Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Van Bemmelen ( 1961 ) pointed out that geologists can be distinguished as two
types: one type considers geology as a creative art; the other regards it as an exact
science. Some Earth scientists aim for classification of their objects of study
wishing to force the rigid disciplines of well-established schemes upon them
(Wright 1958 ); others are more receptive of new concepts and less rigorous in
schematizing the objects. Ostwald ( 1910 ) distinguished between “classicists” and
“romanticists”. Wegmann ( 1958 ) called Werner a classicist contrary to the roman-
ticist J. Hutton, who postulated “Plutonism” instead of “Neptunism”. Geology has
known an exceptionally large amount of controversy and polemics closely related
to the personalities and experiences of the opponents. For example, Neptunism
commenced in areas where sedimentary rocks were lying on top of granites and
gneisses, whereas Plutonism originated with Hutton in Scotland where tectonics
with granite intrusions is more apparent.
The question of whether geology should become more quantitative has been
considered continually in the past by geologists as well as other scientists. Fisher
( 1954 ) suggested that geology with Lyell ( 1833 ) was evolving as a more quantita-
tive science, but opposition to this development quickly grew to the extent that
Lyell was forced to omit his elaborate tables and statistical arguments to divide the
Tertiary into stages from later editions of his Principles of Geology . Most geolo-
gists agree that Chamberlin's ( 1897 ) scientific method of “multiple working
hypotheses” is ideal for geology. A multiple approach is needed because of the
great complexity of geological processes. The sheer diversity of observations
combined with irregularity of rock exposures entailed by this method make it
difficult to apply. However, it is to be preferred to the practice of synthesizing
from relatively few broadly relevant observations in order to develop a preferred
hypothesis. Griffiths ( 1962 ) has stressed the analogy between Chamberlin's method
and Fisher's ( 1960 ) description of statistical analysis. By using different statistical
models and formal inference, it is possible to test different hypotheses for solving
the same problem provided that the geological facts can be expressed adequately in
numerical form.
The basic principle of producing useful geoinformation from observations is to
capture original data in such a form that they become quantitative and can be used
for a variety of purposes including map-making and 3-D geomodeling. The step
from data recording to production of useful geoinformation has to keep up with the
continuous stream of technological innovations. The term “ontology” sometimes is
used for a domain model that provides a vocabulary about key geological concepts,
their interrelationships and the theoretical processes and principles that are relevant
within the geoscientific subdiscipline under which the basic data are collected.
The arrangement of observations into patterns of relationships is a mental
process of “induction”. It involves postulating hypotheses or theory that is in
agreement with the facts. Working hypotheses initially based on intuition gain in
functional validity if they lead to “deductions” that can be verified. Logical
deductions from a theory provide predictions for facts that have not yet been
observed. The validity of a hypothesis is tested on the basis of new facts that had
not been considered when the hypothesis was postulated. The result is a recurrent
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