Comments on: Ignorance Peddling In The Age Of YouTube

By: Owen ONeill

Owen ONeill — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 01:58:55 +0000

I sort of think the video is meant to be a joke…hard to tell. He does sound like he is being quite sarcastic much of the time.

By: Brian Koberlein

Brian Koberlein — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 15:34:41 +0000

No, the chemical makeup of Devil’s Tower is not remotely similar to that of petrified wood. It’s pretty easy for geologists to tell the difference. You might want to turn off YouTube for a while.

By: Glen Bernie

Glen Bernie — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 13:26:25 +0000

Well, Bible reports giants in the earth in earlier times, and evidences of them all over, so maybe they had giant trees too. I’ve wondered how those dinosaurs could be so large, but maybe the air was thicker then, more oxygen, promoting giantism. Who would have believed in the giant California redwoods if in Europe prior to discovery? There’s other petrified wood out West, and as I recall, it’s makeup chemically is similar to the rocks of Devil’s Tower.

By: Brian Koberlein

Brian Koberlein — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 15:14:21 +0000

I don’t think it’s the education system as much as it is an unwillingness of folks to become educated. The resources are out there, but they aren’t used much. I think a better education system and a robust fourth estate would help, but people have to take ownership of their own learning.

By: jtveg

jtveg — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 22:33:33 +0000

You would think that as technology advances so does the general understanding of science but it seems the reverse is true.

Most people know bigger all about science and the education system isn’t helping.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:40:42 +0000

Good article. You show great restraint. Critical thinking should be taught in every grade 1-12 instead of passing a state test and being turned loose on the world. With almost everyone constantly playing with their mobile devices 24/7 and living in sheer fantasy it’s getting to the point that if one of these people see something long and “slithery” in their yard they become scared stupider quickly grab a hoe, shovel or axe and in a frenzy begin chopping the “snake” to pieces. Then when they feel safe and start picking up the “remains” they finally see that it is a garden hose.

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 21:33:52 +0000

Kudos. I admit I was and still can be such a character. However, as you claimed, there was/is hope. ?

By: Jan David Fisher

Jan David Fisher — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 18:31:56 +0000

If you visit the center at Devil’s Tower, one of the indian legends is given to explain Devil’s Tower. It only requires a giant tree and a giant bear. Maybe a giant Indian princess!

By: Steve Root

Steve Root — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 18:28:57 +0000

Nobody who can be trusted with cutlery can debate Evolution. Natural selection is another matter entirely.

By: David J. Schinsing

David J. Schinsing — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 14:05:26 +0000

For my part, … I just subscribed to Sixty Symbols.

By: Greg Roelofs

Greg Roelofs — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 05:45:21 +0000

Clearly the same aliens who engineered the great pyramids used their mega-lasers to lop off the Devil’s Tower tree. Or maybe it was Thor and his lightning-controlling hammer; a stump that size does kind of sound like Yggdrasil, after all. (Though I don’t recall that it was supposed to get cut down.)

By: Brian Holt Hawthorne

Brian Holt Hawthorne — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:06:29 +0000

Wow. I’m trying to imagine the size of the chainsaw that would have had to have been used to cut down a tree the size of Devil’s Tower. According to the NPS (https://www.nps.gov/deto/faqs.htm), the top is about 200 by 400 feet. That means you would need a chainsaw with a bar about 100 feet long, even if you were using a bore-cut technique. That’s more than twenty times the length of the largest regularly-available professional chainsaw bars (https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/professional-saws/ms880r/).

Seriously, though. The Internet age just makes it easier for snake-oil salesmen like Ralph Smart to find those daily-born suckers and easily part them from their money.

Makes me want to start a side business to retire on…