Bill Nye Dominated His Debate Against Creationist Ken Ham

Bill Nye debated creationist Ken Ham tonight.

We tweeted some of the interesting things that Nye said in the debate, some good insight from experts, and some images of Nye looking bewildered.

Check out the feed.

There's also a good summary of the debate on the Liberty Voice, with all the questions asked.

Here are some of his best comments (paraphrased) that we caught.

The big take-home thoughts of the night were that we need our children to be educated in real science, not to base their thoughts on faith.

We need a society well-versed in science to build our future, Nye said.

engineers use science to solve problems and make things. We need them to continue to innovate and be a world leader - @TheScienceGuy

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

Much of Ham's 30-minute presentation included testimonials from creation scientists. Arguing that a few scientists are also creationists doesn't mean that evolution isn't true, Nye said.

I have to disabuse you of a fundamental idea. If a scientist makes a discovery that changes the way we view natural law, we embrace them.

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

Creationists say we can't know the Earth's true age, and say that our methods of dating of rocks is faulty because we can't understand how the world worked in the past because there was no one there to see it. In reality, that's just not true. Physics was the same yesterday as it will be tomorrow and long after we die.

Radiometric evidence is pretty compelling -@TheScienceGuy We see it in the stars and Earth under our feet. We can watch elements degrading.

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

We can also see that there are stars out in the universe that are more than 6,000 light years away. How can that be if God created the Heavens and Earth only 6,000 years ago?

There are billions of stars further than 6,000 years away. We know based on the physics of light, how long their light has been traveling.

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

When asked what would change his mind about creationism, Ham said nothing would. Because the bible says the Earth is 6,000 years old. And the bible will be proven right.

This question means everything. Ken said NOTHING would change his mind, and Bill said simple evidence would. #creationdebate

- Emma (@EmmaMammaJamma) February 5, 2014

.@TheScienceGuy: "it sounds to me that there are parts [of the bible] you take literally and others you take as poetic."

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

Creationists think we are all doomed for believing in an old Earth, but what about all the religious people who believe in God but were never exposed to creationist beliefs?

What became of all those people who were never exposed to creationism? Were they condemned and doomed? - @TheScienceGuy

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

When asked about humans getting stupider over time, Nye responded:

The survival of the fittest doesn't mean the strongest. It means the ones that fit the best in their environment. - @TheScienceGuy

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

Being smarter won't make you more able to resist a plague, he said.

And most importantly:

I base my beliefs on the information and the process that we call science. It fills me with joy. -@TheScienceGuy

- BI: Science (@BI_Science) February 5, 2014

You can watch the debate here if you missed it: