Reducibly Complex

This is Part 7 of the ten part blog debunking the claims made on CreationEvidence.org’s “Evidence for Creation.” This blog examines point #7.

STATEMENT: “Physicist Melvin Cook, found that helium-4 enters our atmosphere from solar wind and radioactive decay of uranium. At present rates our atmosphere would accumulate current helium-4 amounts in less than 10,000 years.”

RESPONSE: Admittedly, the scientific data regarding this argument is a bit complicated, but Dave E. Matson has written a paper titled “How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments?” and addresses the subject of atmospheric helium-4 amounts. Matson goes into great detail, and I shall summarize as best I can:

Helium-4 is the result of radioactive alpha decay. (definition: alpha decay occurs “because the nucleus [of an atom] has too many protons which cause excessive repulsion. In an attempt to reduce the repulsion, a Helium nucleus is emitted” (“Three Types of Radioactive Decay”, thinkquest.org).) Helium-4 is “produced” as it escapes from within the earth to the atmosphere. It is hypothesized that a small amount of helium-4 is lost as it is heated and escapes the atmosphere altogether. However, the “most probable mechanism for helium loss is photoionization of helium by the polar wind and its escape along open lines of the Earth’s magnetic field” (Matson). Polar wind accounts for an escape of helium-4 that is nearly identical to the estimated production. Similarly, helium-4 may escape from the atmosphere through a “direct interaction of the solar wind [...] during the short periods of lower magnetic-field intensity while the field is reversing. Sheldon and Kern (1972) estimated that 20 geomagnetic-field reversals over the past 3.5 million years would have assured a balance between helium production and loss” (Matson).

CONCLUSION: What’s missing from creationevidence.org’s argument (aka what is implied by their argument) is that if helium-4 is being produced at the rate that it is, the amount of helium-4 observed in the atmosphere indicates a young earth. As has been shown, however, there are several mechanisms that account for the loss of helium-4 in the atmosphere. “Thus,” Matson states, “the helium balance calculations provided by creationist Melvin Cook [...] cannot provide a reliable minimum estimate of the earth’s age. [The creationists' argument from helium-4 production] is a fatal oversimplification of a complex problem” (Matson).

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For those of you skeptics and scientists in the Madison, Wisconsin, area:

There is a new meetup.com group for Madison Skeptics. Anyone interested in skepticism or scientiic advocacy should join the group and add yourself to the mailing list. There is a meeting THIS SUNDAY, December 14th, at the Panera Bread restaurant at 3416 University Ave in Madison. I will be there, along with my two-month old son and probably my fiance. There is also a meetup scheduled for December 27th, although I will be out of town and unable to attend. Come out and enjoy some Panera bread and lively skepticism with other skeptics from the Madison area.

“A mere inference or theory must give way to a truth revealed; but a scientific truth must be maintained, however contradictory it may appear to the most cherished doctrines of religion.”

-Sir David Brewster, physicist noted for his experimental work in optics and polarized light (light in which all waves lie in the same plane.) He is known for Brewster’s Law, which relates the refractive index of a material to its polarizing angle (which is the incident angle at which reflected light becomes completely polarized). He patented the kaleidoscope in 1817.

I have decided to change things up a little bit with the Quote of the Day. From now on the quote will be from someone in science who was born, died, or did something awesome in science on this particular date.

Sir David Brewster was born on this day in 1781.

I love this quote because of it seems to be an explicit argument for evolution vs. religion, but it was spoken by Sir David Brewster three years before Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species.

Dr. Steven Novella, neurologist at Yale and president of the New England Skeptical Society (and host of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, blogger at Neurologica, blogger at Skepticblog, and blogger at The Rogue’s Gallery) has put together an excellent blog about the battle against creation science as a part of his multi-part blog on the Skeptical Battlegrounds. It is an excellent read that I highly recommend.

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.”

-Wilson Mizner

Education has kept me very busy lately. Faith never does.

“Science is simply common sense at its best - that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.”

-Thomas Henry Huxley (aka “Darwin’s Bulldog”)

I am planning to write a few posts soon on logical fallacies. They will be forthcoming sometime after I finish the “‘Evidence for Creation’ Debunked” posts.

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.”

-Bertrand Russell

This is a perfect response to the logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum (appeal to the people). Just because a lot of people think that God exists doesn’t mean that he does. It is not evidence for God’s existence; it is evidence of the popularity of that belief and nothing more.

“Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism”

-Dr. David Suzuki

Science education has proved worthless in this country at teaching skepticism. Indeed, despite my own coming from one of the best public school systems in the country I, too, found myself believing in pseudosciences until recent years.

“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.”

-Sir Arthur C. Clarke

I’m excited tonight because I’ve discovered that a meetup.com group has been started recently for Madison Skeptics. I hope it turns into something really cool. We’ll see, I guess.

“Any monkey worth his salt would give any bird a beak-flip.”

-Perry DeAngelis (R.I.P.)

A little special quote (to make up for yesterday’s missed quote) for any of you who listen to “The Skeptics Guide to the Universe” podcast.

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