Two decades after christening himself “The Science Guy” and launching a beloved series of educational videotapes for students, 57-year old Bill Nye continues to reinvent himself, most recently as a celebrity hoofer on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately . . . that experiment went horribly awry.
A few weeks ago, decked out as Beethoven and doing a lunatic paso dobles to “The 5th Symphony,” the mad scientist tweaked his quadricep and was roundly disqualified with his partner, Tyne Stecklein.
And though Nye is saddened about his DWTS loss, he’s admittedly enjoying the sudden downtime. So Men’s Health picked his brain—and it’s a massive one—for his scientific advice on wooing women, dressing in style, and learning to be the smartest man in the room.
Men’s Health: It’s been a couple weeks since the dancing injury. How are you feeling?
Bill Nye: It’s been really uncomfortable. With an injury to the quadricep, what’s key is to not reinjure it. So I wear the immobolizer boot. It’s got an arrangement of Velcro straps and you can only bend your knee the recommended amount. So I’m recuperating. It’s nice, I suppose, to have a little time off.
MH: Many people might be surprised to know that you were an avid swing dancer even before Dancing with the Stars.
Nye: That turned out to be kind of a liability. In international style, you literally start on the other foot. Maybe I’m just making excuses, but the first 2 weeks of the TV show were quite a mental adjustment for me. If I hadn’t gotten injured, I think we would’ve hung in there, though. I really do!
MH: So why dance?
Nye: Dancing is the joy of movement. I claim that our ancestors, who did not experience the joy of movement—which would be an overarching term for exercise—they, uh, didn’t survive. [Laughs] If you didn’t get up and hop and move around, you got eaten by other organisms that did.
MH: So dancing is a method of self-preservation.
Nye: It’s a mode of maintenance. But, also, what are the three words we are all fascinated with? Sex, sex, sex. Dancing is a cultural way to manage social interactions. It’s fantastic. What’s not to love?
MH: Is there science to dancing?
Nye: The way I do it, there is. The whole thing is science. There’s the fabulous, fundamental, classical physics of spinning and friction and the kinematics or linkage of what can happen if you, say, do it wrong with a four-bar mechanism—like my leg!
MH: You’ve been the face of science, at least as far as our country’s youth is concerned, for two decades now. Why is science so important to you?
Nye: The method of science is the best idea humans have ever had! Humans have had a lot of ideas, my goodness. The U.S. Constitution is a pretty good idea. The Golden Rule is a good idea. But the process of making observations, coming up with an explanation for why you think it occurred, creating your own test to test your hypothesis, then comparing your results to what you imagined or presupposed? That is fantastic!
MH: You’re the smartest guy in a lot of rooms. Definitely this room. So what are some words of wisdom every man should live by?
Nye: When walking with a woman, walk on the street side. It’s a hit with women of all ages. It’s a tradition from a different time, but it still conveys respect. And as all the kids are saying, the chicks dig it. And then, everyone you meet knows something you don’t, so be respectful. Listen. No matter how freaking smart you think you are, everyone you meet knows something you don’t. And finally, what we want to do is leave the world better than when we found it. That’s a goal. Live by it.
MH: Finally, what’s the secret to rocking your trademark bow tie?
Nye: It started in high school. I was a server at the Girls Athletic Banquet—and believe me, there’s nothing more attractive than an athletic woman, that’s just how it is—and we had to dress up. I somehow had the instinct or wherewithal to know that a regular tie would end up in the soup or in the coffee, so I went with a bow tie. Then when I started doing the science thing, I noticed that bow ties do not slip into the flask or the beaker. From a practical standpoint, if you’re going to be dressed up, a bow tie’s the way to go. As Jerry Seinfeld said, you want to dress nicer than your audience. And as the old show biz maxim goes, you want to look like you’re the headliner. So bow ties for me—and a nice, crisp dress shirt.
If you liked this story, you’ll love these:
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