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Pretty interesting information in the article, but as the article also states:
The discovery fills a missing link in Yellowstone's volcanic plumbing system. But scientists said it doesn't increase the risk of an eruption, which is estimated to happen every 700,000 years.
Still, for those of us living in the shadow of Yellowstone, it explains why Montana is the state ranked #4 for earthquakes in the US, and makes Alaska look good sometimes
Last edited by MTSilvertip; 04-24-2015 at 03:08 PM..
Makes us all sleep better when the nerds tell us there is nothing to fear, all is under control. Sure the thing blows every so often, but I think its 50/50 every day if today is the day. Maybe it'll be 630,000 more years, or maybe it'll be tonight. Nature does what it does on its own schedule. We ride along much like fleas on an elephant's back. Only we think we are more important, of course. I chuckle at those who think they can time a supervolcano by looking back supposedly 700,000 years and more. I often wonder if these massive timelines we hear about might just be off by several millions of years, due to the original methodology being incorrect. I mean, wasn't it the scientists who thought the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around it? Not a great track record, there.
I mean, wasn't it the scientists who thought the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around it? Not a great track record, there.
Actually it was the churches who taught that. Some scientists echoed it, to stay on their good side. They probably didn't know any better anyway. In those days, it wasn't wise to contradict the Church.
Then Galileo cam along. He observed, he measured, and he declared that it was the earth that revolved around the sun. They threw him in prison for that.
Lesson: Expect unpleasant results when contradicting the Powers-That-Be!
Makes us all sleep better when the nerds tell us there is nothing to fear, all is under control. Sure the thing blows every so often, but I think its 50/50 every day if today is the day. Maybe it'll be 630,000 more years, or maybe it'll be tonight. Nature does what it does on its own schedule. We ride along much like fleas on an elephant's back. Only we think we are more important, of course. I chuckle at those who think they can time a supervolcano by looking back supposedly 700,000 years and more. I often wonder if these massive timelines we hear about might just be off by several millions of years, due to the original methodology being incorrect. I mean, wasn't it the scientists who thought the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around it? Not a great track record, there.
No, it wasn't. It was common knowledge, in some cases reinforced by the church.
Scientists were the people who discovered and described the reality.
Actually it was the churches who taught that. Some scientists echoed it, to stay on their good side. They probably didn't know any better anyway. In those days, it wasn't wise to contradict the Church.
Then Galileo cam along. He observed, he measured, and he declared that it was the earth that revolved around the sun. They threw him in prison for that.
Lesson: Expect unpleasant results when contradicting the Powers-That-Be!
^^^
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbrains
No, it wasn't. It was common knowledge, in some cases reinforced by the church.
Scientists were the people who discovered and described the reality.
"Common knowledge" and the Church also insisted that the sun orbited the Earth until Copernicus came along (and also got into trouble for it).
Another convenient myth that scientists are stupid bites the dust.
"Common knowledge" and the Church also insisted that the sun orbited the Earth until Copernicus came along (and also got into trouble for it).
Another convenient myth that scientists are stupid bites the dust.
My somewhat tongue in cheek post, identified by the emoticons attached, seems to have rattled some cages. For the record, I do not think scientists are stupid, quite the contrary. However, my point was that timing a supervolcano is a delicate thing, especially on such a long interval. Nature has been known to surprise us...
In addition, scientists and other professionals are not always right, like when the medical profession thought cutting you and draining your blood cured conditions. Humans are, well, human.
Geocentrism is obviously intuitive. From the standpoint of the observer on Earth the heavens revolve. From the ancient Babylonians to the Renaissance this was the most widely held view. However, Aristarchus of Samos and presumably others whose works were lost held a heliocentric view. It's worth notung that Copernicus never possessed a telescope. His contribution was recalculating from a heliocentric standpoint the growing error in the time of the seasons using the Julian calendar.
Ptolemy had codified his astronomy fifteen hundred years earlier so the tiny error had time to grow.
There's plenty of freely available information but as always a dearth of those who would seek answers.
''Although the basic tenets of Greek geocentrism were established by the time of Aristotle, the details of his system did not become standard. The Ptolemaic system, developed by the Hellenistic astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus in the 2nd century AD finally standardised geocentrism. His main astronomical work, the Almagest, was the culmination of centuries of work by Hellenic, Hellenistic and Babylonian astronomers. For over a millennium European and Islamic astronomers assumed it was the correct cosmological model. Because of its influence, people sometimes wrongly think the Ptolemaic system is identical with the geocentric model.''
Better Jackson than Rapid City or Omaha (though why anyone would retire to Omaha...)
You'll go in the initial blast, rather than being smothered by the ensuing ash cloud.
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Sure the thing blows every so often, but I think its 50/50 every day if today is the day. Maybe it'll be 630,000 more years, or maybe it'll be tonight. Nature does what it does on its own schedule. We ride along much like fleas on an elephant's back. Only we think we are more important, of course. I chuckle at those who think they can time a supervolcano by looking back supposedly 700,000 years and more. I often wonder if these massive timelines we hear about might just be off by several millions of years, due to the original methodology being incorrect. I mean, wasn't it the scientists who thought the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around it? Not a great track record, there.
