Category Archives: Non-drift Theories

Mantle Plumes May Be Real (or maybe not)

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Geophysicist Tuzo Wilson had a creepy daydream. He imagined himself lying at the bottom of a creek, looking up at water flowing overhead. He blew bubbles. They rose, were caught by the current, and drifted away. He came back from … Continue reading →

Posted in History, How Geophysics Works, Non-drift Theories, People, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Earth Expands on Mystery Diet

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Not long ago, a reader of this blog commented on my story about Alfred Wegener and continental drift. Wegener’s theory, you know, kicked around for about 50 years before enough evidence accumulated to prove its sister theory, plate tectonics. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Non-drift Theories, Plate Tectonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Break-up of the Animals

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Ron Miksha

I just saw this in The Onion. When I lived in Wisconsin some years ago, we considered The Onion to be the state’s finest newspaper. Since then, they got into the digital age and I suppose they dropped the pulp … Continue reading →

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Geosyncline Celebration

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Today, September 12, commemorates the 1811 birth of James Hall, Jr., an American geologist (and one of the world’s first paleontologists). Hall was brilliant. But dangerous. And, as often happens in science, his most stunning idea was eventually proven wrong. … Continue reading →

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Created Last Thursday

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Ron Miksha

It’s hard to argue with someone who says that the whole universe was created last Thursday.   Everything in its place, a stage built and actors entering. Is this the way you picture reality? I hope not – you would be … Continue reading →

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Heresy without Redemption

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Today’s date, February 17, coincides with the day they killed Giordano Bruno. For years, he had been imprisoned for blasphemy, for practising magic, and for heresy.  Execution was recommended, though he could have had a less tortuous death had he … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, Non-drift Theories, Philosophy, Religion, The Book | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tibetan Mountain Mystery

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Tibet’s mysterious plateau – part of the largest and thickest bit of earth crust anywhere on the planet – was recently subjected to the scrutiny of a group of Kansas University scientists. They flew into Lhasa, capital of Tibet, then … Continue reading →

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Bad Russian Science

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Ron Miksha

My daily Geo-calendar reminds me to consider events in the evolving history of Earth Sciences. Yesterday’s little blurb on that calendar commemorated the birth of Vladimir Belousov (1907-1990), the Soviet-era geologist who stopped plate tectonics, at least in his country. … Continue reading →

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Those who can’t, teach…

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Today, September 25, would be the 171st birthday of Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin. A discouraging character to honour. Born in 1843, by 1900 his ideas about science education and the scientific method came to dominate American science. Not all of his … Continue reading →

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Popular, but Wrong

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

We don’t usually celebrate a man’s death, and we are not doing that here. But William Matthew (1871-1930) died on this date in 1930, and his appearance on my geo-calendar was a reminder to me to think about this popular … Continue reading →

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