(April 18, 2013 at 7:20 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote:(April 18, 2013 at 7:06 pm)pocaracas Wrote: If different methods yield different results, but the error bars overlap at some point, then there is a good chance that they are all correct.
That’s not proper reasoning at all, if all the methods underwent the same period of accelerated decay they’d all be erroneous for the same reason and therefore yield similar but erroneous results.
Human specimen is 6 feet tall and weighs 144 pounds.
Dating method 1
The specimen has grown 0.5 inches in the last year, therefore the specimen is 144 years old.
Dating method 2
The specimen has gained 1 pound in the last year, therefore the specimen is 144 years old.
According to your reasoning, since these two dating methods yield similar results they are probably correct, therefore this hypothetical Senior in high school is really 144 years old and not 18 like he claims to be.
You'd have to argue very well for those two methods to be accepted as good measuring tapes.
All you've claimed in the past strikes me as someone who knows a bit about how radiometric dating works... but do you know how the scales for that dating are created?
Hint: not with two points.
