On The Necessity of Geology

[DreamGypsy]

4. Earth Science 8th Grade 1965 Mr. Rudd

...where I first learned the word 'diastrophism'.

The text was Earth Science: The World We Live In, 3rd edition, 1965, by Namowitz and Stone. I still have my copy.

The book has no mention of plate tectonics. The single reference to Continental Drift consists of 2 paragraphs:

The hypothesis of continental drift starts with the idea that the continents of the earth were once a single continent. This protocontinent split into sections that "drifted" apart as the moved slowly on the plastic mantle beneath the crust... As the continents "drifted" their leading edges were crumpled into mountains like those on the western coasts of North and South America.

Supporters of this theory point to the map of the world to show that Africa and South America would fit together nicely, and North America and Europe would too -- if not so neatly. Critics ask what forces would cause a continent to break up and drift, and what forces created earlier mountains not located on "leading edges". Critics also question the supposed fitting together of the continents. What do you think?

Not surprising that I don't recall the discussion in class on this topic after 40 odd years. I don't know what I thought at the time.



Now the evidence for plate tectonics is incontrovertible. Science is wonderful. I know I gained a deeper appreciation for the earth and the life upon it and for the cosmos in which it all resides with every scientific conclusion that I learned about, and with every yet unanswered question I have been presented.

And, yes, I am riveted by plate subduction...I live just below the right hand arrow on the diagram -



Thanks for the post, VLR.