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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  13:19:57  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message
I am not sure exactly how Dr. Tasman Walker comes to his conclusions.
quote:
Collapsed Apostle tells a story
5 July 2005

Geologist Dr Tasman Walker of Answers in Genesis said that the famous ‘Twelve Apostles' off the coast of Victoria, Australia have eroded much faster than most people imagine.



Credit: Parks Victoria

Going, going, gone. Just after 9:18 am the 50-metre ‘Apostle' collapsed within seconds leaving a heap of rubble. Jesus' Apostles said the earth was young, and these Apostles do too.


Australians were shocked to learn that one of the ‘Twelve Apostles' crumpled into the Southern Ocean just after 9 am on Sunday 3 July, leaving just a heap of rubble.

A Sydney family touring the area captured remarkable before-and-after images of the disintegrated rock formation.

The 50-metre-high sea stack, second from the viewing platform, began to shimmer and collapsed into a heap within seconds.

A Parks Victoria spokesperson said she was shocked by the collapse. ‘You think these structures are going to last for a while and certainly not [think you'll] actually see one collapse in your lifetime.'

According to geologist Walker, the reaction to the collapse illustrates how the public have been conditioned with geological ideas that do not match reality.

‘We are told that The Apostles started to form up to 20 million years ago when erosion gradually attacked the limestone cliffs of Port Campbell. No wonder everyone is surprised when one collapses.

‘But there was a similar collapse in 1990 when London Bridge, a natural rock arch to one of the stacks, gave way not long after people walked over it. Two people had to be rescued by helicopter.

‘About 10 years ago in West Australia nine people were killed when similar limestone strata collapsed onto the beach during an inter-school surfing competition.

‘The stacks are not millions of years old. The limestone strata were deposited during Noah's Flood, as the floodwaters flowed from the emerging Australian continent.

‘That was just four and a half thousand years ago.'

And yet he puts forth no supporting data for his claims -- oh, wait, he doesn't have to. He works in comedy....

Truth to tell, I wonder that AiG published this nonsense. Couldn't they have found something a bit more interesting, if not creditable, to blither about? Are they running short of material, or just getting lazy?


"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

dv82matt
SFN Regular

760 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  13:36:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send dv82matt a Private Message
Well, since they believe that all the answers are in Genesis, I guess they think there's no point in understanding anything else.
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  13:50:07   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
Wow, I guess no one is allowed to express shock at anything anymore, lest it be used as evidence that science can't explain a thing. Sure, it may be unexpected to see a rock formation collapse in one's lifetime, but it in no way indicates that no one ever expects some rocks, somewhere, to suddenly fall.

Did you see the picture of the formation? It looked as if a stiff breeze would have knocked it down.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Edited by - H. Humbert on 07/05/2005 13:51:59
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard

USA
4907 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  14:18:29   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Ricky an AOL message Send Ricky a Private Message
To answer the question in the title:

Logic.

Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast.
- Isaac Asimov
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solidsquid
New Member

USA
9 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  17:09:11   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit solidsquid's Homepage  Send solidsquid a Yahoo! Message Send solidsquid a Private Message
Walker, holds a BS in Earth Science. His doctorate is in engineering. There seems to be a lot of creationists who are engineers. I wonder if there is a correlation?

The formation collapse prooves nothing, let alone Walker's non-sequitur conclusion.



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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26021 Posts

Posted - 07/05/2005 :  19:27:44   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
From the article:
‘Most geologists do not appreciate the geological effects of Noah's Flood,' says Walker. ‘If they did, people would be more aware of geological hazards, and not think that the rocks are a permanent feature of the landscape.'
With however many landslides and sinkholes occuring every year, anyone who thinks that mere rocks are permanent freatures needs a clue. Of course, if Walker's Earth Science degree taught him that rocks are permanent, he's the one who's an idiot, for paying for such a crappy education.

This very much reminds me of the creationist claims about Niagara Falls, though. Gah, what horrific "logic."

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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