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From: lief@hpfcla.UUCP (lief)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response
Message-ID: <14600030@hpfcrs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 17:09:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfcrs.14600030
Posted: Tue Jul 23 17:09:00 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 1-Aug-85 21:13:59 EDT
References: <387@iham1.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard - Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 39
Nf-ID: #R:iham1:387:hpfcrs:14600030:37777777600:1965
Nf-From: hpfcrs!lief    Jul 23 13:09:00 1985

>>       62.  Geological formations are almost  always  dated  by  their
>>            fossil  content,  especially  by  certain INDEX FOSSILS of
>>            extinct animals. The age of the fossil is derived from the
>>            assumed   evolutionary   sequence,  but  the  evolutionary
>>            sequence is based on the fossil record. This reasoning  is
>>            circular  [a-e].  Furthermore, this procedure has produced
>>            many contradictory results [f].
>>
>
>	This is *not* how it is really done, as has been pointed out
>several times already. The fossil content is used to *correlate*
>spatially seperated strata. This correlation is then combined with
>*observed* sequencing in the various regions and reference dates
>provided by radiometeric dating for certain local strata to provide
>an interpolated dating sequence for the whole geologic column. This
>method is *not* circular. Admittedly some individual workers lacking
>general training in geology and paleontology have not understood the
>situation and erroniously used circular reasoning, but this is *not*
>the accepted technique.
>-- 
>
>				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)
>
>{trwrb|allegra|cbosgd|hplabs|ihnp4|aero!uscvax!akgua}!sdcrdcf!psivax!friesen
>or {ttdica|quad1|bellcore|scgvaxd}!psivax!friesen
>/* ---------- */
>
If an organism (fossil) is found in rock strata, and one wishes to get the
age of the organism, what are the steps he goes through to arrive at a figure?
My concern is that he would look at the age of the rock strata, and assume that
since that organism was found within that rock strata, it too must be of the
same age.  In otherwords, if I were to be buried by some inorganic matter that
was 2 billion years old, and my fossils were found within this matter 1 million
years later, would scientists be able to say that I was 1 million years old,
or would they say I am over 2 billion years old?

Lief Sorensen
HP Fort Collins, CO
Uucp ...!hpfcla!lief