Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

I got a copy of "Not WRitten In stone" from our public library. I have to say that I was underwhelmed. I expected some scholarship and what I got was preaching to 11 yar olds . Im afraid that kids and teachers, not familiar with textbook huckstering or intellectual rigor will be taking copious notes and using the unedited information in their classes. (Especially schools of the charter persuasion).

There is no real evidence that this book is anything but a kids "fold out" book. I was highly disappointed , but my excitement and expectations were high (as pre my own journey into the history of teaching biology and evolution , and science in general in the pre information aged America).

Too bad, great idea, but terribly done. I dont reccomend anyone waste their time on it , unless of course you wanna see how obsessed I am over stuff like this. If someone has no exposure to AMerican History, the book is not a great introduction because it doesnt spend anytime at all in developing the story of how we actually disposed of these earlier beliefs .


Although, not specific to this topic, CI , and several others will, by past reference be interested in a new book I also got from the Library. SIMPON WINCHESTER just released his long awaited "ATL:ANTIC" , (a story about the ocesn). Im into it about 25 pages and its a factoid heaven. I love his writing style now (I used to hate it as just unrelated facts loosely interconnected by sequential page nuimbers) Ever since his "The MAp that..." (the life of "Strata SMith")
It bases no value in how evidence and data are developed.

ATLANTIC seems (from the outset) (IMHO) well organized and is a life of this ocean. His style gives me an idea about my own work on the deciphering of the geology of the Appalachians.

Course Winchester was trained as a geologist also and took his opportunities, like Michener, to travel about (Just less "structured" than Micheners )

The book "Atlantic" got dazzling reviews; this is from Publishers' Weekly, quoted on Amazon's website. Never knew how old that ocean was:

Actually, I think the reviewer misunderstood. The entire lifespan of the present Atlantic will be over 370 million years (That includes its opening and closing. Im sure Winchester didnt make that mistake) . The real startup of the ATlantic ws no more than 180-90 MYa when Newfounndland/Gibraltar section of midocean ridge began the suture and then the Torres/Walvis section in South AMerica continued it (...The rifting of Pangea...), in Rogers and Santosh (2004).
Continents and SUpercontinents There were several other "pre ATlantics, such as IAPETUS (the real namesake of my recently sold boat. I had made no reference to mythology).


I used to think that WInchester would have made a great writer of phone books but, lately, Im really beginning to appreciate his style when it comes to these quasi scientific ,historic, "folkloric" kinds of books. He has never wasted a lot of time in transitioning thoughts so its always a brisk ride. The older I get, the more I appreciate word economy. (thats why I usually ignore spendis posts which are written by the pound)

He's having you on folks. The reason he ignores my posts, which are very economical, is that they stump him.

I can't imagine anything economical relating to the formation of the Atlantic 370 million years ago. It's counter economic.

I think you will find that it was the Meditteraean that was the vital ingredient in the blooming of Western civilization.

So is this map correct? Aside to Spendius - if arguing (however economically) oceans can't be older than 6,000 years, pls refrain!

http://www.paleoportal.org/index.php?globalnav=time_space&sectionnav=period&period_id=11

Define "ocean" then.

We're discussing the Atlantic. I'm assuming waters did move around a lot, but the ocean bed is recognizable, as is the mid-oceanic ridge:

That's supposed to be from 345 MY ago. Period called early Mississipian. Link on this website: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/nam.html

The Atlantic seems to have opened and closed at least once if those maps are correct. The Mediterranean did the same many times.

The map of the Permian is correct. The Pangean highlands are what we call the ANCIENT Appalachian Mtns. The Atlantic opened and shut at least 4 times from the Vendean and up. There were several continents and supercontinents before Pangea (500 my) .Even Pangea had pulses of squishing between opposing plates (continental collisions) so the Taconic and Alleghenian "orogenies" were these pulses in which island arcs and oceanic crust were pushed far inland (like India and the Himalayan forelands).

Before Pangea there was Columbia, and Rhodinia as continental masses of accretion. The US was actually "slid " away North polar from its center of mass in the later Pangean opening that formed the Atlantic.


But yeh that maps are basically correct and you can see that, from the map of the mid Miss that the opening of the Atlantic had to wait until the Iapetus Ocean had closed by continental collisions

How do we know all this?? Well, your gonna have to read my book. The evidence will be presented quite simply so that a student can figure it out. "I despise armwaving"

farmerman, I have a question for you. The Pacific Ocean has some of the deepest areas on this planet. Does that mean its existence for all those millions of years were more stable than the Atlantic Ocean and is much older than any of the land mass?

Pretty much. For as long as we have the data, we have the existence of an ancient ocean that was where the PAcific is Now. It had many names. The most popular and recent (prior to the actual formation of the PAcific basin) was Panthalassa. It was , like the Arctic, a "Superocean".
Its been hard to decipher because of its depths and breadth. Weve had to use moving islands like Hawaii to figure out the motion. ALl the action f landmasses was in the Austrlian Antarctic and India/Africa joints.

I don't know what you think Io but I'm going to say a prayer for American kids.

Yes, we're all anxiously waiting to read your book! (aside to Spendius: your opinion isn't being requested at this time, thank you!)

4 times for the Atlantic - the Mediterranean closed and opened up again 3 or 4 times also. And the "Gates of Hercules" aka the rocks on either side of the passage to the Atlantic at Gibraltar, are the last remnants of a colossal waterfall that must have been crashing down into the Med for hundreds of millions of years (quick calculation here, not quite sure) until that sea's basin filled up. And emptied, letting all living creatures in it die agonizingly in evaporating brine. And filled up again. Thank you - that majestic vista is truly impressive. I never knew there was so much frantic activity in them thar rock piles

You haven't defined "ocean" yet HS.

Sky Arts this afto had Die Valkure from this joint--

http://arhitecturamoderna.blogspot.com/2008/05/valencia-opera-house.

Stupendous. 4 hours unbroken.

Sorry--link no workee. Google Valencia Opera House.

You mean, Simon Winchester, don't you?

Can there be any other subject as boring as geology? Or as easy. I know it can be useful despite the Arab peasant explaining that he got rich by showing American geologists where to drill for oil and not minding if they took the credit.

Once measuring skills got to a certain point it would be impossible not to discover that continents drift.

I was young then but if memory serves me correctly there were more mountains on the land above water...walking over them was quite tedious.

Certainly most civil engineers find it mind-numbingly dull. It is a subject to get a tick in abox, that's all.

Religion.

Hehehehehehehe . . .