Bill Nye the Science Guy

They blinded us with SCIENCE!

From climate change to COVID-19, even the clearest warnings from scientists can misfire with millions of Americans. Pop culture may be a big reason why.

The music video for Thomas Dolby's quirky, synthesizer-driven 1980's hit featured a possibly deranged codger in a lab coat waving an index finger and rhythmically shouting "SCIENCE!"


For many of us, he fits the profile of a career scientist as a misfit, an oddball, with either a benignly vacant attitude or a downright divorce from civil society.

Let's put an exclamation point on this: Magnus Pyke, the unhinged chap in the video, isn't an actor, he's a nutritional scientist who carved out a useful second career as a science explainer on British TV. Because, well, you know, he looked so science-y.

Bill Nye plays Dr. Pyke's role in the U.S. and elsewhere. His carefully honed character is built on owlish eyebrows, wide-eyed enthusiasm for decidedly nerdish things, and the omnipresent bowtie that shouts "nerd" whether it's worn by Nye, Pee Wee Herman, or Louis Farrakhan.

Nye knows his stuff and earns his "Science Guy" branding, even though his formal education stopped with a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Dr. Pyke and Mr. Nye are hardly the first pop culture science avatars.

Mary Shelley's Dr. Viktor Frankenstein first hit print in 1818. He, of course, is the patron saint of an important subspecies, the Evil Scientist. To follow were a legion of evil scientists, from Peter Sellers's Doctor Strangelove to Hitler's real life evil scientist, Dr. Mengele, ably portrayed by Gregory Peck in The Boys from Brazil.

Their genetic cousins are all-around Evil Geniuses like Ming the Merciless from the wildly popular 1930's Buck Rodgers shorts to Doctor Evil, who as Austin Powers's nemesis in three movies attended "six years of evil medical school."

Another important aberrant science brand includes the more benign science nerds—blissfully detached from mainstream society. Arguably the most successful run belongs to The Big Bang Theory, which ended its 12 years on CBS last year and entered the lucrative world of re-run syndication. The show's ensemble cast consists of Central Casting geeks with bad haircuts and a penchant for Comicon.

Honorable mentions in this category go to The Nutty Professor, played by a buck-toothed, oblivious Jerry Lewis in a 1963 film. Professor Julius Kelp prepares a lab potion that turns him into the smooth, suave womanizing Buddy Love. In a 1996 remake, Eddie Murphy plays a morbidly obese prof named Sherman Klump, who sheds more than half his weight to morph into Buddy Love. Back to the Future gave us the disheveled, reclusive Doc Brown.

Of course, no list of pop culture science nerds is complete without mentioning Star Trek's Mister Spock, whose home planet is populated by a race for whom logic is paramount, smiling is frowned upon, and the biological urge to reproduce comes once every seven years.

There are inevitable exceptions, like the swashbuckling Ph.D. anthropologist Indiana Jones. But it should be no surprise that pop culture routinely assigns Freaks-and-Geeks status to scientists.

When these social misfits—the ones who sat out the senior prom and got roughed up in gym class—tell us we need to stay inside for months on end, or dramatically alter our fossil fuel-based lifestyles, many of us rebel.

When anti-intellectual rebels are enabled by the mad tweets of a president who regards all manner of science advice as suspect or hoax-worthy, that rebellion becomes very hard to undo.

In the spirit of saving the best for last, my all-time favorite pop culture scientist who advanced the cause of nerdery would have to be The Professor from Gilligan's Island.

If this cheesy 1960's sitcom were revived today, The Professor (Russell Johnson) would be issuing frantic warnings to his six fellow castaways about how their uncharted desert isle was threatened by sea level rise; Mr. Howell, the let-them-eat-cake gazillionaire, would fund a disinformation campaign to discredit him, and the other five, bless their hearts, would remain in denial since their only source of news and information was an AM radio.

Life imitates art. But art, even in the lowbrow framework of Gilligan's Island, can corrupt life.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist. His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Contact him at pdykstra@ehn.org(opens in new tab) or on Twitter at @Pdykstra.

Banner photo: Bill Nye ("The Science Guy"), Chief Executive Officer, The Planetary Society. Credit: NASA.

LNG tanker with bright yellow tanks viewed from above.

Major insurer drops coverage for Louisiana LNG project amid pollution concerns

An insurance giant has stopped backing a liquefied natural gas terminal in southwest Louisiana that has drawn sustained criticism from residents and environmental advocates over its health and climate impacts.

Keerti Gopal reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
A huge tornado touches down on the horizon of a green plain.
Credit: Photo by Greg Johnson on Unsplash

New storms pound the South as families mourn lost lives and homes

A string of deadly tornadoes has devastated Kentucky and Missouri, and more severe storms are on the way, threatening already hard-hit communities with hail, flooding, and extreme heat.

Matthew Brown and Carolyn Kaster report for the Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Wildfire smoke billowing above a green hillside.
Credit: Pixabay

Wildfire smoke is penetrating homes worldwide, hitting the poorest hardest

Indoor air pollution from wildfire smoke affects over a billion people annually, with low-income countries facing the steepest health risks and economic burdens.

Ruby Mellen reports for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
A view of a nuclear tower looking up through the top opening.

Trump aims to tighten White House grip on nuclear regulation

The White House is considering executive orders that would reshape nuclear oversight by curbing the independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and expanding control through the Department of Energy.

Francisco "A.J." Camacho reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
Offshore drilling platform with a boat next to it.
Credit: Pixabay

Satellites reveal global oil rigs leaking hundreds of thousands of gallons into oceans

A new satellite analysis shows that offshore oil rigs continue to leak vast amounts of oil and methane, even as the Trump administration rolls back key drilling safeguards enacted after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Carrie Klein reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
A closeup of a car tire on a snowy road.

Canada’s melting ice roads leave First Nations stranded, sparking fights over mining and road funding

Winter roads that serve as essential supply routes for more than 50 remote First Nations communities in northern Canada are rapidly becoming unreliable as climate change thaws the frozen ground earlier each year.

Hilary Beaumont reports for Grist and Indiginews.

Keep reading...Show less
aerial photography of grass field with blue solar panels.

Republicans aim to slash green energy tax credits despite risk of higher bills and job losses

New research shows that House Republicans’ plan to roll back clean energy tax credits could raise utility costs and cut household incomes nationwide, hitting both red and blue states.

Dharna Noor reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.