In the previous post, we looked at just a few of the many pieces of evidence which seem to be best explained by the theory that most of the radioactive isotopes found on earth (especially in the crust) were created by the powerful forces released in the events surrounding a cataclysmic worldwide flood. These forces may well have included powerful plasma discharges created by the generation of enormous voltages through the piezoelectric effect.
The possibility that the majority of earth's radioactivity originated in a catastrophic event, and that this radioactivity was not present at the formation of the earth runs counter to most conventional theories about earth's ancient history. This possibility also has startling ramifications for human history, especially if (as most traditions around the world maintain) mankind was alive before this catastrophic radiation-producing event and if some members of the human race somehow lived through it. As we noted in that previous blog post, one of the most significant possible ramifications is the conclusion that: "those who lived prior to the creation of so much radioactive material may have lived longer than we do today."
The hydroplate theory of Dr. Walt Brown appears to explain many pieces of evidence involving earth's radioactive isotopes which pose serious problems for conventional explanations. The hydroplate theory also explains many other pieces of geological evidence on our planet which give conventional theories a hard time (for a list of a few of them, see this previous post and this previous post). In discussing the possibility that radioactivity originated during the events surrounding a global flood, Dr. Brown notes that the absorption of newly-created radioactive material into human bodies following the flood could have (and almost certainly would have) had a negative impact on human lifespans:
The new isotopes (heavy or light) produced during the flood are mixed with all that we eat, drink, and breathe. On rare occasions, these “strange isotopes” interfere with our very complex cellular machinery. [. . .] At the atomic level, this damage accumulates in a somewhat random manner, even among identical twins, because the “strange isotopes” that we take into our bodies become “bullets” in tiny but rapid versions of “Russian roulette.” The potential damage during each roulette game is extremely small; however, we each play thousands of games a second. [from this page in the online version of Dr. Brown's book, In the Beginning].
To support this possibility, he notes that the Hebrew scripture recording lifespans before and after the Genesis flood degrades sharply immediately after the flood (beginning with Noah's son Shem) and continuing in a negative exponential decay curve (see graph above).
The fact that the lifespans listed in Genesis follow such a curve is quite significant. Dr. Brown argues:
If the life spans of the postflood patriarchs had been mistranslated, randomly selected, or made up by someone with no knowledge of higher mathematics, a linear fit would be much more likely than an exponential decay.However, the thousands of isotopes produced in the fluttering crust during the flood would exit the crust and enter the biosphere—and living organisms—at a rate proportional to their concentration in the crust. So, the concentration of these “strange isotopes” in the biosphere and within organisms would rapidly increase initially, but would level off after some period of time. In other words, life spans would experience an exponential decay.
If there really were such lengthy lifespans prior to the advent of radioactive isotopes on earth, think of what kind of knowledge could have accumulated. With extended lifespans like those recorded in Hebrew scriptures, you could -- as a grown adult -- have known not only your father and grandfather but also your grandfather, great-grandfather, and even great-great grandfather! Imagine what subjects you could have discussed with your great-great grandfather if you could both talked and worked with him for years or even decades while both of you were in your prime of life. Imagine what things you yourself could learn given active health for many more decades longer than what is normal today.
Such a theory could go a long way towards explaining how mankind was able to demonstrate knowledge of subtle phenomena such as the precession of the equinoxes at an extremely ancient date. As has been pointed out in previous posts, "to perceive precession requires the ability to measure the location of stars, a method of recording those locations, and written records to pass those observations down to subsequent generations of observers, because one human lifetime is not enough to see a change" (as precession only moves the sky by one degree in 71.6 years).
If lifespans were significantly longer prior to the flood, it would go a long way towards explaining the sophisticated astronomical knowledge demonstrated in extreme antiquity (in fact, in the earliest texts to survive from thousands of years BC).
Of course, it is not necessary to believe that humans had incredibly long lifespans in the remote past in order to accept other aspects of the hydroplate theory. The hydroplate theory does not stand or fall on the possibility of long lifespans, or even on the possibility that radioactivity originated in the flood. There is enough other evidence that is better explained by the hydroplate theory than by conventional theories to warrant careful consideration of the merits of the hydroplate theory regardless of one's position on long lifespans or radioactivity.
However, the possibility that a cataclysm in earth's ancient history created radioactivity, and that this new radioactivity shortened human lifespans is worth careful investigation.
