Ti.MF TiiRorr;!! A (;f.oi,ogist's eve 11 



of continents to oceanic depths. Or to take another example, a 

 volcano, even if none of its eruptions is as violent as the Plinian 

 eruption of Vesuvius, will in due time bury all of its surroundings 

 completely under lava and volcanic ashes. 



When we think of uniformity in regard to the processes governing 

 the development of the earth, we are led astray very easily by the 

 very slow tempo of these processes. In our short-lived human ego- 

 centric mind, we think of the earth as stable and strong. Nothing is 

 less true. Whole continents float in a heavier substratum, or, as we 

 say in our scientific jargon, are in isostatic equilibrium. In fact, they 

 seldom attain this equilibrium; in the geologist's eye they are con- 

 tinuously bobbing up and down. Volcanoes continually bring parts of 

 that substratum up to the surface, their work being comparable to 

 a sort of global-scale mole. Meanwhile, all higher hills and mountains 

 are continuously attacked by erosion, whilst the detritus which is 

 chafed off the mountains is laid down in lowland flats and seas. 



If we want to compare our own human history with that of the 

 earth, we must completely discard this egocentric thinking, and 

 accept the vast amounts of time of the history of the earth as a 

 common, everyday matter. In comparing the two, we must always 

 keep in mind that one single year in human history corresponds more 

 or less to a million years in the history of the earth. 



TIME THROUGH A GEOLOGISt's EYE 



A geologist consequently sees no stable earth, but a constantly moving 

 picture. He sees a jumble of mountains forming, say, the Alps or 

 the Appalachians, only to be immediately attacked by erosion. He 

 may see wide seas expanding over large parts of the continents, whilst 

 elsewhere shallow seas dr\' up completely and make place for rich 

 continental fauna and flora, perhaps accompanied by spectacular 

 volcanic events. Or, for instance, many geologists even see the con- 

 tinents wandering over the earth's surface, or breaking up and partly 

 foundering to oceanic depths. 



This, however, is the view through the geologist's eye, who by a 

 long training has acquired a certain flair for speeding up his mental 

 pictures. One million times acceleration, of course, gives a catas- 

 trophic angle to even the slowest motion of processes. So what we 

 must keep in mind, always, is that these spectacular revolutions, these 



