Something else for Young Earthers to run with and abuse
From The Deeps of Time:link-icon::
Uncommon Descent calls our attention to this paper which indicates that radioactive decay rates are not constant, but seem to vary with distance from the sun. The assumption that radioactive decay rates are constant is key to the use of radioactive decay as a dating technique. The variations don’t affect the million-to-billion year age estimates obtained by decay rates by very much, but it does indicate a need to research the unknown cause of this variation and evaluate its implications for dating techniques.
This will no doubt be touted as proof, in some quarters, of the complete unreliability of radioactive dating, and as proof that the whole science of geology is invalid. That’s unfortunately the approximate level of dishonesty one has come to expect from Young Earth Creationism these days, in which even slight variances in the data or data-collection methods get amplified into comprehensive rejections of the science itself, and the basis for yet more “proofs” that the Earth is a mere 6,000 years old.
Because as we all know: if geologists can’t quite be certain whether the Earth is 4.5 billion or only 4.49 billion years old, this clearly demonstrates that geologists are just plain wrong about the age of the Earth in general, and that the world must clearly be 4.499994 billion years younger than the most commonly accepted estimates suggest.
I started blogging back in 2004 -- in May, if the Wayback Machine is to be believed. Not that I remember the exact day. To be honest, I didn't take it that seriously then; it was a fun distraction, but nothing more.
That all changed, I think, once the Danish cartoons were published, and the assault on the right to freedom of expression became very visible. With the recent issues in Canada concerning the "human rights" commissions, the gravity of the matter has only increased, and my interest in blogging has increased right along with it.
I used to blog at a domain called Time Immortal, but it seemed to be the right time for a change -- there's been a lot of that in my life of late. Hence this blog: a fresh start, and proof positive that I won't shut up even if I get shut down once in a while.
