On sunday, at the inlaws place, we were watching the news in the afternoon while supper was cooking. There was some live coverage on CNN about the nuclear reactors in Japan that were at risk after the earthquake. Despite some poor newscasting during which the host tried to freak out the viewers with suggested chernobyl like holocausts instead of giving information, they had a government nuclear advisor on for a bit but since there weren't a lot of details the guy refused to speculate and wasn't willing to make any inflammatory statements - just calmly stated the few facts and refused to speculate.
I guess it just wasn't enough for CNN.
After this the newscaster said that up next they were bringing in their "scientific advisor" to give us the "real science behind what was happening in Japan".
"Finally" I thought...until they announced who it was: Bill Nye.
Bill Nye the F*cking "Science Guy"...from kids TV on PBS.
I was livid.
Seriously? American people - do you realise that this is what your newspeople think of your intelligence? They think that you need a child science program host to dumb down nuclear science and potential nuclear meltdown disaster to "your level" - to spice it up and make it entertaining? Maybe make it more "wacky" for you?
Yes, technically he has a degree in engineering and yes he does a lot to raise interest in science for kids - I'm not knocking that.
But a scientific advisor on nuclear science for the masses?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...I left the room in disgust.
2 comments:
I've never seen him on TV, but I do know of him as the Executive Director of the Planetary Society.
Kids' TV presenters have brains too.
;-)
I'm not knocking him personally...he is just not in any way qualified to be a NUCLEAR scientific advisor.
It would be like calling ME up as nuclear scientific advisor on the news...:)
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