The Polonium Halo based "Proof of Genesis" Hoax. (atheist, quotes)

[rifleman]

I have often been confronted by fervent Christian Creationists who have been assured that Polonium Halos categorically prove an instant Genesis event, thus discounting an ancient Earth and Evolution.

So I did some vigorous research on the topic, and found, among other accounts, the following link:

"Polonium Haloes" Refuted

This is an excerpt from the "Conclusions" section of the posted link below:

"Gentry's polonium halo hypothesis for a young Earth fails, or is inconclusive for, all tests. Gentry's entire thesis is built on a compounded set of assumptions.

1) He is unable to demonstrate that concentric haloes in mica are caused uniquely by alpha particles resulting from the decay of polonium isotopes.

2) His samples are not from "primordial" pieces of the Earth's original crust, but from rocks which have been extensively reworked.

3) Finally, his hypothesis cannot accommodate the many alternative lines of evidence that demonstrate a great age for the Earth.

Gentry rationalizes any evidence which contradicts his hypothesis by proposing three "singularities" - one time divine interventions - over the past 6000 years. Of course, supernatural events and processes fall outside the realm of scientific investigations to address."

This is a case of ever-more sophisticated attempts at subterfuge and purposeful misleading buy seemingly scholarly advocates. When subjected to close and rational review, however, the assumptions and vaguarities become readily apparent.

This link is extensive, and requires some careful reading. I don't expect too many Christians will take it on. They will, however, happily defend the pack of lies presented for polonium halos. Interesting ethical dichotomy, huh?

Suffice to say, I won't entertain any critical commentary unless it's accompanied by credible evidence, and that only after the critic has actually read this article.

Scientific jargon and research isn't necessarily easily digested nor understood at first glance, unlike the simplsitic and usually erroneous presentations on Christian websites. No-one said it would be. But it still hold the truth in it's hands. That's comfort enough.

[catman]

I had never heard of any of this rubbish before. Lucky me, huh?

[Chango]

Wow, Rifleman... People actually regularly come up to you and throw the Polonium Halo your way?!

You live a charmed life....

[sanspeur]

Well it's been thrown my way a few times....Here is one from a couple of days ago...in the post linked below.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/13801960-post26.html

[rifleman]

Yeah; most recently I was at an religiously unrelated (i.e.: secular) event where a T-shirt vendor had some equally unrelated Christian T-Shirts on sale. I laughed, and light-heartedly gave him some of the more incontrovertible evidence against whatever his adamant T-Short quote spouted.

Well...he got VERY uptight, and almost yelled at me (quite mature of him, I'll add...) that "we atheists could not ever disprove the palonium proof!"

As if this would even be plausible, that all the rocks of the Earth, all the geology, were instantly formed, spewing volcanoes and all, in but a few moments. Wow! What about all the other evidence of slow crystallization, of later fracturing during slow cooling, of mineralization, of water seepage and tectonic plate migrations which clearly show displacements that would take millions of years at their measured rates?

Or did those plates all cruise along, up until the exact moment we started measuring them, at, say, a 5 or 20 miles a year? And only then, once we were looking and precisely documenting, they suddenly all slowed down (screeeeechhhh...) to the 0.5 to 1.5 inches a year, max, that we see today? Sure!

Anyhow, the polonium halo stuff was a serious attempt to cover lies up with an abundance of big scientific wordage, mis-information and quote-mined "proofs". Unfortunately it's main supporter and original author makes some fascinating errors, such as quoting himself as the factual basis that proves his own theory. Neat, huh?

"I'm God because, well heck, right over here in my own worksheet, it clearly says that I am God!" What more do yah need?

Sorta like the "biblical proof" thing, only even less believable. His mis-quotes of many other actual scientifically reviewed and accepted works, and his purposeful mis-use of nuclear decay theory, now only too well established, is quite telling.

[Chango]

Originally Posted by rifleman

Well...he got VERY uptight, and almost yelled at me (quite mature of him, I'll add...) that "we atheists could not ever disprove the palonium proof!"

I think you just did. Want the rest of us to go thump him?

[Mrgneissguy]

Ugh I can't stand this sort of thing, religious nonsense hiding behind a sleek physics facade meant to dupe the uneducated. I looked at plechroic halos in biotite surrounding zircs just today; even I can tell you that they're older than that, having done some U-Pb dating in the past.