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comment by rob05c
rob05c  ·  3705 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham (HD)

    I don't think this should be happening
I think the debate was a good thing for science, and here's why:

Two types of people hear the debate: closed-minded and open-minded. The closed-minded don't matter, they're not changing their minds.

Maybe I'm an optimist, but I find it hard to imagine an open-minded Evolutionist hearing the debate and thinking "This is a debate of equals, Creationism must be a valid position." Ham's arguments are just too fallacious.

But suppose I'm an open-minded, rational Creationist. I'm a kid, or maybe a twenty-something, in Tennessee. I grew up learning Creationism from my church and school. I'm not about to buy a Dawkins book; I have too much else to read, and I "know" Creationism is true anyway. But suppose I hear the debate. Nye's arguments on the whole make a lot more sense than Ham's, even if I believe Ham's theistic tangents. So the seed of skepticism is planted.

From a rational perspective, I understand the "don't acknowledge them" argument. But from a sociological perspective, I really think this did more good than harm.

By the way, part of the reason I think the debate was good for those reasons, is because I was that kid.





bonjourdemain  ·  3704 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    So the seed of skepticism is planted.
That's what I think is so important about this. It makes those with any sort of open minded view who watched to at least question what may have been spoon fed to them their entire lives.