Week 1 Introduction and the Scientific Method
Click
on the link below to hear a mini-lecture audio segment.
- Geology, like all other sciences is based less on "facts" than hypotheses.
- Geology has been developed through the process of discovery and analysis, by way of the Scientific method.
- Scientists attempt to explain what we observe through a series of theories and systems that are constantly tested and revised.
-This is called the Scientific Method.
The Hollow
Earth Theory
The Hollow Earth, Raymond Bernard, 1979, Bell Publishing Company
- The Hollow Earth Theory was first proposed by John Symmes in the early 1800's.
- The crux of the theory is that the earth has an outer shell about 800 miles thick. Inside the shell is an open area in which a race of super intelligent (CS majors) aliens.
- In the polar regions two holes, approximately 1400 miles wide allow the aliens to move in and out of the earth.
1882 Illustration of polar holes published in Harper's New Monthly Review.
More recent images of the "hole" in the polar areas.
- Bernard explains that the reason that nobody has seen the holes is that pilots lose their compass bearings near the "holes" because of electromagnetic signals sent by the alien race.
A reconstruction of the "hole".
- One of the lines of evidence believers use is a diary that Admiral Richard Byrd kept during his exploration of the polar regions. No reputable researcher has ever seen the original diary in order to verify it.
Testing the Hollow Earth Theory
Although it is easy to dismiss this theory as the misguided ideas of a group of "crackpots", it is important to use the same scientific methods to test it that we use with traditional scientific hypotheses by reputable scientists. We must use the Scientific Method.
Gravity
- If the earth is hollow, then we can project a gravitational force based on the 800 mile shell and compare it to what we measure.
- If we make these calculations, the gravitational force of the Earth would be 1/21 the actual force we measure.
Magnetic Data
- The irregularities and anomalies we observe around the poles are cited as evidence for the hollow earth.
- The irregularities in compass bearing we observe around the polar regions are consistent with a dipole magnetic field.
Earthquake Data
- If the earth is truly hollow, earthquake waves would not pass through the earth, only the outer 800 mile shell.
- Earthquake waves do pass through the earth and demonstrate velocities that are consistent with an earth composed mostly of solid rock.
Images
- The images shown of the "holes" are actually breaks in the cloud cover that occur periodically above the polar regions.
Alien Signals and Travels
- No reputable scientific or military source has ever detected any signal that could be reasonably related to intelligent life beneath the surface of the earth. Nor has anyone documented any alien spaceships entering or exiting the polar regions.
Conclusion
Clearly, the scientific method is a useful tool in developing reasonable and defendable theories about the world around us. Let's look at two examples of great scientists at work using the scientific method.
Click
on the link below to hear a mini-lecture audio segment.
Ross and the Scientific Method
