-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Re: FW: Conspiracy of Science
Date:   Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:44:29 -0800
From:   Alan O. Allwardt <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask]
References:     <[log in to unmask]>



It's easy to dismiss a comic book artist who
produces a slick animation depicting an expanding
earth. Although the expanding earth hypothesis is
certainly on the fringe, it would be wrong to
characterize all of its proponents as
wrong-headed cranks. Here's a citation for you
from the USGS library:

Why expanding Earth? : a book in honour of Ott Christoph Hilgenberg /
Lautenthaler Montanistisches Colloquium (3rd :
2001 : Lautenthal, Germany), Scalera, Giancarlo.,
Jacob, Karl-Heinz., Technische Universität
Berlin., Istituto nazionale di geofisica e
vulcanologia (Italy)
Roma, Italy : INGV Publisher, 2003.
Call #: 311 L387w 2001

To a historian of the earth sciences, this is all
reminiscent of the treatment of Immanuel
Velikovsky (Worlds in Collision, Earth in
Upheaval) in the 1950s and 1960s -- the so-called
Velikovsky Affair. One of the staunch defenders
of Velikovsky's right to air his catastrophist
views was none other than Harry Hess, the
proponent of sea-floor spreading. Here's a
sampling of the Velikovsky-Hess correspondence:

http://www.varchive.org/cor/hess/index.htm

In the Hess archives at Princeton, I've seen a
letter from Hess, acting as a referee, to the
editors of the Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society, in which he asserted that
Velikovsky had been the victim of "outrageous"
scientific censorship.

Hess certainly didn't endorse Velikovsky's views,
and I do not endorse the views of the expanding
earth proponents. But I would agree with Geoff
Forbes that a respectful debate is in order.

Alan Allwardt
Information Specialist
USGS Pacific Science Center
Santa Cruz, CA


>From: Geoff Forbes [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:52 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: RE: Conspiracy of Science
>
>Nicholas,
>
>While you do indeed make some excellent points, I have to admit that, in the
>context of a respectful debate, I very much dislike emotionally charged
>words and name-calling, e.g., cranks, stupidity, ludicrous...
>
>Geoffrey A. Forbes, M.S.
>LAND INFO Worldwide Mapping LLC
>
>>-------- Original Message --------
>>Subject:        Re: Conspiracy of Science
>>Date:   Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:15:02 -0000
>>From:   Nicholas Verge <[log in to unmask]>
>>To:     Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>References:
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>
>>Angie,
>>
>>I presume you brought this animation to our attention to
>>entertain us by
>>showing an example of sheer stupidity and how utterly
>>wrong-headed
>>proponents of the Expanding Earth theorey are. It is out
>>there with those
>>who claim mankind coexisted with the dinosaurs. Never once
>>is it ever
>>explained why the earth would be expanding, or the answers
>>to the question
>>if the planet is expanding, what was its initial state and
>>what will
>>become of it in the future. Such a hypothesis would be a
>>reasonable one,
>>if we were still living in the dark ages (it seems some
>>still are) knew
>>next to nothing about physiscs, the Earth and its history.
>>However, we now
>>know a huge amount about these and none of it provides any
>>support for
>>this ludicrous idea. Another strong peice of geological
>>evidence that
>>refutes the idea of an expanding planet is the presence of
>>convergent
>>plate boundary zones (subduction zones and major moutain
>>belts) throughout
>>earth history. These mark regions where two ro more
>>lithospheric plates
>>are, or have been, moving towards each other, a concept
>>incompatible with
>>the idea that the Planet is expanding!
>>
>>The only thing I am amazed about is the stupidity of the
>>very small number
>>of cranks who continue to advocate such nonsense, when
>>there is an
>>extremely successful model explaining how and why the
>>earths lithosphere
>>moves and one that can successfully explain the great
>>majority of smaller
>>scale earth processes, features and phenomena as being a
>>direct or
>>indirect result of this motion. I am of course refering to
>>Plate
>>Tectonics, driven by convection within the asthenosphere,
>>probably one of
>>the all-time most susccessful concepts in the history of
>>science, along
>>with evolution, quantum mechanics, the Big Bang and general
>>relativity.
>>
>>
>>On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:48:48 -0000, Angela R Cope
>><[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>>  This video is a Neal Adams animation about his theory
>>that the Earth is
>>>  growing. This collides with the Pangea theory. Watch
>>it, you will be
>>>  amazed.
>>>
>>>
>>
>http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=The+Expanding+Earth+The
>ory&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
>>  >
>>>
>>>  Angie
>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Nicholas J. Verge BSc. FGS
>>Geologist and geological remote sensing/GIS consultant
>>
>>Earthscience Technologies
>>Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK.
>>
>>Voice: ++ 44 (0)1491 572022 (office hours 0900-2200UTC,
>>Monday - Saturday)
>>Email: [log in to unmask]