Newly Discovered Human Footprints Undermine Evolutionary Assumptions
Here we go again. If the footprints upon close examination, are determined not to be from a hominim/hominid, I wonder if Educate Truth (sic) will announce that determination. Or if the date of the surface is determined to be much younger, will there be a notice placed on fundamentalist web-sites. If you believe the answer to these questions are yes, I have a big bridge that I would like to sell you for pennies on the dollar.

Most Species the “Same Age” with No “In-Between” Species
It appears to me that you can not admit that well-understood scientific data simply disconfirms your views because, in my opinion, your views and those who agree with you are not based on scientific evidence, but on religiously-based convictions. This is one of the problems with which the founders of modern science in the 16th Century were confronted. They got around it very skillfully by arguing that anything having to do with religion should be consigned to the supernatural and they were not addressing the nature of the supernatural. They were addressing the nature of the natural world. Period. You, on the other hand, are mixing the two to the detriment of both.

The reason that no competent scientist will date the “soft tissue” of dinosaur bones is probably because the techniques used to extract that material seriously contaminate the extract from a 14C perspective. I am checking on that with several biochemists, but I suspect that this is true.

You will never believe that I would love to be able to say that dinosaurs are less than 10,000 years old and have scientific evidence that can stand being critically examined to that effect. Just think how famous I would become! However, that is not what the current scientific evidence says. All of the evidence presented by you and those who agree with you have been dealt with so many times by so many competent scientists that a reasonable individual would almost certainly say something like: Well, anyone who continues to dispute the scientific evidence on this point apparently just can’t bring themselves to admit the truth of the matter for some religious reason.

Most Species the “Same Age” with No “In-Between” Species
I have checked with the director of the lab which was supposed to have dated a “soft tissue” extract and he wrote back almost immediately that what they had been given was a whole bone, not a “soft tissue” extract and the bone was badly degraded from the point of view of any organic carbon. The date they obtained was obviously contamination and they reported that fact to the submitter. Apparently, another example, in a long string of examples of YEC/YLC creationists, who can’t keep his facts straight. Ordinarily, I would suggest that the submitter lied, or does not know the difference between a lie and the truth, or does not know the difference between a whole bone and a “soft tissue” extract but that’s not nice, so I won’t say it.

As for understanding the relevance of animal breeding, yes I certainly understand that and it still has nothing to do with the situation with regard to natural selection in a natural environment. I wonder if you understand that. It was clear to Alfred Russell Wallace, who, with Darwin, first came up with the idea of natural selection, that you could not use animal breeding experiments to simulate natural evolution.

Most Species the “Same Age” with No “In-Between” Species
I asked Dr. Pitman: “With regard to the 14C issue, Dr. Pitman stated that there were “from significant amounts of 14C being present in dinosaur soft tissues . . .” That’s news to me. If he would do me the favor of citing a published article to that effect, I would be most appreciative.” Is the significant amounts of 14C you referenced based only on the 14C date report? If so, how do you know that it was “significant amounts of 14C”? If not, could you please give me a reference? Thank you.

Most Species the “Same Age” with No “In-Between” Species
You mean that a YEC actually offered to put their money where their mouth is? Wonder of wonders. May I ask who specifically offered $20,000 to do a 14C measurement on dinosaur soft tissue? You probably do not realize that such an experiment would not be a trivial exercise. One would have to check how much contamination is introduced during the extraction of the dinosaur soft tissue and whether someone in the same lab uses tracer 14C, etc. etc. But first things first. Please tell me who actually offered money to do the experiment? If you do not want to post the name and contact information here, my email address is retaylor@ucr.edu.

Most Species the “Same Age” with No “In-Between” Species
With regard to the 14C issue, Dr. Pitman stated that there were “from significant amounts of 14C being present in dinosaur soft tissues . . .” That’s news to me. If he would do me the favor of citing a published article to that effect, I would be most appreciative. What he perhaps is referring to is the reports of 14C “dates” being run on dinosaur bone. I have run what are reputed to be dinosaur bone (I have no reason to think it was not) and got a finite 14C age as I suspected that I would since there was absolutely no >30 kD gelatin residue left to date. The carbon that was “dated” was clearly trace amounts of contamination and had nothing to do with the age of the dinosaur. As for the argument that 14C is found in fossil carbon sources which should contain no 14C, an article in the journal Radiocarbon was recently published. The reference is Taylor RE, Southon JR, Santos GM. 2018. Misunderstandings concerning the significance of AMS background 14C measurements. Radiocarbon 60(3):727-749. It always helps to some data to back up ones assertions. I know this is not a high priority with someone who knows that his interpretation of the bible is absolutely true.