Re: ID and YEC in Switzerland and "Thousands not Billions"

Jim Hofmann wrote:
> Of possible interest:
> http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/helium/zircons.html
> http://gondwanaresearch.com/rate.htm
> Jim Hofmann
> -----Original Message-----
> From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu on behalf of Randy Isaac
> Sent: Sat 5/6/2006 2:50 PM
> To: asa@calvin.edu

Thank you, Jim, for these interesting articles!

In fact, my YEC critic refers to the following five different "reseach results"
in the book "Thousands not Billions", which all "indicate a very young Earth"
(my translation of his German):

"1. For very old samples, radiocarbon measurements give dates of 35,000 years
only, on the average.
2. Helium content in zircon crystals indicates an accelerated decay and a very
young Earth on the order of 6,000 years.
3. The frequency of radiohaloes in the Paleozoic/Mesozoic points to an
extraordinary event, namely to a temporarily accelerated radioactive decay.
4. Fission tracks in zircon crystals also indicate a temporarily accelerated decay.
5. The results of different measurement methods don't agree. They show that the
prerequisites, namely known initial conditions, closed systems and constant half
lives, are not given."

In answering him I perused the two net articles Jim Hofmann indicated and
recommended Wiens' article Charles Carrigan mentioned and Dalrymple's "The Age
of the Earth", among others. Like Charles, I am not at all eager to read the
Vardiman volume(s).

I sympathize with Wayne Dawson's feelings about the helium-in-zircons criticism
of Humphreys by Henke. But is it really worth while devoting much PSCF space to
these issues? And certainly no secular science journal is going to accept such a
discussion. So, after all, the internet is the only place you can do such a
criticism thoroughly.

Blessings,
Peter

-- 
Dr. Peter Ruest, CH-3148 Lanzenhaeusern, Switzerland
<pruest@dplanet.ch> - Biochemistry - Creation and evolution
"... the work which God created to evolve it" (Genesis 2:3)
"... my sons... and my daughters..., everyone..., whom I
created... formed... evolved." (Isaiah 43:6-7)