Last night, Bill Nye squared off against creationist Ken Ham at the Creation Museum in Kentucky to debate evolution against Ham's version of creationism. The debate ran almost three hours long, and featured a 30-minute presentation from both Nye and Ham, then a 45-minute round of five minute questions with rebuttals.
Hashtags like #NYEvsHam and #BillNye were trending late last night, and many Twitter users seemed to be backing the Science Guy.
BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL #BillNye
I really hope @TheScienceGuy ends his 30 minutes with: "Bro, do you even science?" #NyeVsHam
If even one kid sees this #creationdebate and decides to become a scientist, or an engineer, Nye's struggle was worth it all. #NyevSham
Nye taking Ham to task for cherry picking the bible 'fact' vs 'poetry'. Nye is having smoked Ham for dinner. #hamonnye
Nye seemed like he was there for two things: debate, and to also remind viewers—who were watching online through Google+—that science is important in the classroom, since many states are currently, and have been, considering teaching creationism alongside evolution in schools. Nye believes this could likely have negative effects on the science community in the coming years, which will also hurt the American economy down the road. One of the most telling questions of the night was the final one, when both men were asked what, if anything, would change their minds about their current opinions. While Ham said nothing could change his mind, Nye said evidence would change his.
