ABSTRACTS
An Annular Solar Eclipse
The annular solar eclipse of May 30, 1984 provided an opportunity to study the unusual phenomenon.
The Oklo Natural Uranium Reactor: Evidence For A Young Earth
A fossil nuclear reactor is believed to have been discovered at Oklo in Gabon, Africa. The author has previously considered the scientific data from the viewpoint of a creationist. In this work further studies of concentrations of uranium and of reactor by-products are presented and discussed as they relate to determining the age of the reactor. The data still seem to be consistent with the young earth view.
Experimental Results Of Crowding On The Rate Of Asexual Reproduction Of The Planarian Dugesia dorotocephala
Natural selection is central to evolution and is thought to provide the mechanism for the development of new species. Pressure exerted by natural selection is thought to play a major role in the regulation of animal populations. If it could be demonstrated that natural selection is not needed for the maintenance of populations or that the harvest of prey species by predators is random, then evolution would be without a mechanism. Experimental evidence is presented indicating the freshwater planarian, Dugesia dorotocephala, regulates its own population density at healthy levels without need for starvation, disease or predation. Data also indicate worm density is a more important factor of reproduction rate than food under certain conditions. Additional work is needed with other species and under natural conditions.
Teaching About Origin Questions: Origin Of Life On Earth
In the first article (CRSQ 21:115-19) in this four-part series the author stated the validity of two fundamentally contrasting viewpoints about origins; and in doing so, he provided objective, scientific data for (1) Total Creationism (based upon belief in Eternal, Personal Creator God who created all things), and (2) Total Evolutionism (based upon the belief that all things derived from some Eternal, Impersonal Matter-Energy condition). By emphasizing limitations of proper, orderly scientific endeavor, he delineated that scientists deal with two kinds of inquiries: (a) inquiries to explain "present" natural phenomena (leading to the science of cosmology, for example), and (b) inquiries to explain unobservable origins of aspects of the "present" natural environment (leading to "Historical Theories, such as cosmogonies). In a second article (CRSQ 21:189-94) he concentrated upon differences between the methods of cosmologists and cosmogonists, and presented itemization of circumstantial evidence for an Evolution Model and Creation Model about the origin of the universe. This article contains discussion of specific examples and illustrations of the above as applied to teaching about the origin of life on the earth.
Extrapolation's Implications
Scientific and engineering data are taken within constraints of physical, biological, and chemical systems. The validity of the data is further limited to the adequacy of the sampling regime, and both repeatability and accuracy of the measurement process. Models built from such data ought to be bounded by these conditions and extrapolation from these models should show healthy scientific restraint and reasonable justification. Those which do not, often lead to incorrect decision-making and mislead others either intentionally by disregarding boundary conditions or facts, or unintentionally by carelessness. Evolutionary theorists are guilty on both counts and creationists should learn from this and be critical of their own data extrapolations.
Archaeology And The Antiquity Of Ancient Civilization: A Conflict With Biblical Chronology? - Part I
Near the end of the 19th century, A.D., White made the claim that historical and scientific evidence regarding the antiquity of ancient civilizations proved that the Biblical chronology was impossibly short and of no historical value. During the course of the 20th century, historians have been steadily decreasing their estimate of when ancient civilizations began. In recent years, several scholars have been working on a radical revision of ancient history which reduces the antiquity of ancient civilization even further. These recent revisions of ancient history may very well prove to eliminate entirely any supposed conflict between Biblical chronology and the antiquity of human civilization.
A Statistical Analysis Of The Post-Flood Gap Possibility
An extensive statistical analysis of the post-Flood lifespans with various calibration models shows that it is possible to find statistical models that predict hundreds and possibly even thousands of years between patriarchs. However, if the interpolation and extrapolation performance of the calibration model plus the model's insensitivity to statistical outliers is considered, there are statistical calibration models using the natural logarithm of lifespan that show no gaps in the Genesis 11 genealogy.