[ Birds chirping ] [Katelyn Salem:] “If you don’t know history,
then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know
it is part of a tree.” This quote is from one of the greatest philosophers
of ancient history…Michael Crichton. And I think it does a good job of explaining why we’re about to take
the two most boring school subjects, history and geology,
and squish them together. With that, let’s start
where every great story starts, [ Angelic ahhs ]
the Bible. Actually, people were writing about
geology long before the Bible.
[ Banjo music plays in the background ] In the 4th century BCE, Aristotle hypothesized
that the Earth changed very slowly. Slowly enough that it couldn’t be observed
during a single lifetime. Aristotle’s successor, Theophrastus, later
wrote a book following Aristotle’s theories called “On Stones,” in which he described, among other things,
[ Lighter sparks up ] how various rocks and gems [ Fire roars quietly ]
reacted when heated up. In the 1st century CE, Pliny The Elder wrote
what might be considered the first encyclopedia set,
called “Natural History.” In books 36 and 37, he describes
a number of minerals and gems, and even details a hardness test
for telling fake gems from real ones depending on whether they can
be scratched with a steel file or not. People may have been studying rocks for much of recorded history
[ Angelic ahhs ] but for the history of modern geology,
we need to start with the Bible. [ Waves crash ] In the book of Genesis,
the Bible describes a great flood, which God uses to reset creation,
ridding the world of evil men, and allowing a select few moral
and just humans to repopulate the Earth. By the 1600s, the prevailing theory
was that proof of the great flood could be found
in the Earth’s strata. Strata are the Earth’s distinct layers of
rock or soil. Like, this one might be all granite,
while this one might be sandstone. But the Biblical story didn’t fit
with the theories of some. In 1666, Danish anatomist Nicolas Steno
was dissecting a shark. He noticed that the shark’s triangular teeth
resembled things known as “tongue stones,” which were sometimes found embedded
in rocky formations. [ Dragon roars ]
People believed these stones to be the petrified tongues
of dragons or snakes. And actually, our old friend,
Pliny the Elder, 16 centuries earlier, thought the stones fell from the sky
during lunar eclipses. [ Soft, echoey chanting ] But Steno instead thought, “If tongue stones look an awful lot
like these shark teeth… maybe they ARE shark teeth!” He believed that maybe, over time, the actual
structure of the shark’s teeth was replaced by minerals, keeping the teeth in the
original triangular shape. But then, how were the teeth
getting embedded into rocks? [ Rocks clack against each other ] Steno wondered if perhaps dirt and minerals
in bodies of water would settle to the bottom
to form horizontal layers over time. [ Squirtle squeaks ]
New layers would form on top of old layers, trapping whatever remained underneath. To test his theory, he began studying cliffs
in Italy, which led him to formulate three basic principles
which geologists still use today. The first is The Principle of Superposition. This explains that if a sequence of rock
has been undisturbed, the oldest layer will be on the bottom,
and the youngest layer will be on top. Easy peasy. The second is The Principle of Original Horizontality. This explains that all strata form horizontally. It’s worth noting that we’ve since
discovered minor exceptions, such as the way sand accumulates
on sand dunes. Thanks to gravity, deposits generally don’t [ Blow dryer turns on ]
form slopes greater than 45 degrees. We can use this principle to conclude that
these layers, of Bow Fiddle Rock in Scotland, were probably tilted by an earthquake
or uplift or…some other force. The third principle is
The Principle of Original Lateral Continuity, or TPOOLC, for short. [Dwayne:] Ahem. [Katelyn:] (Dejectedly) Yeah, you’re right. No one calls it that. Anyway… The Principle of Original Lateral Continuity
explains that strata form as unbroken, continuous layers of rock
that will eventually thin out to nothing, or end at the edges of a basin
if they happen to be filling one. Strata that are no longer connected
must have been fractured by a force, or separated by erosion, like you can clearly see
at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Using these three principles,
we can understand the relationships between a rock layer’s age
and its position in the rock record. The study of that relationship
is known as stratigraphy. Now, with Steno’s contributions to
our understanding of stratigraphy, he’s sometimes thought of
as “The Father of Geology,” or sometimes “The Father of Paleontology,”
for his revelations about fossils. However, most people consider
the “The Father of Geology” to be a Scottish farmer of the 18th century
by the name of James Hutton. In 1788, Hutton visited Siccar Point,
where he found nearly vertical layers of greywacke, covered with horizontal layers of red sandstone. He reasoned that the only way
something like this could have happened was over a huge length of time,
[ Rock scrapes ] allowing the grey rock to be tilted or eroded
[ Sand clatters ] before the red rock settled on top. Hutton thought these layers in the ground
came from “materials furnished from the ruins of former
continents” and that, every day, the same processes that
are eroding away large bodies of rock are also building
up mountains. He called this process The Great Geological Cycle,
[ Angelic ahhs ] and hypothesized that it had been happening
endlessly, forever. Unfortunately Hutton’s theory
wasn’t made popular until after his death, when Charles Lyell published
the book “Principles of Geology.” His theory originally became known
as uniformitarianism, an alternative to the Bible’s theory of catastrophism, where the Earth was formed by catastrophes
like the flood. It followed the notion that the same geological
processes that are happening now probably happened the same way in the past. Thus, we can figure out what happened then
by looking at things now. The name uniformitarianism eventually fell
out of favor, since, you know, almost nothing about the
Earth is uniform. The term actualism was taken up instead,
[ A harp is strummed ] since geologic time can be explained
through actual processes that actually happen. Actualism has had a huge impact on science, extending even beyond the reaches of geology. [ Low, slow motion impact ] Charles Darwin himself used the concept of
actualism to understand that, much like the Earth, life itself was also changing slowly over
time. [ Tribal music swells ] Without a developed understanding of geology,
Darwin could not have written “On The Origin of Species.” Speaking of “origins,” I hope you’ll join
us next time, as we explore the origin of… well… everything! [ Fiddle music ] [ Birds chirping ]
Great quality video again Kate and team … you're putting geology back on the map and making it cool again … (if it ever was cool before 😀 ??) .. keep em coming!
i have been waiting for so long to have an easily understandable geology channel. you're in my top 5 YouTube channels already
Another great video. Nice job everyone!
VERY well done, guys! As everyone said, totally worth the wait.
These videos are fantastic! Just today, I solidified my new academic plan as a geology major. I'm inspired and beyond thrilled for my future studies in planetary science, as well as, what this channel has in store for future videos. Excellent job and props to the production team. Rock on.
Nice to see the final product. It is amazing. I can't wait for the next episode
This is so great in every way!!
I thought this channel was dead, but there's finally a video! And a damn good one, too.
well done everyone. this video is amazing. everything about it is awesome
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! So on average how often will episodes be released?
This video was totally worth the wait.
Is anybody else suddenly unable to like videos today?
I've tried to like this and other videos today and they're not registering on the watch screen or in my liked videos playlist.
I only noticed this behaviour in the last hour or so, so hopefully it's only a temporary glitch :_ .
I also noticed that my watch history playlist wasn't updating… until i logged out and logged back in, but that did nothing to fix this particular problem – i'll try to delete my internet history and cookies after this and see if it help, but i reckon this is a Youtube problem.
(Edit) – No, deleting my history, cookies, cleaning up system films and letting my anti virus do it's own history and file clean up and a system scam for good measure – clearly a Youtube problem :_ .
What a unique style! Can't wait for more 🙂
I've been dying to take a geology course but was never able to do so at school. I'm so happy I stumbled o this channel, keep it up!
I should be studying for my geology test right now and here I am… kinda studying?
This is so great. I can't wait to see more!
I love everything about this 😀
Yes the content in your videos is great, but oh my gosh they are so beautiful to watch it's amazing. Thank you for making them! 🙂
Amazing underrated YouTube channel, keep up the great work you guys!
das good ;D
I love the ending!
Oh this is so fake. Rocks are a lie of the fake news/George Soros media. SO terrible and awful. Can't believe these people. Geology and global warming is a lie made up by liberal elite scientismists. (BTW, ignore my coup d'etat, here….look at my shiny keys.) #sofake
This is such a great video, both in subject and in production. I can't wait to learn more about… everything 🙂
Sweet drone shot at the end.
Surprised you didn't include catasrophism (Bretz / Pardee), especially since you filmed in Missoula. Well done none the less, very enjoyable.
Congrats on getting this out!
Great video! How often do you plan on releasing the new episodes?
That last drone shot. Very nice.
The graphics in this video are amazing!
This was … so beautiful. I didn't even realize I was learning, but I feel like I may have retained more from what Katelyn just told me than from any other educational video I've watched in the past few years. Seeing how everything came together, I'm just … floored. I think there's actually a tear in my eye right now.
There are so many parts I want to point out as awesome (AF), but I'm just going to stick to the really cute squirtle-getting-squished-by-doge-speak part. So layers. Very rocks. Such minerals.
#worththewait
my eyeballs wow
"everything starts with the Bible"?
This WILL produce geologists.
Beautiful and so well done! Keep up the amazing work Kate Tectonics team!
Awesome video!! Great job guys!!!
The visual style of this is absolutely phenomenal! Love it!
Came here straight from the 1st HFS podcast, and glad I did. Beautiful closing segment panning out. That's what I call a backyard!
Amazing video!
so layers, very rocks, such minerals… I love it!
great video =)
4:28 See, Steno's eyes didn't have to humorously move towards James at all. But they did. Whoever made that decision thought that silly little moment was worth the animation effort, and I love them for that.
Very well done. This might easily become one of my favorite channels
Finally got to watch this. Really liked it, and loved how different it was, yet similar enough, to the first video! Great job Synema!
I love the way you made this video
Aaaah yay! I was just creeping through your other channel and Michael's channel trying to figure out where the frick you been, when I decided to look here again, just in case. So good to see you again!
just…amazing. thank you.
You need stickers. I need kate tectonics stickers. we all need kate tectonics stickers.
I literally just noticed that this channel's name is a pun on plate tectonics. In other news: I am stupid.
Very nice video Katelyn! Just hoping that you can upload faster or set a weekly or monthly date for us viewers 🙂
Best one yet Kate……… love it
keep doing videos!❤❤
That was a beautiful intro. I hope that everyone else learnt lots too.
I like it. Much! Happily and patiently waiting for more. Because I have a sense for the effort behind it. And can see some of it in Michael's Vlog. 🙂
I for one, will always say Charles Lyell, is the father of geology for reinventing and "founding" modern geology.
I ADORE the production and style of these videos! I don't think there's anything like it. Can't wait to see more
This is actually great and useful to explain some principles of geology to my non-geologist friends and the new students. Congratulations!
seriously good. never seen such creativity. she makes history and geology sound interesting.thanks katelyn.
Thank you very much for making these videos! Please keep up the great work!
When's the next vid coming out? It has been so long….
woot!
Cara! Esse vídeo ficou muito legal! Muito profissional! E divertido.
Mas por favor, faça mais!
Man! This video was really cool! Very professional! And It's fun.
But please, do more!
I found this channel through listening to HFS and it makes my geology major heart so happy! Seriously amazing production value and excellent writing. Can't wait for more videos! <3
Is this the world's first quarterly Youtube channel? They planned on 40 episodes, expect this series to be done in about 10 years.
Gloss is nice, but I prefer content if you have to pick one or the other. Who are the people that actually decided on the order of the established rock collum? Which methods and logic were used to decide on the order? Also who funded their research? People need to know such information to determine conflicts of interest in performing unbiased science.
I love seeing all the positive comments and comments from youtubers like It'sOkayToBeSmart, Sexplanations ect
Anyone got here from HFS?
History was never boring, at least not to me.
Really awesome! The both videos you have are so good Kate! I'm looking to do the spanish subtitles. Could I help doing it?
the ending was great
Cool videos! What about a birth/origin series contrasting Iceland to Hawaii?
Thank you for your videos.
I will be taking geology in college and I can surely need your help!
Wow this is gonna be a good series
Any luck on a new video ? We really like this content !
Great information and great video, thanks.
I just love finding gem channels like this – great pacing, presentation and use of visual examples, pleasant and intelligent voice work and I got such a kick out of your use of cardboard/paper cutouts on sticks 🙂 That was actually an idea I had awhile ago as a way to do a YouTube video – nice to see how well it works. I"m looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Loved this video, nice production and information, greetings from Ushuaia, Argentina! (should be studying for igneous rocks and structural geology right now)
where are you?
Wow that was well done. I found this channel because of the SciShow quiz and I'm glad I checked it out.
Upload moooore pleeeaaase!!
Excellent video. Can't wait for more!
Can't wait for more
More! Please!
Awww half a year and no upload? Are you still working on it? :< You know you don't HAVE to have such high production value on the internet, right?
Fantastic! Are there more videos coming?
Can't wait for more
I just discovered this channel thanks to word of mouth and I'm digging it so much (see chat I did there? :p)
Where may we find Bear Grass's music?
Thank you for your beautiful work! I cannot wait to see more of it <3
Does actualism take in to account what would happen if there were catastrophic interruptions?
D-did you just call history boring??? Aw hell no!
Great video! I just want to know if that is the Great Burn? If not, where did you shoot?
Hi! I sent you a contribution of texts in galician leanguage . Could you approve it?? I need it to work whith my students at classroom . Soon will be in spanish too. Good work!!
Hi! I sent you subtitles contibution. Could you approve it? I need it for my classroom ;D. Good job!!
SQUIRTLE, NOOOOOOO!!!
Super terrific!
Great and suuuper interesting video, even if I'm an aspirant gelogist and i know these things. I think that is a good way to teach and at the same time inspire people about Geology. Good job! :))
Omg the productio quality here is fucking amazing , shame they don't seem to postimg no more
It's wonderful and useful presentation
Good video
Yeah it's so easy too make your scientific opponents look like losers when you constantly lie about what the science says. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJDBi-WqFo&t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDm4yYaAvZM&t
Hey I'm watching our videos and I got engaged with the topic. Maybe I'll take a major in geology,.
you deserve more view and subscriber
Great video!
I don't know what to say except that I just hit the jackpot, best video ever