Article I wrote for the March, 2014 WCGMC News
If Time is Relative, Geologic Time is Exponentially Relative
The geologic time scale is a difficult concept for humans to appreciate. We live less than 100 years, the Vikings came to America 1000 years ago, our current calendar just passed the 2000 year mark, and Stonehenge dates almost 5000 years old. That, we say, was a long time ago. But these are mere seconds on a geologic clock. Even the final Ice Age advance that generated upstate New York’s topography and fertile soil ended a mere 12,500 years ago.
Now think about this. Dinosaurs roamed and dominated much of the planet for the entire Mesozoic Era. For over 160 million years (MY) they lived, and died until going extinct about 65 million years ago. By comparison, humans have been inhabitants for just under one million years. And all but the last 6000 years or so of that is referred to as the Stone Age, the period before metal was worked and likely before crops were cultivated.