Bill Nye 3: Planetary.

 Space exploration brings out the best in us. It is inherently optimistic.

- Bill Nye

I think that it's safe to say that an interest in space exploration is common among science fiction fans.  It's not really the same as what we've been reading about, but it's obvious that the global space initiative responsible for things like the International Space Station represents the first steps toward a future where we explore - and perhaps inhabit - more and more of our solar system.*  However, it's more of a spectator sport than anything else, after all, there's not a lot one person can do to move the process forward.

Or at least that's what I would have said until last month, when I found out about the Planetary Society.

The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by science spokesmen Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, with the intent of creating an organization that would allow the general public to become more involved in the exploration of space in two ways:  by giving it a voice for advocacy, and by offering opportunities for education and participation.

The Society now has over 40,000 members around the world, making it the largest and most influential public space organization group on Earth - if not the solar system.  Bill Nye is the current CEO, and the Board of Directors and Advisory Council is made up of a Who's Who of space exploration, investigation and advocacy such as Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, science fiction author David Brin, Quirks & Quarks host (and fellow Canadian) Bob McDonald, scientist and SETI president Frank Drake, actor Robert Picardo, Hayden Planetarium Director and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and a host of others, united by a shared commitment to expand humanity's horizons.

I'm proud to say that I'm now literally a card-carrying**  member of the Planetary Society.  The annual membership fee is about $60 CAD, which struck me as a reasonable investment to make in helping to promote our future in space.

Let's face it, sooner or later you have to put your money where your mouth is.

http://planetary.org/

- Sid

* We're progressing toward that future either very quickly or ridiculously slowly, depending on whether you start the clock with Yuri Gagarin or Lucy (the 3.2 million year old fossil Australopithecus, that is, not Charlie Brown's nemesis).

** I got a nice T-shirt, too.

Bill Nye 2: Money Money Money.

Bill Nye: "I bet I'm the only person here who carries a Canadian five dollar bill around with them."

Me: (reaching thoughtfully for my wallet)  "Actually, Bill...."

I feel humbled by having to visit Florida to learn from an American that the Canadian contribution to the international space program is featured on the back of our five dollar bill.

Hang on - does anybody know what's on the ten?

- Sid

Bill Nye 1: "Stand back, I'm going to try science!"

Last month I attended an e-learning conference in Florida, where to my mild surprise Bill Nye was featured as the keynote speaker on the first day of the event. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what the Science Guy was going to bring to the table, so I was pleasantly surprised by his intense one-hour presentation on learning, exploration and, of course, science and the importance of scientific thinking and investigation.

Live whiteboard illustration by Kelly Kingman

If asked, I would have said that Bill Nye was an unexpected candidate to be the voice of scientific rationalism in the 21st century. It's as if Mister Rogers had decided to launch a crusade to return America to its religious roots, based on his popularity as a children's program host. (Not as strange an example as you might think - Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister.)

However, Nye's passion for science is undeniable, and his television stint from 1993 to 1998 as Bill Nye The Science Guy makes him as recognizable an icon to the current generation as Fred Rogers was during his own era, giving Nye a visibility factor that instantly raises the profile for his advocacy regarding scientific theory.

He's strategically maintained and developed his pop-culture profile with a pair of best-selling books* on evolution and science, and innumerable TV appearances as an advocate for scientific thought. A prime example is his famous two hour and 45 minute 2014 debate with creationist Ken Ham, which had an audience of over one million broadcast viewers and which has received over 6 million views on YouTube. He's also the current president of The Planetary Society, an international non-profit organization created to allow the general public to contribute toward the advancement of space exploration.

The comparison to a religious crusade is not entirely appropriate, given that Nye's crusade is in some ways against religion - or, to be more accurate, the fundamentalist view of the world around us, I don't think the Science Guy objects to religion per se.

Similarly, I have nothing against people who have chosen to have faith in a higher being, or to take a spiritual view of life, but I have to agree with Bill Nye: the insurmountable problem with creationism is that it doesn't advance our understanding of how the universe works. Ignoring or denying all the scientific evidence regarding the origins of the universe does not move us forward in our desire to explore that universe.

It's obvious that Bill Nye has successfully transcended his origins as a children's show host, and made himself into a passionate, dedicated spokesperson for science and scientific thought. If you ask me, science could do a lot worse.

- Sid

* 2014's Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation and his 2015 follow-up Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World.