The Place and Power of Myth in Geoscience: An Associate Editor's Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Distinguishing between myth and science is subtle, for both seek to understand the things around us. The characteristic style of mythic thinking is to place special emphasis on a selective conjecture, based typically on the initial observation or recognition of a phenomenon, which is thereafter given privileged status over alternate interpretations. Concepts in geoscience are quite commonly mythic in that sense. The outdated notion of geosynclines as deterministic precursors of orogeny is an apt example, as are central current ideas about suspect terranes, mantle plumes, and global sequence stratigraphy. Geomyths stimulate investigation, but also may retard further progress by dismissing contrary views. Improved understanding of geologic history could be attained more efficaciously by appreciating the mythic quality of many nascent ideas in geoscience, and resisting the temptation to accord geomyths favored status over competing hypotheses.

From static to dynamic provenance analysis—Sedimentary petrology upgraded

“…involuntarily promoting mythic thinking (sensu Dickinson, 2003). Claiming that genesis should be the basis for understanding is pretending to know beforehand what we want to investigate.…”

Wheeler’s Confusion and the Seismic Revolution: How Geophysics Saved Stratigraphy

“…In defense of the academe, lack of access to proprietary core, well log, and of course seismic data, made them naturally cynical about any science based on data that could not be published, and this same concern, is still expressed in academic criticism of the modern formulation of sequence stratigraphy (e.g. Walker, 1990;Miall, 1991;Miall and Miall, 2001;Dickinson, 2003).…”

“…A primary assumption was that seismic reflections are chronostratigraphic , an idea that has been heavily criticized (e.g. Dickinson, 2003).…”

“…Although there remains considerable debate as to the merits of sequence stratigraphy (Embry, 1995;Dickinson, 2003;Catuneanu et al, 2009;Bhattacharya, 2011), it is widely practiced, especially in the oil and gas industry (Miall, 2016). This paper addresses the question, what problem did sequence stratigraphy solve and why has it been so successful?…”

The diachroneity of alluvial-fan lithostratigraphy? A test case from southeastern Ebro basin magnetostratigraphy

“…Moreover, many of the models continue to be applied even after the validity of their fundamental assumptions is called into question (cf. Miall and Miall, 2000;Prothero, 2001;Dickinson, 2003). In this paper, we test the length scales of correlation between chronostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy in alluvial-fan strata, which contain proxy data that are widely applied to tectonic, climatic, and kinematic problems.…”