The Benshi

If we can put our faith in the metric of the IMDB Pro Starmeter, then I need to modify yesterday’s blogpost with the updating of the Starmeter scores (which happens on Mondays).  I stick with what I said about Bill Nye being the net winner.  But it appears to be a measurable fact that the cheeseball creationist, Ken Ham, benefitted hugely from the media exposure.  Just look at the numbers below.

 EENIE-MEANIE-CHILLI-BEANIE, HERE IS YOUR STARMETER RATING!   Who knows how they come up with these things.  I searched a few forums and read a few people speculating about it.  I’m sure you can find out somewhere.  It’s not a precise science, but there is a fair amount of validity to it.  My film school classmates all have Starmeter ratings that match their level of success pretty closely (I’m way the hell down about a couple bazillion so I know it’s accurate).  The key thing is it probably doesn’t really mean much until you rise above 10,000, as Bill Nye clearly has for at least the time being.

HAM IT UP

Evolutionist Jerry Coyne wrote an editorial in the New Republic in early January suggesting that Bill Nye would be “helping the discredited creationists he’s planning to debate.”  Well, did he?

The answer is pretty clearly yes.  Look at the huge jump that Ken Ham took in his IMDB Pro Starmeter rating.  And really, all that is showing is what you can already guess from the level of exposure the event received (it was all over USA Today’s website). There’s no doubt Nye served up a huge validation to Ken Ham, who just two weeks ago was as marginal as his 140,000 previous score reflected.

It’s very easy to shoot holes in the Starmeter rating — most actors find it frustrating trying to figure out exactly what it’s based upon. But there’s no denying it is a fairly accurate overall reflection of how “hot” someone is in the media world.  It’s probably about as reliable as the scores on Rotten Tomatoes for movies — you get the occasional baffler, but most of the time the score is pretty close to reality.

Regardless of whatever bump Ham received, look at where Bill Nye has reached.  In fact, Alan Alda (the Great White Science Hope) this week dropped to 3,096, meaning that Nye is just about on par with the 6-time Emmy winner.

Bottom line, 3,000 is pretty huge.  Anything above 10,000 is pretty huge.  Bill Nye scored big with his debate adventure.  And really, overall, as repugnant as some scientists may find creationists, they are an effective foil for reaching the general public. That’s just the way it works in the human race.  Sorry.

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