I have heard theories that dinosaurs existed with human in the beginning of the world, and they were actually on the Ark with Noah. Those that died during the flood were covered in the layers of dirt we see today surrounding these fossils. The theory goes on to suggest that carbon dating is wrong because only one person came up with it, thusly they could be wrong.
This theory helps with the “world was made in seven twenty-four hour days” I guess, but how can the theory say that carbon dating is wrong? Sure one person may have initialized the idea but thousands since then have used it. And as any theory I’m sure it has been tested time and time again. Besides, if dinosaurs died alongside the sinful humans of Noah’s time then why aren’t there dino bones next to human bones?
Just a quick comment- Carbon 14 dating is the most volatile dating process and used primarily for recent animals, artifacts, etc. Radiometric dating using isotopes is what they use for dinosaurs, and while there can issues with reliability, thousands and thousands of tests have confirmed the same time periods the the same fossils. Biostratigraphy also comes into play, i.e. you find a certain kind of trilobite or ammonite and you can tell what age it's from because it only occurs in certain desposits. If you want a closer look at how dating is used, check out some of the essays in the book Scientists Confront Creationism (it's really cheap on amazon.com), especially the essay by David Raup.
Thanks for the info evolutiongeek! I hoped you would comment.
Well you know me... anytime anything involving evolution shows up, my "Darwin sense" starts tingling and I'm compelled to post. :)