Friday, October 18, 2013


"Some truly revolutionary scientific theories may take years or decades to win general acceptance among scientists. This is certainly true of plate tectonics, one of the most important and far-ranging geological theories of all time; when first proposed, it was ridiculed, but steadily accumulating evidence finally prompted its acceptance, with immense consequences for geology, geophysics, oceanography, and paleontology. And the man who first proposed this theory was a brilliant interdisciplinary scientist, Alfred Wegener." -The Origins of Continents and Oceans (4th edition) 




If you were a scientist during the early 1900's would you have supported Wegener and his theories. Why or why not? Explain.
 

Geologist R. Thomas Chamberlain said, "If we are to believe in Wegener's hypothesis we must forget everything which has been learned in the past 70 years and start all over again." 
 
See the links below for more information on the topic.
http://www.scientus.org/Wegener-Continental-Drift.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html

Write a paragraph response to the question posed above including a quote from one of the resources provided or one of your own to use as support for your statements. Then respond in an additional paragraph to two other students. Please include your first name only and the period.