Piltdown Superman

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  On another weblog, I wrote about riding to a town with Roland Meadows, the fiancé of my prospector friend Stormie Waters. We made friends with Aaron, an employee of a big box store. I went to his town and we met up at an eatery there and we made chin music about our jobs. The place where he works is quite large and the customer base is not exactly classy folks. Some are, but the majority show disrespect to employees, merchandise, and more. When he discussed retail reshops , I thought of radiometric dating, of all things. Grocery shopping, Pexels /  Hobi industri , modified at  FotoSketcher People assume that radiometric dating proves that the earth is old, but it is based on presuppositions of deep time and molecules-to-manager evolution. Simply put, a radioactive element (let's pick uranium for now) decays into lead. Uranium is the parent and lead is the daughter . The amount of each is compared and the decay rate is factored in, calculations are made, an

Salamanders are amphibians that looks somewhat like lizards, and many types are found in North America. They may bite when they feel threatened but have no venom. Some have secretions in their skin that may make someone sick, so refrain from licking them. Like humans, amphibians, birds, and many other critters, they are classified as tetrapods . That simply means vertebrates that have two pairs of limbs. Salamanders are also cold-blooded, which means the environment controls their temperature, not from an internal mechanism. A fossil was found in a cold place. Reconstruction of Gaiasia jennyae , Wikimedia Commons / Olmagon ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) (background modified) Down Argentina way, a fossil of a large tetrapod that resembles a salamander was discovered in the cold of Gondwana. The scientists wonder how a cold-blooded critter could have survived up there, and they are having some arguments. Still protecting deep time, though. Also, other organisms were found nearby, so a shallow lake wa

Near Los Angeles (translation: the angels) was an area known as Rancho La Brea  ( la brea  translation: the pitch, or, the tar), and a part of that became Hancock Park. Savvy readers know that it is the location of the famous La Brea Tar Pits. Much research has been done regarding this natural asphalt. The story goes that animals would get trapped by the tar and cry out in distress, attracting predators who would also get trapped. That tale is popular but the reality is quite different. Indeed, there are reasons to doubt current speculations. Mastodon display at La Brea Tar Pits, Flickr / Ingrid Richter ( CC BY 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Study on it a spell. Thousands of fossils recovered from La Brea, many of large plant eaters and carnivores. If those were trapped and pulled down, wouldn't the bones be together? In fact, most skeletons are disarticulated (spread out). Biblical creationists agree with secular scientists that the area shows massive flooding, but creationists go

As many people already know, the solar system is about 4.5 billion years old according to standard dating ideas. The moon looks like a cold inactive rock. Other planets have moons that should also be uninteresting rocks, as are some planets and other objects up yonder. However, that is the opposite of the truth. Believers in deep time and cosmic evolution presuppose billions of years, but are constantly being surprised when planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and other things do not "act their age." Many of those things show comparative youth and geologic activity. Silvery Moonlight ,  John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1882 Our own moon has quakes, indicating tectonic activity — it is still cooling and shrinking after its recent creation. There is water (in the form of ice) on it as well, but the shaking and other activity makes some of the ice go away. Even so, that is a threat to deep time ideas because water can't last billions of years up there . Not so long ago, a ChiCom probe

Though many critters from the depths of time are extinct, some have living relatives today. There are living things that were thought to be extinct, then discovered to be alive and labeled living fossils . One animal from days of old is the dilly of armor, the armadillo. It is linked to the  glyptodont  group. As with some other creatures, even the largest of the armadillos are dwarfed by ancient relatives. DNA reveals that glyptodonts are actually giant armadillos — and may have been on the dining menu for some people. Glyptodon clavipes , Flickr / S. Rae (adjusted), ( CC BY 2.0 ) As to why animals were much larger back then, biblical creationists and secular scientists have differing ideas. Creationists have suggested longer lifespans and with them, delayed maturation. However, creationists are uncertain if the pre-Flood conditions on Earth played a part in bigness ( which included the Ice Age ). Also, secular scientists say cutting marks found on bones indicate slicing off meat fro

Descent with modifications evolution maintains that, biologically speaking, all life forms go back to a common ancestor. The claims of evolutionists should be verified in living things today as well as through the fossil record; there should be an uncountable number of transitional forms. Biblical creationists reject evolution partly through lack of evidence. While they believe in speciation, diversity, and the biblical kinds (similar to the family level in modern reckoning), they maintain that there are no transitional forms in the fossil record. Aerodactylus scolopaciceps  with soft tissue, Wikimedia Commons /  Steven U. Vidovic, David M. Martill  ( CC BY 2.5 ) What in the wild world of paleontology is a-goin' on here? Some recent examples show why creationists are not surprised because the discoveries fit their expectations. Secular reckoning has sharks as ancient critters, and a small group suddenly appeared in the fossil record. No evolution. A web-spinning spider allegedly 3

Secular scientists are committed to uniformitarianism ("the present is the key to the past") for the most part. Slow and gradual processes do not support observed evidence, so their worldview keeps them attempting to find explanations. Greenland is an icy place, but it was not always that way. There are canyons there (yippie ky yay, Bill Nye), plants were found underneath the ice sheet, the ice deposited quickly and not over huge amounts of time, and more. An ecosystem in the northern part of Greenland has been detected. Greenland north coast image credit: NASA /  Michael Studinger  (usage does not imply endorsement) The science of genetics, pioneered by Gregor Mendel (peas be upon him) has developed in some amazing ways. In this case, soil was analyzed and critters that lived in northern Greenland could be determined. But mammoths ? How did those  get up there? This is pretty far north. The biodiversity is a tough thing for secular scientists to explain in the first place

When the hand one is dealt is not playing well, cheat. After all, secular scientists seem to be doing that more and more. One example is the definition of archosaur . It has certain physical characteristics and includes crocodilians, dinosaurs, pterosaurs — and birds. Quite a broad category, and includes the tendentious assumption  that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Evidence and logic differ about that last part. A new fossil pseudosuchian (expensive word for crocodile) species was discovered in Nevada. That is counterintuitive, since those critters do not live so far inland. Crocodile, Pixnio /  Steve Hillebrand , USFWS Another species? That's nice. That also fits with biblical creation science models. Of course, like the assumption that birds evolved from dinosaurs and are related to archosaurs, secular scientists assume that crocodiles evolved even though there is no evidence of it. They also have to deal with the location of this one, as well as mixtures of organisms fossilized

A common attraction for geologists and tourists is Arches National Park in Utah, which has thousands of stone arches. It may be surprising to some people to learn that such arches exist around the world, and Kentucky has a passel of them itself. Take a trip to the Daniel Boone National Forest and Red River Gorge to see some. There are many arches in the formerly United States, but not all are the big ones. Some are on the small side. What is more interesting is that some have been collapsing. Skybridge arch - Red River Gorge, Wikimedia Commons / Smokemob ( CC BY 3.0 ) Secular scientists say that stone arches last thousands of years and then fall. Interestingly, people seemed to think the arches would last indefinitely. To be standing on one when it collapsed could spoil a day. Certain arches are actively monitored to see if they are becoming dangerous. There are two articles to consider in this post, the first being shorter and more general. Take a look-see at " The Age of Arc

People who have read material or watched videos about fossils have invariably come across trilobites, since there was a passel of them. They are associated with the Cambrian Explosion , where way down yonder in the Cambrian layer, life forms suddenly appeared — with no signs of evolutionary ancestors. Trilobites are icons of evolution, but they are quite trying to Darwin's disciples. Aside from appearing fully formed, they were intricate. Advances in technology allowed scientists to learn that they had impressive optics , for example. Recent pristine trilobite fossils further trouble evolutionists. Trilobite, US Dept / Interior,  BLM  (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) The fossils were discovered in a Morocco mountain range, which is not exactly the kind of place to seek marine organisms. They were preserved in ash, and even the complex digestive tract was preserved. What has been discovered about trilobites, including this bunch, fits the expectations of biblical

While on a ride during a nice evening, I met Rusty Swingset, foreman at the Darwin Ranch and his lady friend Jacqueline Hyde. The three of us reined in and exchanged pleasantries. Jacqueline brought up the subject of extremely well-preserved DNA that was discovered in a woolly mammoth. Rusty warmed to the subject and told of the report where conditions in a cave contributed to the preservation, and the mammoth meat was like a soft jerky. It was essentially freeze-dried, so it lasted tens of thousands of years. Even chromosomes were intact. Mammoths image, Flickr /  Andrew Wilkinson  ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) While this is not on the scale of dinosaur soft tissues and DNA allegedly lasting sixty-five million years, the fact remains that it is fragile even in the best of conditions. Sitting around after all those years would still cause it to degrade. Once again, researchers are ignoring important facts while assuming the age is correct. (Darwin needs great amounts of time his wonders to perform

If you mount up and ride out Montana way and look near Glendive, you will come across  Makoshika State Park . It takes up an impressive 11,538 acres and does the usual state park things like camping, hiking, hunting, and so on.  Makoshika also has activities that they call educational because it is a part of a massive playground of paleontologists, the Hell Creek Formation. That means dinosaur bones and fossils. There is a wagon trainload of them for study and for secularists to evosplain the demise of dinosaurs. Rock formation in Makoshika State Park, Wikimedia Commons / Larry D. Moore ( CC BY 4.0 ) Storytellers commence chattering about the Chicxulub impact by a big rock from space and how it was responsible for dinosaur extinction. That story is unraveling . Also, dinosaur blood vessel grooves and other things are still in existence, but should not exist in the conventional deep time narrative. If secularists stripped away evolutionary presuppositions, they could examine the eviden

Secular geologists wear Deep Time Spectacles, so any data they observe is interpreted to indicate millions or billions of years. Keep in mind that secular, creation, and Intelligent Design scientists all have the same data to work with. It invariably comes down to worldviews and presuppositions. May as well fill those millions of years (that Darwin needs to perform his wonders) with a passel of events. Creationists believe the evidence shows only one Ice Age while secularists believe in many. One of a controversial idea on the secular side is Snowball Earth. Snowball Earth, Flickr /  guano  ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) There is plenty of evidence that the Ice Age happened, but only in a portion of the Northern Hemisphere. Snowball Earth presents glaciation extending all the way down toward the equator. Not all secular geologists ride for that brand, and with good reason: It never ends. Not only are secularists unable to postulate a believable cause for the Ice Age, but they cannot find a way to en

There are several areas that have fossilized dinosaur tracks, which is quite remarkable if you think on it. Glen Rose, Texas has a significant number of them. They are easy to see at Dinosaur Valley State Park . Sounds like an interesting place to visit. During a time of drought in 2022, even more tracks were exposed. Paleontologists and other folks were excited to see them. One trackway is impressively long, apparently made by  Acrocanthosaurus atokensis . One tell-tale sign is that it has claws on its feet. Acrocanthosaurus atokensis , Wikimedia Commons / Petr Menshikov ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ), modified Hey, Cowboy Bob! How is  A. atokensis on the beach like Christmas? Because of its sandy claws ! Moving on... Secular scientists have some imaginative stories to tell about how they formed, but like so many other attempted explanations by Darwinists, they do not withstand scrutiny. With a proper understanding of sedimentation during the Genesis Flood, forming and fossilization of the tracks

When someone claims to be a former creationist, there are many telling signs that invariably appear. One is lack of knowledge of biblical creation science. Second, poor knowledge of theology. Third, they attack creationism, defend evolution and especially an old Earth. In their passionate efforts, the fourth trait is to show misunderstanding of dating methods. There are other things apostates show, but their claims that dating methods prove an old Earth are of interest at this time. Also, they are welcomed by atheists and other anti-creationists. Zircon octahedral crystal, Flickr / candiru (PD) Radiometric dating is often treated as a creation killer since biblical creationists hold to the earth being thousands of years old while these dating methods seem to show millions or billions of years. Contrary evidence, or evidence supporting recent creation, is downplayed. (I remember an atheist bringing up the age of the earth and using a preemptive strike with the genetic fallacy , saying

To be a fully vested card-carrying evolutionist and learn the secret handshake, one must believe some stories that are...truly bizarre. Fake science must be implemented very quickly — especially supporting deep time. Papa Darwin needs it, and yee yaw boy howdy, secularists are going to give it to him! For evolution to work, Earth could not have the present oxygen-rich atmosphere. The story (which sounds a lot like magic) has low oxygen levels, microbe activity, then high oxygen levels. That malarkey was discredited several times over — and it has been brought back again. Ashokan Reservoir, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Like with many other evolutionary and geological myths that are poorly supported by science, the secular science industry needs the Great Oxidation Event, so it was retooled. Now there are several, because Earth wasn't ready for oxygen. Therefore, it was like a seesaw so things could evolve and get ready for full oxygenation. Once again, evolutionism smacks of panth

In " Dishonest Darwinists Dodge Living Fossils ," the concept of stasis  was mentioned. To oversimplify,  living fossils are organisms that remain essentially unchanged from fossils to their living counterparts. Some fossils have millions of years assigned to them. Organisms did not evolve because they did not need to: stasis. Darwin's disciples glom onto the stasis rescuing device because living fossils are a serious impediment for evolution. Living fossils also indicate that the earth is not as ancient as evolution requires. Spotted Gar, Wikimedia Commons, USFWS / Brian Montague (public domain, usage does not imply endorsement) Know why gars live in mostly freshwater or brackish environments? Because if they lived in the oceans, they'd be sea-gars! Not funny, Cowboy Bob. Gars have been described as cigar-shaped, and some can grow rather large. Evolutionists say that their slow rate of evolution affects their low rate of speciation. Also, DNA repair mechanisms could

Long ago, the Sahara was a really great place. Lots of lakes, good for fishing and swimming — it probably was not called Sahara, as that name is derived from Arabic  ṣaḥrāʾ which means desert. The fact that the region was wet is known to researchers. Something in dispute is the existence of megalakes. There is still Lake Chad, an important water supply and ecosystem that touches on four countries. It is large now, but was much bigger in the past. Today it is fed by rivers. Sahara sand dune, USDA / E.L Skidmore (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) There is evidence that these megalakes existed, but residents of the secular science industry tend to ignore them or even deny their reality. One reason is that they cannot give a plausible explanation for how they formed. On the other hand, biblical creation scientists have an explanation to offer that involves the Ice Age, which happened much quicker than proponents of an old earth would like to consider. Researchers have l

It seems that people all around the world are fond of hot springs, so they often turn areas into spas and such. Down Arkansas way is Hot Springs National Park , which was enjoyed by people for centuries. A unique feature is that the water does not stink of sulfur like in other hot springs. Although it is a comparatively small national park, it covers a large area. Also, there is hiking, camping, and other national park stuff to do. In addition, the park service's educational aspect is saturated with deep time assumptions. Tufa rock at Hot Springs National Park, NPS Photo / Mitch Smith (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) One glaring inconsistency common among secular geologists is used here. Namely, that the folded rocks took their shapes over millions of years due to plate tectonics. Pick up a slab of flint and try to fold it. In fact, use hydraulic machinery. What happens? It shatters, of course. No folding here, mate. There is also the problem of a small stream i

Original biological materials from fossils have been found for many years, but the 1997 discovery of soft tissues in a dinosaur bone  by Dr. Mary Schweitzer and company really took the rag off the bush . Things get worse for them because biomolecules are also found in dinosaur material. Despite numerous reports of dinosaur soft tissue discoveries reported in peer-reviewed journals, some jaspers still refuse to believe that they exist. Others admit they exist and come up with rescuing devices. The reason is that these things make Papa Darwin sad. Fossil dinosaur eggs, Flickr / Gary Todd (PD) As discussed before, worldviews strongly influence how people interpret evidence. A paleontologist evidence-denier wanted to be the smartest one on the bus, so he tried to refute claims of original biomolecules. It did not go well. Instead, he indulged in circular reasoning: Assume that dinosaur eggs are millions of years old, then prove biomolecules last for millions of years! Yeah, people get pai