Bryson Chapter 5 QCC

1. "One of the better early attempts at dating the planet came from the ever-reliable Edmond
Halley, who in 1715 suggested that if you divided the total amount of salt in the world’s seas
by the amount added each year, you would get the number of years that the oceans had been
in existence, which would give you a rough idea of Earth’s age. The logic was appealing, but
unfortunately no one knew how much salt was in the sea or by how much it increased each
year, which rendered the experiment impracticable."

2. It's interesting to see earlier attempts to determine the answers to the questions that have surrounded us since our beginning. Some can be looked upon as innocent misfires brought about by a time of lesser knowledge and understanding. Others, however, mark a tremendous undertaking of thought and, despite their misguided method, prove a great leap forward in reasoning and logical analysis. This, at least to me, appears to be one of the latter.

3. This passage brings to mind several early attempts to understand the way of the world. For example, the belief that the Sun moves relative to the Earth, explaining why it moved in the sky while Earth appeared to remain in one place. However, it is a considerably more advanced hypothesis, and, if not for the limitations of the time, wholly plausible to execute. Analysis of hypotheses such as these throughout time can demonstrate our evolution as a intellectually curious and logical species.