Author: R. Joel Duff

Natural Historian is a father of five, professor of biology, follower of reformed theology, interested in the philosophy and history of science and the origins debate among evangelicals

Giant Dino Eggs Found? Bad Reporting on Bad Science

Dinosaur eggs are surprisingly (to the non-biologist) similar in size. Even the very largest dinosaurs laid eggs that were hardly any bigger than the largest eggs found today. These are observations from the fossil record and these observation make sense biologically even though all we see are fossilized eggs. Eggs are limited in the size they attain for several reasons but one of the most important is that the embryos in the eggs must have oxygen to grow.

Origins Science and Misconceptions of Historical Science

Many people have a perception of scientists as white-coated individuals hunched over at a lab bench performing experiments.  They are doing experimental science which include the testing of hypotheses and determining which ones are supported and which should be discarded.  Others scientists are imagined as collecting observational data using  telescopes to describe distant planets and... Continue Reading →

Progressive Creationism: A Whale of an Inference

I think it is safe to say that the average person has little appreciation for the diversity (eg. number of species) and the total numbers of whales in the world. What most people hear about whales is that there are some that are hunted to near extinction. This tends to create the impression that whales are rare animals. Yes, there are many rare and endangered species of whales but there there are many that are very abundant.

Having Faith in Flood Geology – Dogmatic Assertions of Evidence

A comment on another site captures the essence of where I think Christians who have been told the Bible teaches the earth must be young are putting their confidence. Their confidence is placed in the belief that experts in scientific fields have provided them with not only enough evidence but overwhelming evidence that earth is young. This person is putting his faith in experts which, he admits, have bolstered his faith in the Word of God.

The Lost World Of New York: Another Ancient Forest Reconstruction

A quick note about another report of a fossilized forest that has been described. Last week it was PNAS that had the big story of a the "Permian Pompeii," a fossil forest reconstructed in China which I discussed in "An Ancient and Alien Forest Reconstructed." Not more than a week later the magazine "Nature" is highlighting the description of a another reconstructed forest.

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