Lonestar_logic
Republic of Texas
- May 13, 2009
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Have you been convinced by religious authorities that various dating methods accepted by scientists is one huge conspiracy theory? For that to be the case, your conspiracy would necessarily require conspirators from all of the leading teaching universities in all the developed nations.
I think looking foolish and desperate is a function of Christian creationists who selectively accept only the science which they feel is not a direct threat to their religious beliefs. You should also be aware that aside from christianity and islam, there really does not exist an anti-science / anti-evolution movement.
No. No religious authority was needed to convince me that dating methods are flawed.
Your foolishly veiled insult is noted.
Why do think dating methods are flawed? Do you believe there is a vast conspiracy among leading universities and scientists across the globe? Have you been convinced of a 6,000 year old earth when experimentation, physical data and evidence depicts a very ancient universe?
Was your earlier insult to be ignored? I've come to expect insults from religious people when challenges to their beliefs are presented. Do you enter a public discussion board and expect others to accept "because I say so claims"?
Why? Because the methods have been proven to be flawed.
"Arizona State University anthropologist Geoffrey Clark echoed this view in 1997 when he wrote that 'we select among alternative sets of research conclusions in accordance with our biases and preconceptions -- a process that is, at once, both political and subjective.' Clark suggested 'that paleoanthropology has the form but not the substance of a science."
Icons of Evolution - Science or Myth? Jonathan Wells, page 223
In the case of fossils; which are essentially bones that have fossilized, meaning turned to stone; fossils are generally dated on the basis of factors other than radiometric dating; such as a particular date may be chosen for a fossil because the date is consistent with aspects of the theory of evolution.
In other words, in dating fossils it is quite common that an assumption that the theory of evolution is true is used as a factor in dating fossils. This is a self-serving way of dating fossils, but it is a common tactic because scientists are so confident that the theory of evolution is true.
For example, by using morphology and an assumption of the theory of evolution, it may be assumed that "Fossil A" evolved before "Species B" "evolved." Thus, if "Fossil A" is believed to be 4,000,000 years old, "Fossil B" may be dated to be 3,700,000 years old solely on the basis of the date of "Fossil A" and a belief in evolution (i.e. it is dated based on where "Fossil B" fits on the phylogenetic tree relative to "Fossil A").
While the reader may assume that it takes millions of years to turn a biological specimen to stone, actually it has been demonstrated to have happened in less than 100 years (not 100 million years, just 100 years). This is not theory; it is based on actual samples.
Also:
Scientists have never observed the random creation of new genetic information, including at least one new functional gene complex. All evidence of genetics indicates that this will not happen a single time in the next billion years. Yet, it had to happen hundreds of millions of times for all the species on the earth to be explained.