Re: The young age of Earth

Kevin O'Brien (Cuchulaine@worldnet.att.net)
Fri, 12 Mar 1999 05:13:47 -0700

>
>> I know you don't agree with this assessment, but so far your only reasons
>> have amounted to vague assertions about the difficulty of abiogenetic
>> processes and the violence of bolide impacts. What I would like to know
>> is
>> if you have any specific, concrete reasons for questioning the adequacy
>> of
>> this amount of time? I mean, let's take a page from Neal Roys posts:
>> can
>> you propose any testable causal mechanisms that would demonstrate that
>> even this length of time is inadequate?
>
>Aboigenesis advocates have two problems to address: the origin of a
>chemical structure that appears irreducibly complex and the origin of
>biological information.
>

Pointing out the supposed problems of abiogenesis is not a testable causal
mechanism that would demonstrate the inadequacy of this length of time;
it's simply more of the vague assertions I described above. Why not simply
admit that you have nothing to offer that would demonstrate the inadequacy
of this length of time?

>
>I think all are agreed that no one has yet
>proposed a mechanism or mechanisms for solving these problems.
>

Actually, no; I don't agree with that and it's also not true. A large
number of mechanisms have been proposed in just the last decade alone --
some of which have been discussed on this list. Some of these mechanisms
are in trouble; some look very viable; but they do exist, whether you wish
to acknowledge them or not.

Kevin L. O'Brien