Thoughts on the Nye vs. Ham Debate

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Earlier tonight, Bill Nye debated creationist Ken Ham on the viability of Creationism as a model to be used in science. I found their discussion interesting to watch, and have/had these thoughts:

Why does he always keep going back to god? Ham claims that he is merely offering another perspective, and is not trying to inject religion into schools. However, this very premise is fundamentally flawed. Perhaps the argument can be made that creationism can be treated as science (I, personally, do not believe that this is the case, but regardless…), but it is not possible to separate creationism from religion. Unless you can separate the arguments for creationism from the Bible, Genesis, and the so-called word of god, it will always be based in religion. Ham focused too much on knowing things because they are the supposed word of god. This argument works fine for people who believe in god, and for them, this is a perfectly reasonable way to think. And they are certainly entitled to that, but Ham failed to acknowledge what creationism means for the millions of people who do not believe in god, or those who believe in a different one than him.

Furthermore, Ham never actually proves anything, or provides any explanations other than “Well, there’s this book. Called the bible, and it explains it all.” This is, in my opinion, a complete cop-out. Just because something is unknown or uncertain does not mean that we should just jump to conclusions about it. I was reminded of discussions that we have had in my Biology classes at school. Life is inarguably complex. Tiny molecular processes happening inside all of our cells collectively make life work, and make us actually alive. However, just because something is complex does not mean that we should immediately give up and stop trying to figure out how it works.

Instead, we should endeavor to try and discover more. We should try to work out why things work they way they do, or how they even work in the first place. I am fascinated by the intricate cellular processes such as photosynthesis, metabolism, etc. And we can study and examine these things and try to figure them out. We may not have all the answers, but acknowledging the unknown is better than turning to a supernatural explanation.

Besides, turning to the supernatural may not lead to the answers that creationists want to hear. For one thing, if there was a designer for life, he/she certainly was not intelligent. Most living organisms are not at all “perfect” or efficient at what they do. Most biological processes are simply “good enough”, but happen to work out in the long run. I’ll use an example that I remember (mainly because we studied it recently). In humans, only approximately 50% of sperm is actually healthy–that is, able to swim and properly fertilize an egg. Only 50%! That means that half of the sperm we produce is for all intents and purposes useless. What does that mean for us? Well for one thing, it means that humans are not perfect. But more importantly, it means that we don’t need to be perfect. This 50% efficiency has worked out well enough (I mean, here we all are), so I’m certainly not complaining. (Though it is interesting to consider the fact that because humans are not perfect, would that then mean that if we were created in god’s image, that god him/herself is not perfect as well?)

The same thing applies to all other aspects of science. The pursuit of discovery, knowledge, and the great unknown is one of mankind’s greatest challenges. We are unique in our ability to look at the world around us and try to figure out how it works, how it got here, and what might happen next. Who knows what we’ll discover? Maybe there is a god-like being that created it all, or maybe we’re alone in the universe. Regardless, we’ll continue to look for evidence, and that evidence will serve to explain what’s really going on in the world. It’s better to seek out truth, knowledge, and explanations instead of copping out and simply claiming that “god did it because the bible said so.” Don’t be satisfied with what someone else has told you. Go out for yourself, and discover.

I agree completely with Bill Nye – we need more curious scientists, researchers, and engineers to lead the next generation in the pursuit of knowledge. Tonight’s “debate” may not have changed many opinions, or reached any meaningful conclusions, but maybe, just maybe, it convinced at least someone, somewhere, to continue trying to figure out our world.

And maybe one day we, as a species, will know just a little bit more about our place in the universe.

“If we stop looking for the next answer for the next question, we, in the United States, will be outcompeted by other countries, other economies.”

– Bill Nye

Cryptocurrencies and Damn, Past-Me Was an Idiot

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With all the recent talk about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, I decided that I should probably see what it’s all about. Bitcoin itself has become too expensive to even break into the market ($800ish/BTC? Yea, no), and I didn’t want to take this too seriously anyways.

Which I why I am now the proud owner of quite a few Dogecoin (wow. such money. many invest). At a price of 1k/1USD ish, it’s a lot more reasonable. Plus, the community is just better all around. (reddit.com/r/Dogecoin – they are great). I even got myself set up with a mining pool to starting mining coins myself. (Head over to Dogecoin.com to find out how to get started and come to the moon also!)

All was going well – this cryptocurrency thing is kind of cool, but I don’t have too much engagement.

Until I remembered that a few years ago I was in another mining pool.
For Bitcoin.
When the price was more like $0.25/BTC.
And I definitely did have a few bitcoins.
On that old iMac.
On its harddrive.
Which we wiped and sold a while back.

Damn.

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People are wrong when they’retrying remembertheir education in order to see that there is a difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit.

HOW TO SHARPEN PENCILS

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You can sharpen a pencil without a pencil-sharpener, but you can’t sharpen a pencil without a pencil.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/60718161]

I really like this video. I don’t know why I like it, but I really like it. It’s just good.

One World One Roar

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Finally got around to gathering all together in one place…

ALL the things from the Katy Perry contest!

Original Contest Video:

Happy Birthday Video:


I made this after the producers asked us to put something together within the timeframe of a week. They told us that it would end up being shown on Good Morning America as part of their concert coverage. They ended up doing nothing with it. Which is frustrating, but that’s just how the industry is.

One World One Roar overview video:

I made this as a recap of the entire thing and to explain the One World One Roar project.

I think that through this entire process–the videomaking, the interviews, and everything else–I have learned quite a large many things about this thing that is the TV industry. It hasn’t all been good, not at all, but still enough to make me want to pursue a career in it.

I’ve learned that in the real world, you can do a lot of work for something, only to have other people completely overlook your involvement. With this whole thing, Gavin and Courtney have gotten credit for basically everything, despite myself and many others being involved behind the scenes. Personally, I don’t mid too much, though it is irritating to have your role completely forgotten.

Also, it’s really annoying how once something becomes popular, everyone else will immediately try to jump on board and claim that they were involved. But again, this is just the way it is, and there’s nothing to be done about it. Towards the end of the concert, I was talking with a friend’s mother who was volunteering there that morning. (I was hanging out with the lighting and camera guys in the back, because I was busy not being onstage. They had the best view anyways) She told me that it doesn’t really matter, as long as I knew “in my heart” that I had had a bigger role. Which is something I’ve taken to heart. I don’t really care if I get my name on everything I make. Sure, it’s nice to get a credit on things, but it isn’t everything. Knowing that I helped make something great is what is really important.

Either that, or I’m just trying to justify to myself getting screwed out of a bigger opportunity.