Bill Nye the Science Guy is the beacon of our generation. We all have Bill memories—mine are romantic. I had my first lap-sitting experience to the sounds of his show. I perched on a certain Ben’s lap one eighth-grade chemistry class while Bill lectured soothingly on black holes. In this instant I felt like we (we being Ben, and Bill Nye, and I) were really connected. I was sitting on Ben’s lap and Bill was being brilliant and my science teacher was nowhere to be found. It was magical.
But then reality, science, and my chemistry teacher returned. I got sent to detention and Ben got off free because of sexism (it was Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke all over again). But Bill remained. Soothing and educational and Godly.
But I digress. More important than my own sexual awakening was the relief all millennials felt when our middle school teachers rolled in the black TV monitor and popped in a tape (VHS!) of Bill Nye. Now, as then, Bill has valuable lessons to impart.
When Bill tore his ligament competing on Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) this season—an injury so serious he was forced to wear a silver robot suit and shuffle about peg-legged in subsequent episodes—he shattered our collective nation-heart. Once the star scientist of Public Broadcasting Service, Bill fell like Newton’s apple, a satellite from orbit, or the great science guy himself. Seriously, Bill Nye literally fell. He was forced to crawl to finish his DWTS turn.
Bill’s fall was our fall. His hamstring tear was our hamstring tear. But his comeback will be ours as well. Through Bill’s hero journey of trials, tribulations and dance, we as a generation and a Bowdoin community can learn three valuable lessons.
First and foremost, know your limits. Bill, like Icarus, did not know his limits. In a few short months, he tried to go from a self-proclaimed skinny guy to a weight lifter. This power was too much for him. He flew too close to the sun (tried to dance in Spanish heels) and this leap, beyond what he could handle, brought about his fall.
Related to this lesson: know your strengths. Bill’s strengths involve sciency things. Chemicals. Particles. Numbers. They do not include athleticism. They also do not include art. We as Bowdoin students often feel the need to excel in all areas—not only are we superb oceanographers, but we win DII golf tournaments (and occasionally football games), and tutor disadvantaged children on Saturdays. But we should learn not to stretch ourselves too thin. We must focus on what really matters: whether Super Snack still serves cinnamon rolls (but really, where have they gone? My body is ready).
Bill’s final lesson is inspiring: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Although Bill reached too far too fast, he survived a few weeks of DWTS. He has an upcoming guest appearance on “The Big Bang Theory” (the true intersection of science and art) and has acquired a surprisingly large Twitter following.
Bill Nye even has a new video series dedicated to explaining how the NASA Spacecraft Juno will circuit Jupiter. He’s really back at it! Bill, unlike the fallen stars before him, did not take to drugs and leopard-print legging design. He is not the next Lindsay. Lindsay needed Oprah. Bill needed only himself. He pulled himself up by his suspender straps, a true American hero. Moral of the story: if Bill Nye can achieve a safe comeback, so can you.
If we as a community can channel Bill Nye’s positive energy, humor, and wisdom, we too will win. We must seek to learn as much from his follies as we did from his show. Bill was the voice of our past; let him now be the voice of our future.