He is witty, smart, and above all, incredibly empathetic. He has an uncanny ability to see the world through his students' or readers' eyes and craft his message to meet them where they are at. And he does this with superhuman patience, as demonstrated in his February 2014 debate with creationist Ken Ham at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. Even in this very public arena, Nye had the patience and empathy to meet someone he completely disagreed with where they were at, and on their home turf. Why on Earth would he do that?