Re: Oxygen and Ozone in PreCambrian

Arthur V. Chadwick (chadwicka@swau.edu)
Fri, 03 Dec 1999 07:22:28 -0800

At 07:43 PM 12/02/1999 -0600, James wrote:
>As someone that teaches paleontology sudden appearances and long stasis
>of species are characteristic of the fossil record and conflicted enough
>with the old gradualistic model of evolutionary development that a new
>paradigm of punctuated equilibrium developed. The Cambrian still
>stands out as an unusual burst of sudden appearances. Don't discount
>that. The problem from the Christian academician like myself who is
>unwilling to see organisms develop by themselves, is how to explain the
>limited fossils that exist in the Precambrian or the lack of angiosperms
>in the Carboniferous coals I study (are good gymnosperms but not
>angiosperms). While I find many faults with the standard neoDarwinian
>synthesis - I also find a lot of holes in many Christian attempts at
>explaining the fossil record. I do like the flood model folks trying
>to use a unique paradigm, but I don't think it works well in explaining
>the fossil record.

In his acceptance sppech for the Twenhoefel award (the Nobel prize in
sedimentology), Lloyd Pray wrote the following unpopular but in my opinion,
very worthy advice:

"Now, I will use this Award's "pulplt" to stress three viewpoints 1
consider important to sedimentary geology: [...]

2) The importance of "maverick" interpretations in our science. This is an
operating concept I have tried to promote in students and others. It was
the essence of my 1970 SEPM Presidential Address (unpublished--my fault).
Maverick ideas are needed when we recognize that interpreting Mother
Nature's geology usually proves more complicated and complex than first
appreciated. Maverick ideas and questioning of dogma and vested authorities
can be useful."
Art
http://geology.swau.edu