--> Abstract: The Great Devonian Controversy, by M. Rudwick; #91012 (1992).

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ABSTRACT: The Great Devonian Controversy

RUDWICK, MARTIN, University of California, San Diego, CA

The Devonian controversy still has important lessons for modern geologists, although it was resolved just 150 years ago. The course of the argument can be traced in detail, month by month, over several years, not only in published scientific papers and reports of meetings, but also in hundreds of private scientific letters--informal evidence that would now disappear on E-mail or telephone. It was "great" to the geologists who took part in it, because some of the fundamental principles of stratigraphical practice were at issue: how to evaluate structural and fossil evidence, for example, when they seemed to conflict. Historical reconstruction of the controversy shows how a consensus eventually grew out of intensive argument. Neither of the initial positions proved Hright" in the end: B th contributed to an unforeseen outcome (which gave birth to the "Devonian" of modern geology). The dynamics of this controversy are probably typical in the earth sciences; greater self-awareness about the process might make modern geologists' arguments more fruitful.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91012©1992 AAPG Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 22-25, 1992 (2009)