to one or so, scientists vs. him. But I don’t want it to get to be a personal attack.” As Lindzen criticizes Nye's understanding of thermohaline circulation, eyebrows are raised, but both use their inside voices. This low-grade argument ends with Lindzen betting Nye a bottle of scotch that he’s wrong about “ice score records.”
Grade of beef: Utility
Bill vs. Flying saucers
A lone Scully among Mulders, Bill incurs the wrath of four different believers—coincidentally, all named “Bob”—in a single Larry King sit-down. When Nye suggests that it’s “a big step” to go from seeing a UFO on film to assuming it’s an alien spacecraft, former Air Force officer Bob Jacobs goes on an ad hominem spree. He calls him "Mr. Comedian" and "Mr. Skeptic," but crescendos with, "In 1964, you were trying to figure out what girls were. I was in the service in a scientific capacity! So get off your skeptical high horse, pal." The "I'm old" card is hard to trump, but when Nye proposes a "thought experiment," the diss of the day goes to the unidentified voice that blurts, "Are you going to do this with baking soda and vinegar, Bill?" Sure, they come off as hyper-defensive, crotchety bullies, but there are four of them, and that's enough to declare Bill officially “PWND.” (At least, according to the YouTube title and, by extension, the sort of people who use terms like “PWND.”)
Grade of beef: Choice
Bill vs. Blair
As Nye told the UFO witnesses, it's a mistake to confuse coincidence with causality. He apparently neglected to tell that to his former sort-of wife, Blair Tindall, who countered his 2007 petition for a restraining order against her with a lengthy and digressive explanation of what caused her to trespass on his property and symbolically poison his rose bushes. Among her many reasons? When their marriage—a surprise ceremony officiated by Rick Warren at an entertainment conference—was declared invalid, Nye took the opportunity to end the relationship and "ordered" her not to move into their new home. A year and a half of seemingly unrelated misfortunes later, seeing Nye offer Ed's wife Rachelle a rose on Living With Ed drove Tindall to herbicide. Though she admits to killing the roses, she also points out that Bill's petition demonstrates a fuzzy memory for her birthday, middle name, eye color, and height. She writes, "I seriously question Petitioner's recollection or observation of events, if he cannot recall basic facts about someone to whom he was engaged, and with whom he existed as husband and wife." Never mind that this sort of logic would discredit 90 percent of history's eyewitness testimony. In closing, Tindall writes, "I meant to hurt his (our) flowers only, not him." That “(our)” speaks volumes.
Grade of beef: Prime
Bill vs. Bill
