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A Sense of Time

Geology is, in many ways, a philosophical science. It seeks to solve romantic puzzles of existence such as what is the history of the Earth, how do hills form, and what is the origin of life. Geology is not simply the study of rocks; "geology" means "the study of the Earth,' indicating the broad focus of the science. Rocks, sand, and soil are merely the sources of the clues that geologists use to get at the larger questions. Clue by clue, the jigsaw puzzle of earth history is pieced together, and hypotheses are suggested to fill in the remaining large blank spaces in our knowledge. With each new clue, all the pieces get shifted around slightly to accommodate the new information. Thus, although it is learned from stone, geologic knowledge is never considered to be carved in stone.

Much can be learned from the history of geologic exploration in Connecticut, both about the geology of the state itself and about the way geology is studied. Although interpretation of the evidence concerning the geologic history of this and other little corners of the world is always changing, the observations have seldom changed. What the very first geologists saw and described in their writings, modern geologists usually still agree with. In fact, geologist John Rodgers of Yale University notes that these early observations were often more accurate because the former dominance of farmland in Connecticut made landforms and rocks much easier to see. But although observations have not changed

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