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→The 2014 Ken Ham debate: Details. This may need to be made into a separate article.
Ham challenged Nye during the debate and several times afterward to "name one piece of technology that could only have been developed starting with a belief in molecules-to-man evolution," but Nye has been unable to find any example.<ref name="Unwittingly"/>
Ham challenged Nye during the debate and several times afterward to "name one piece of technology that could only have been developed starting with a belief in molecules-to-man evolution," but Nye has been unable to find any example.<ref name="Unwittingly"/>
The debaters were first each given 5 minutes for a prepared introduction, and then they were given 30 minutes for their full presentation. In each case Mr. Ham went first as the result of a coin toss. After that, the moderator (Tom Foreman) asked the questions of the debaters, for their spontaneous responses.
Both debaters used projected visual aids (slides, video clips) for both their prepared introductions and their main presentations.
Mr. Ham's introduction
Mr. Ham used his introduction to draw the distinction between "observational science" (for example, doing experiments to find out how the universe works) and "historical science" (for example, making deductions about the past from observations made in the present.) He claims that "the word 'science' has been hijacked by secularists in teaching evolution". He says that "they [secularists] arbitrarily define science as naturalism, and outlaw the supernatural". He then makes some scriptural references in support of his claim that "The creation/evolution debate is really a conflict between two philosophical worldviews based on two different accounts of origins or historical science beliefs".
Mr. Ham made the point that one's views on evolution or creation have nothing to do with making scientific or technological achievements. He presented clips of Stuart Burgess, a biblical creationist and professor of engineering design, Craig Ventner, an atheist who sequenced the human genome, and Raymond Damadian, a biblical creationist who invented the MRI scanner.
Mr. Nye's introduction
Mr. Nye disputed the notion that there is a distinction between historical science and observational science. He pointed out that people draw on both, using their intelligence and ingenuity, when solving problems. He brought up the example of a television "crime drama", CSI. The detectives get evidence from the crime scene, and analyze it with both observation about the clues and deduction about what must have happened in the past in order to solve the crime.
He expressed skepticism about the plausibility of the literal story of the Noachic flood, with 8 zookeepers for 14,000 animals, and all plants being underwater for a year. He claimed that, during the flood, drowning animals would swim to higher levels, and get fossilized at levels higher than their natural level in the Grand Canyon, and yet not a single one did so.
He pointed out that billions of deeply religious people "worship together, they eat together, they live in their communities and enjoy each other's company", and yet they do not embrace the view that the earth is only 6000 years old.
He expressed concern that the United States will lose its leadership in science and technology if we "eschew science" and "try to divide our science into observational science and historical science".
===Nye's ''Undeniable'' book===
===Nye's ''Undeniable'' book===