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http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/5/3/164714/1984Today in Stupid
by BooMan
Thu May 3rd, 2012 at 04:47:14 PM EST
When it comes to Stupid, Waco, Texas is never far behind:
As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.
But don't tell that to the good people of Waco, who were "visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence," according to the Waco Tribune.
Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College's Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.
But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars."
The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.
At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled "We believe in God!" and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they'd always suspected.
Silly me, I hadn't even realized that this was a bone of contention. Does the Moon create photons now? What about the New Moon? Is that some kind of blasphemy?
I swear, it's like some people aren't getting any oxygen to the brain.
chrisa
(4,524 posts)What do they think the moon is, a giant lightbulb? lol
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)But it happened a few years ago. Then again it could happen again. Besides, everyone knows the Moon is painted with glow in the dark paint.
Canuckistanian
(42,290 posts)But the ones who walked out are probably no less enlightened today.
"Christianity" in America is rapidly becoming a cult, controlled by the preachers of the most extreme interpretations of the Bible.
D Gary Grady
(133 posts)Nobody booed. A very few people walked out, and one quietly commented to the reporter "We believe in God" (as opposed to shouting it, as some third-hand retellings would have it). The story wasn't deleted from the newspaper website but simply rotated to the pay-to-access archive, and the paper restored its free availability. More here:
http://motherjones.tumblr.com/post/5252684622/more-on-that-bill-nye-waco-moon-god-thing
http://www.examiner.com/article/reporter-of-bill-nye-moonbat-story-speaks
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Nothing in the OP says anything about booing (although some re-tellings do incorrectly claim as much).
From your 2nd link:
Here is how Woods describes the events that followed in his story:
...
We believe in a God! exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.
It's a ginormous piece of cheese
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)Fucking Obama...
ck4829
(35,096 posts)HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts)This is about as dogshit basic as it gets.
nobodyspecial
(2,286 posts)for a guest lecture. They'll probably tar and feather her.
Initech
(100,129 posts)"He's a witch! Get 'em!!!"
muntrv
(14,505 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)There's a hell of a lot that think it's the shadow of the Earth that does it.
"See, the water, the tide comes in and it goes out, Mr. Silverman. It always comes in, and always goes out. You can't explain that." -O'Loofah.
I'm a sometimes sidewalk astronomer, from time to time I'll take my telescope out to public places and show people things like the craters on the Moon, the phases of Venus, rings of Saturn, the Pleiades and so forth, I'm no longer surprised by the scientific illiteracy of my fellow Americans but it sure is discouraging sometimes.
Iggo
(47,586 posts)onethatcares
(16,204 posts)you get very tired of the "rings around Uranus" comments.
MarianJack
(10,237 posts)...they'd have to be able to breathe through their asses.
PEACE!
Response to babylonsister (Original post)
Grassy Knoll This message was self-deleted by its author.
ejbr
(5,857 posts)but if these nutjobs were to consider studying metaphysics, they would understand that there is no contradiction.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)............if these nut jobs were to consider studying metaphysics....a sitcom in the making oh imagine the laughs!!
NAO
(3,425 posts)The Bible is the only metaphysics (and the only physics, and the only biology, etc) book you need.
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)Beartracks
(12,827 posts)1620rock
(2,218 posts)LASlibinSC
(269 posts)so upset. What did they expect? Everybody knows what a rabbelrouser Nye is! I mean who walks out the Science Guy? Bet that has never happened to him before.
saras
(6,670 posts)I have this sense that the right has been keeping all the good psychology since 1980, and passing this pharmaceutical crap off onto the left. They seem to know, on a deep level, how people really work, and can get them to DO things, quite effectively, in ways that the left has no idea how to do.
REASON IS NOT GOING TO DO IT. GET OVER IT.
WE ALREADY HAVE ALL THE REASONABLE ONES. THEY AREN'T ENOUGH.
THAT'S POLITICS.
Personally I just think that some people, perhaps a substantial proportion, "think" in terms of beliefs, images, relationships, and this "science of objects" stuff is just really far from the actual world they live in. If they believe in a different set of things, they're new-age dweebs and they only get through life because they're so nice that everyone is nice to them in spite of their flakiness. With a different set of beliefs, they are middle-class conformists who are as happy to enforce liberal values on their neighbors as conservative values, as long as they are shared values. With a different set of beliefs, they are well-meaning but naive crusaders for environmental and social justice issues.
Show them how your values make a nicer world. That convinces them. (That's why the person with the telescope does so well - it makes nearly EVERYBODY'S life better to look through a telescope.)
Festivito
(13,452 posts)"The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, ..."
Their walking out is no more awful than a DUer alerting on a troll's badly written post.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)and that was using the word light to refer to an object that emits light. "God created two lights...".
That is the usage of the word that fits "turn off the kitchen lights". While the moon reflects light it is not in itself a source (usually) of light.
Festivito
(13,452 posts)Further, as photons enter atom space they do oft change an electron's orbit where the electron cannot stay, thus the energy level gets set back with the same or a different electron jumping a level emitting another photon in a random direction, thus, for most photons, repeating the process until the photon manages to exit into more open space.
The light is reflected, rejected, whatever. It is also emitted, as in a light bulb.
Don't get me wrong. The people who walked out were dumb, but, Bill Nye saying light isn't light is not that bright.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)Festivito
(13,452 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)"it is when it reflects light". No it isn't a source of light it is a reflector of light. The light it reflects was sourced from somewhere else. For example, the moon reflects light sourced from the sun.
The biblical account of their god creating two lights is simply wrong on the facts. If the biblical god created the sun and the moon, that was one source of light (the sun) and one reflector of that light, (the moon). Of course the people who wrote that nonsense had no idea at that time that the moon wasn't actually a source of light, after all it looks like it is emitting light, and those who don't know any better might think that it is actually generating all that light, but now most of us know better. Or at least most of us should know better. After all this is elementary school level astronomy.
Festivito
(13,452 posts)"Kill that light, Private!"
"Can't sir, it's a reflection off that glass, not a light, sir."
Sarge shoots his gun and the glass and reflection disappear in pieces.
"Light is light, Buck Private."
Hey, Warren. What? Too colloquial for you?
Light isn't light if it's reflected?
Where do we disagree?
Reflected light is a lesser light. It's still wave-like photons.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)between the light coming from the sun and the light coming from the moon, then we have no basis for discussion. You win.
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)Festivito
(13,452 posts)What is the difference between moonlight in space 1000 miles from the moon, and light from the sun at, say 10,000,000,000 miles or wherever the measured luminosity would measure the same?
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)and it blocks the light.
Move the moon behind the earth, and the moon no longer reflects light that can be seen on earth.
Interestingly, the bible says god created 2 sources, which is incorrect. Every star is a source of light.
Festivito
(13,452 posts)If what I'm reading comes from a direct source or a reflected source, what do I care as long as I can read. Why shouldn't I call it the source of my light?
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)of it's own. Which it does not. It REFLECTS light from the sun.
Festivito
(13,452 posts)So, you're saying: "God made two great lights -- " must mean that God created two great producers of light photons?
Okay, if you must insist that your interpretation, different from mine, is correct above everyone else's, especially my interpretation, then, why? Why do you say God means producing photons rather than allowing for those words to mean God creates a lesser light that reflects photons when He says "God made two great lights?"
What about "God made two great lights" can only be production of photons?
I mean, you're welcome to your opinion on interpretation, but, do you have a reason?
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)Yeah, these folks must love The O'Reilly Factor on FOX.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)How is the moon's light generated?
AFAIK, there are two ways to generate light - chemical (think bioluminescence) and thermonuclear processes such as fusion (i.e., the sun) and fission (happy old Mr. A-Bomb and his big brother, Mr. H-Bomb). Were the moon to produce light through a thermonuclear process, the astronauts who landed thereon would have been instantly incinerated down to an atomic level, which pretty much rules out a safe return to earth. Were there a chemical process, evidence of said chemicals would have certainly have turned up in the hundreds of pounds of moon rocks brought back to Earth, which most assuredly did not happen.
These dumbasses are so stupignorant, scientifically and otherwise, it's a small miracle that they can tie shoes or work zippers correctly. Yet they are allowed to vote.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)of toxins is their water? I don't think it's not even a matter of education with them, they seem incapable of understanding even the most rudimentary concepts.
Martin Eden
(12,881 posts)After pondering this, he replied "The moon, because the moon shines at night when it's dark and the sun shines during the day when it's light anyway."
randome
(34,845 posts)But it wasn't very smart to say something you KNEW beforehand would clash with their stupid belief system.
That's like saying, 'Here's a big stick. I dare you to poke me with it.'
sakabatou
(42,198 posts)And people will walk out.