So everytime I see a post on fp saying how scientist discovered bones or fossils that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, it sounds funny to me. So I decided to be logical about it and find out more about carbon dating. From google, carbon dating is using the properties of radio carbon to determine the age of something. So basically the scientist, dig up, and use the radio carbons to give an estimate.

Here are my reasons why I don't agree:

1. From a logical point of view, from year 1900 to year 2000 is 100 years. That means from year 1000 to year 2020 is 1,020 years. Multiplying this period times 100 will give us just over 10,000 years. Let's say that the scientists give the estimate as 2 million years, that means you still need to multiply that period by over 2,000 more years. This basically means that you need to multiply year 1000 to year 2020 by more than 12,000 times. What happened to evolution? What happened to different earth changes?

2. For you to make a comparison, you need to have the item you are making the comparison with. But scientist were not there during the period of this animals to get the items. So for you to see one and compare it with that of those days is quite flawed.

I don't doubt the efficacy of carbon dating, say to like 200 years ago. It's understandable but calling millions of years as an estimate is flawed and exaggerated.

What's your thought on the million year estimation



Seun lalasticlala

lol no comment. oyah na manage my own.

SamJed:
So everytime I see a post on fp saying how scientist discovered bones or fossils that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, it sounds funny to me. So I decided to be logical about it and find out more about carbon dating. From google, carbon dating is using the properties of radio carbon to determine the age of something. So basically the scientist, dig up, and use the radio carbons to give an estimate.

Here are my reasons why I don't agree:

1. From a logical point of view, from year 1900 to year 2000 is 100 years. That means from year 1000 to year 2020 is 1,020 years. Multiplying this period times 100 will give us just over 10,000 years. Let's say that the scientists give the estimate as 2 million years, that means you still need to multiply that period by over 2,000 more years. This basically means that you need to multiply year 1000 to year 2020 by more than 12,000 times. What happened to evolution? What happened to different earth changes?

2. For you to make a comparison, you need to have the item you are making the comparison with. But scientist were not there during the period of this animals to get the items. So for you to see one and compare it with that of those days is quite flawed.

I don't doubt the efficacy of carbon dating, say to like 200 years ago. It's understandable but calling millions of years as an estimate is flawed and exaggerated.

What's your thought on the million year estimation



Seun lalasticlala

Millions and billions of years are still in the range of carbon dating estimations. Like for example mars was dated to be around 4 billion years old an estimate that was consistent with the previously agreed age. A few hundreds of millions is really not too much.