101 evidences for a young age of the earth and the universe is an extensive list of arguments foryoung Earth creationism (YEC), compiled by Don Batten in June 2009 forCreation Ministries International (CMI). Battencollects a variety of supposed uncertainties inscience dealing with the past that could allow one to simultaneously maintain belief in the validity of thescientific method and the literal interpretation of theBook of Genesis throughconfirmation bias. The apparent intent of the article is to help othercreationists struggling withcognitive dissonance and for use as a conversion tool. In addition to numerous factual errors and failure to understand the theories it intends to criticize, the document suffers from faulty logic. Alist of arguments broken down by fallacy is presented at the end of this page. Although the list claims to have 101 points, several are just reworded duplicates, and one is a copy of the preceding item. Almost every reference link in the original article goes directly to creationist sources or popular science magazines supporting creationism. In the few cases where reputablepeer-reviewed scientific papers are cited, their content is severely misrepresented or incorrectly interpreted. Ultimately, the article seeks to persuade byforce of numbers rather than force of argument. |