XPost: sci.physics.relativity   
   From: starmaker@ix.netcom.com   
      
   J. J. Lodder wrote:   
   >   
   > The Starmaker  wrote:   
   >   
   > > At Charles Darwin's time the age of the Earth was thought to be about   
   > > 75,000 years old.  (you won't believe how someone else came up with that   
   > > number)   
   > >   
   > > He was in a rush to publish his book and noticed the numbers were   
   > > wrong...   
   > > ...he knew   
   > > eventually somebody would have   
   > > figured out you cannot change a fish to a man in 75,000 years.   
   > >   
   > > So he, 'made up a number'!   
   > >   
   > > Then when he published his book, (origin of species 1859) he wrote the   
   > > age of the earth to be   
   > > 306,662,400 years old.   
   >   
   > You are quote-mining.   
   >   
   > In reality Darwin wrote:      (second edition)   
   > ===   
   > Hence, under ordinary circumstances, I should infer that for a cliff 500   
   > feet in height, a denudation of one inch per century for the whole   
   > length would be a sufficient allowance. At this rate, on the above data,   
   > the denudation of the Weald must have required 306,662,400 years; or say   
   > three hundred million years. But perhaps it would be safer to allow two   
   > or three inches per century, and this would reduce the number of years   
   > to one hundred and fifty or one hundred million years.   
   > ====   
   >   
   > It is obvious from the above passage that this is a made up example,   
   > for the purpose of arriving at an order of magnitude estimate.   
   > Darwin was right of of course. Hundreds of millions of years   
   > is a correct estimate for the time scale of geology and evolution.   
   > It was not possible to do better, at the time.   
   >   
   > Jan   
      
      
   Well of course, if the Theory doesn't fit the facts, change the   
   facts...by all means necessary. That is what Science is all about.   
      
      
   If Darwin would have change the number from 75,000 to 4.543 billion   
   years...   
      
      
   it still not possible to do better, at this time.   
      
      
   The fact IS, the age of the earth is the same age of the universe.   
      
      
   I can do better at this time.   
      
      
   --   
   The Starmaker -- To question the unquestionable, ask the unaskable,   
   to think the unthinkable, mention the unmentionable, say the unsayable,   
   and challenge the unchallengeable.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)