The exhibit, In Search of Lost Time, led by Geology Assistant Professor William Guenthner, will explore how the chronology of the Earth was established, with a focus on six themes that gradually led to the consensus view that the Earth is roughly 4.55 billion years of age. This age is so vast that Earth’s history seems to stretch back in time by an almost inconceivable amount, but crucially, intellectual developments since the 18th century have revealed that Earth’s age is both finite, and can be retrodicted. Each theme presents important and representative texts in a key sub-field of geology that expanding and enriched our understanding of Earth time by bringing an element of the historical to the science. The exhibit will open January 24th, 2022 at the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library.
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