The old "different interpreatation" dodge is just hand-waving. If and when YECs come up with some real indiation that they can explain some significant portion of the evidence better than maninstream science and that explanation doesn't boil down to "Goddidit", they might get some atention from real scientiists. If and when YECs come up with a dfifferent interpretation that explains
all the evidence as well or better than mainstream science, then they'll have something. Don't hold your breath.
Fact: Some rock has a certain ratio of parent and daughter isotope productions from radioactive decay.
Fact: The rate of decay for the parent isotope is known.
Fact: Methods exist for identifying problems with the system.
Mainstream Conclusion: Rocks can be dated by the ratio of radioactive isotopes and their decay elements.
YEC conclusion: Either the rate of decay varied in the past, or some other effect we have not taken into account makes radiometric dating invalid. Never mind the amount of heat produced by accelerated radioactive decay and the other side efects of such, or the evidence that radioactive decay did
not vary in the past, or the agreement between different methods that would require a large number of unknown and perfectly synchronized mechanisms that left no trace of their actions other than the changes required to make the rocks, which we know are really young, look old.
Fact: Mutations happen that add/remove/change an animal's genes and therfore their characteristics.
Fact: Animals with characteristics more adaptive to their environment survive better and produce more offspring.
YEC conclusion: An as-yet-undetected barrier, for which there is no evidence other than the YEC's wish that it be so,
exists that prevents such change from going too far. Never mind that we have no evidence of such a barrier, never mind that the fossil record contains powerful evidence that no such barrier exists, never mind the observed speciations and morphological changes; by definition they are insufficient to demonstrate a change between kinds. Especially ignore results observed in "lower" animals and organisms.
Note that the common themes in YEC "interpretations" are:
- Postulate unknown mechanisms for which we have no evidence and assume such mechanisms are fact.
- Never address the totality of the evidence. Especially, ignore the most powerful evidence for the mainstream position.