I'm tiring of it too. I have better things to do with my time than pissing
in the wind. Quite frankly, I'm rather disappointed that other geologists
reading this list do not reply to Randy's gross distortions of geology thus
giving him far more credibility than he deserves (especially when I get
private e-mail from people supporting my position but see no public posts).
Look, I'm not impressed with a Ph.D. and I'm sorry it comes across that way.
I offer my background because it's relevant to what's being discussed (we're
talking about geology, and I study geology for a living -- it's relevant). I
also think that someone studying geology, reading geologic journals, and
interacting with geologists on a daily basis probably has a better grasp of
what's actually going on in geology than a layman who doesn't (and, quite
frankly, Randy's posts show that he has no clue what geologists actually
believe). I'm sorry, I value my education and think that people who study
something for a living usually have a better grasp of it than those who read
popular books on it for a hobby.
The people who complain the loudest about the scientific elite and the
worthlessness of Ph.D.s on this list seem to be those who haven't got one
in the subject area being discussed. I'm not saying you need a Ph.D. to
discuss the topics (that would leave me out also), but I am saying you had
better understand the issues when making bold statements about the topic,
be familiar with the literature, and be prepared to be refuted if you say
incorrect things. I simply don't subscribe to this anti-intellectual "What
the hell do those atheistic egghead scientists know anyway?" mentality I see
among so many Christians -- Christians who are very impressed by people like
Morris and Gish and Austin who write Ph.D. VERY prominantly on their books
after their names (not to mention the preachers who do this also like Dr.
James Dobson, Dr. James Kennedy, Dr. Jack Van Impe, etc.). When an ICR
creationist says something, then it's "The geologist Dr. Stephen Austin
says..." and it's taken as gospel trust delivered from Mt. Sinai. When a
mainstream geologist disputes a layman making erroneous claims, then it's
"Well Ph.D.s don't know everything and you're just conceited since I can
understand it as well as you." Can you say "double standard"?
Judge my posts on their content. If I make factual errors, please call
me on them.
- Steve.
-- Steven H. Schimmrich Callsign KB9LCG s-schim@uiuc.edu Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 245 Natural History Building, Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 244-1246 http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/s-schim Deus noster refugium