Bill Nye the Science Guy, a popular TV scientist broadcasted on American television, is receiving a new TV show on Netflix called “Bill Nye Saves the World.” The announcement was released on the Netflix Twitter page on Aug. 31.According to USA Today, Bill Nye said, “[On the show] we’ll discuss the complex scientific issues facing us today, with episodes on vaccinations, genetically modified foods and climate change.”Nye continued in a news release, “With the right science and good writing, we’ll do our best to enlighten and entertain our audience. And, perhaps we’ll change the world a little.” A large number of domestic students claim they watched Bill Nye’s show growing up. Jordan Everett, a junior studying fitness and wellness from Kaneohe, said she was happy to watch his show as a child. She remembered saying in school, “I do not want to do this or learn these [science worksheets].” However, she said Bill Nye helped her feel okay with learning science, instead of doing worksheets. Everett said she was uninformed about the resurgence of Bill Nye’s TV show. “I feel it gives adults a good way to retouch what they learned in school and also learn what they don’t already know,” she said.Karley Bergeson, a senior exercise science major from Washington, said she didn’t know about Bill Nye’s new show either. Bergeson also became interested in science because of Bill Nye’s show. “I think it’s pretty cool that he’s still motivated to get other people into science… I guess I will have to check it out and see,” said Bergeson. Daniel Scott, associate professor of the Natural Sciences Department, said he watched Bill Nye as a child and enjoyed it. As for Nye’s new show, Professor Scott said he has doubts. “I feel he allows his political views to influence his decisions about science,” Scott said. Nye is known for being a strong atheist and having strong political views in his life, according to USA Today. Another concern Scott addressed was certain topics will be discussed on the show, whether it be sensitive concepts such as creationism or traditional. Scott has no plans to watch Bill Nye again on Netflix.Mark Cannon, dean of Science and Math, also said he watched Bill Nye as a kid and thought the idea of his show sounds fun. “People in the media, especially politicians, are always making blanket statements… people often don’t stop to think about how valid those statements are,” Cannon said. “It sounds like a really good idea to help with public awareness of what science really is.” Cannon described science as looking at a wall map. He said the map gives a person information about the world, but they can’t see everything such as the distance between Honolulu and Kaneohe. He said the resolution is too far or too close, so it is not everything. “Science is about theories and models,” Cannon said. “Science is like a map where we are trying to put together models that help us to understand the world. [Science] helps to try and encapsulate the world, but it is not the Gospel, so science can be wrong about things. That’s part of the scientific process.”
Writer: Stephanie Soto
