slevesque writes:
You say geology tells us that a valley is a sign of great age, but of course this is not necessarily true. Only if you impose a very strict notion of uniformitarianism on geology will you come to this conclusion, as was done in the beginning of the century. Fortunately, because of the work of pioneers such as J Harlen Bretz (damn fame-seeking contrarians ) this view has changed. And I think you will now agree with me that canyon = great age isn't applicable in geology anymore, as other processes can give this featue in a short time (glaciers and massive flooding are two examples that come to mind.)
Canyons usually do indeed take a great deal of time in general as shown by incised meanders. They leave obvious differences which can be seen by anyone in comparison to a flood caused canyon such as evident near the potholes in Washington. In addition, U-shaped valleys, such as the mile deep Yosemite took some time longer than any 40 days to carve out, unless magic ice is involved.
Bu fame-seeking contrarians, I mean the geology experts the YECs favor such as the criminal Hovind, who along with the con-artist Baugh, claim phony credentials; the overt 'sons of Ham' racist Morris; the RATE 'boys' who admit they are wrong in the end; and the befuddled Baumgardner who can't find any plausible mechanism for the Detroit Muscle car speeds of his physically impossible tectonic plate hypotheses.
A fine lot indeed. The very definition of objectivity.
YECism is against all of the findings of geology, including every subfield as I have pointed out in detail on several occasions. What possible purpose can their be in discussing the geology of other planets if one is dead set against all the empirical findings of geology on this planet?
As for your claim of objectivity, what I see is
Morton's Demon.
The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas - uncertainty, progress, change - into crimes.
Salman Rushdie
This rudderless world is not shaped by vague metaphysical forces. It is not God who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs. It’s us. Only us. - the character Rorschach in Watchmen