Dereleased

First of all, thank you for being the sign of an excellent day to come in science class! One of the strangest one-off memories of your show that I have kicking around was dealing with the actual length of time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun; it was a sketch involving a woman who said she'd wait 365 days, while the man assumed she meant one year, but she replied "No! In the last six hours, I've met... EDGAR!" Classic. That, and anything with vacuums.

For my questions:

1. I personally feel that the heavy emphasis on standardized testing has diminished scientific achievement and curiosity among today's students by forcing them to regurgitate facts on command rather than engage curiosity and encourage discovery. Do you agree? How do you feel standardized testing, as implemented in the average classroom today, affects (and effects) tomorrow's scientists in America?

2. What do you think we need to do, as individual citizens and as a nation, to encourage more undergraduate students to take up STEM fields? Do you feel the U.S. is lagging behind the world in STEM related research and development? Is accepting qualified students and graduates from other nations, as this country has often done in the past, a viable strategy for staying ahead, or just keeping up, in the future (or present)?

3. Finally, I remember seeing the episode you did on smoking growing up. I remember you throwing around dust, and using a bellows to simulate smoking an entire cigarette and then showing something, I think it was a napkin or tissue paper, and how filthy it had become. (EDIT FOR CLARITY: I like these examples, I thought they were great) Recently, I have been seeing a particular "truth" commercial comparing the contents of cigarettes with "cat pee" and "dog poop" because of the Urea and Methane content, respectively. While I respect the premise of discouraging smoking, I feel that the use of these two compounds, and more importantly, the association with animal waste, is intellectually and scientifically dishonest, and more importantly, is an indicator of the scientific illiteracy of the population at large. What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you for doing this AMA and thank you for taking the time to read, and hopefully respond to, this question.

Disclaimer: I know you're busy, please pick any one to answer. Thanks in advance!

• Do you have a "rider" for your stand-up shows, and if so, what's on it?

• What town or venue do you refuse to go back to (most of all if more than one) and why?

• Who was the most horrible, awkward and/or creepy comedian backstage whom you've ever dealt with?

See, Bill, when you say it like that, I want to drop everything and get to work on this problem.

One of the mini sketches on the show was set like a ridiculous daytime melodrama, and it's been a long time so I'm sure I'm getting this wrong, but it basically went as follows.

Man: "I've come back for you, my love, after one year!"
Woman: "You're too late! I'm in love with Edgar now!"
Man: "But you said you would wait for me for one year!"
Woman: "No! I said I would wait for 365 days! A year is 365 days and 6 hours! In the last 6 hours, I've met... EDGAR!"

</scene>

Yes. "Liberated."