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Evolution: the Facts.

Oh, I added a piece on one of the more interesting creationist arguments.

[swiki]Evolution and Epistemology[/swiki]

It probably needs a more precise title.
 
http://science.howstuffworks.com/female-ancestor.htm

in 1980. Dr. Wesley Brown noticed that when you compare the mtDNA of two humans, th­e samples are much more similar than when the mtDNA of two other primates -- for example, two chimpanzees -- is compared. Brown found, in fact, that the mtDNA of two humans has only about half as many differences as the mtDNA of two other primates within the same species [source: Cann]. This suggests that humans share a much more recent common ancestor than other primates do, an idea tantalizing enough to launch the Nature investigation.
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Does anyone know of any good internet resources on geology? They seem extraordinarily hard to find.

(NB: anyone thinking of showing me a page of links with a heading like "Geology Links" or "Geology Resources" should first consider checking whether 10% of the links are rubbish and 90% of them are broken; as is invariably the case.)

Thanks.
 
Dr Adequate said:
Does anyone know of any good internet resources on geology? They seem extraordinarily hard to find.
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Indeed. I am battling Christian and Muslim fundies on another site, and I constantly encounter arguments about geological dating being unreliable, and plate tektonics being imaginary. Or, alternatively, plate tektonics being real, and every plate is revolving around Mecca!

Wikipedia has served me adequately so far, but I would like to have other - academically recognised - sources.
 
Dr Adequate said:
Does anyone know of any good internet resources on geology? They seem extraordinarily hard to find.

(NB: anyone thinking of showing me a page of links with a heading like "Geology Links" or "Geology Resources" should first consider checking whether 10% of the links are rubbish and 90% of them are broken; as is invariably the case.)

Thanks.
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Have you tried this link?






























:duck:
 
Thanks for the suggestions, there's some interesting stuff there.

The problem I have trying to find the information I need is that (a) geology texts aren't much orientated to explaining how geologists know what they know (b) there's not much readily accissible information available anyway, compared to more glamorous scientific subjects (c) most of the questions I'd like answering were answered a lot longer ago than comparable questions in genetics.
 
How about posting the specific questions here? Tricky, for example might be able to answer some.
 
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jimbob said:
How about posting the specific questions here? Tricky, for example might be able to answer some.
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It would be lovely if he did, or, dare I say it, wrote an article or two.

Okay, specifically, questions about rock formation. Every geology book will tell you how rocks form, but the one I've seen* don't go into details of how we know this, because, I suppose, knowing this has no practical value.

* Which are rubbish, I'm hoping to acquire some good second-hand ones off Amazon if anyone has any recommendations.

But what if someone were to be skeptical of these accounts, as they have every right to be? "It says so in the textbooks" is not quite a sufficient answer.

Now, we can watch in real time the formation of some metamorphic and igneous rocks, and layers of volcanic ash, and so forth. But what about those which require pressure to form? To demonstrate that X is a metamorphosis of Y that forms only at such-and-such temperatures and pressures ... well, there's a really obvious experiment you can do, namely taking Y, subjecting it to said temperature and pressure, and seeing if you get X. So, some papers on that would be nice.

Then, sedimentary rocks. Let's see, lots of questions here, I'll just give some examples.

* Formation of laminae. We'd want to see this happening in real life. For example, searching USGS (thanks, Unrepentant Sinner) I found this account of laminae forming in the ooze off the Californian coast. I am very much interested in this stuff, especially as it's such a sucks to "flood geologists". I don't have nearly enough of it.

* On a similar note, cross-bedding. If the accounts of the formation of cross-bedded rocks are correct, we should be able to take a cross-section through, for example, a modern aeolian dune and see the distinct beds. Can I see one?

Here's[/some] interesting stuff: a computer model that predicts the patterns found in sand.

* If sedimentary rocks are gloopy sediment that has turned into rocks, then how's about I could see some continuous gradations between the two?

* The formation of flint in chalk. Many people would find the account I've read hard to swallow. How do they know?

* The formation of evaporites. Where can we see this in real time? (Note that evaporites buried under other strata are another sucks to flood geologists.)

And so forth. In summary, it needs to be demonstrated, with good references, that the various accounts of how various rocks formed are not ad hoc. As I say, this is a subject largely neglected by geology textbooks, because of its inutility, but for our purposes it's essential.

Thanks to anyone who helps out. There seems to be a real need for this sort of thing on the internet, or, so far as I've seen, off it.
 
Darat said:
Have you tried this link?






























:duck:
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Great link!:D
Oil probably originates in sedimentary rocks which were originally deposited by moving water. This is exactly what we would expect from the year-long Flood of Noah's day. A very reasonable model of petrogenesis can be based on the assumption that most of the oil and gas deposits of our day date from the worldwide Flood of about 2500 B.C., or about 1600 years after Creation.
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Urgent Question.

What geology texts should I buy?

This is urgent, I only have a brief opportunity here.
 
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