Professor Caroline Winterer

You can still see them today. Most rocks of that age have been submerged under the continental shelves, right? So they're swimming under the crust of the Earth somewhere and gradually getting digested deep in the bowels of the Earth. But for whatever reason, the kind of luck of long geological time in Eastern Canada, there are some that are still

Now, of course, they've been blasted over the millennia by the icy winds and whatever other dramatic effects happen, but there they are.

Now, of course, they've been blasted over the millennia by the icy winds and whatever other dramatic effects happen, but there they are.

Now, of course, they've been blasted over the millennia by the icy winds and whatever other dramatic effects happen, but there they are.

Yes. Well, and actually, I should say, so do parts of the British Isles. If you go to Scotland, you can see some very, very ancient rocks, actually rock formations that are shared with North America. But yes, deep in the Grand Canyon are rocks that are also billions of years old. And you have to work a little harder than on the Canadian Shield.

Yes. Well, and actually, I should say, so do parts of the British Isles. If you go to Scotland, you can see some very, very ancient rocks, actually rock formations that are shared with North America. But yes, deep in the Grand Canyon are rocks that are also billions of years old. And you have to work a little harder than on the Canadian Shield.

Yes. Well, and actually, I should say, so do parts of the British Isles. If you go to Scotland, you can see some very, very ancient rocks, actually rock formations that are shared with North America. But yes, deep in the Grand Canyon are rocks that are also billions of years old. And you have to work a little harder than on the Canadian Shield.

But if you hike all the way down to the bottom to the Colorado River, you will encounter very, very ancient rocks. And it was It was these rocks that Americans began to discover over the course of the 19th century and to imagine that they were not 6,000 years old, that they were in fact quite a bit older than that.

But if you hike all the way down to the bottom to the Colorado River, you will encounter very, very ancient rocks. And it was It was these rocks that Americans began to discover over the course of the 19th century and to imagine that they were not 6,000 years old, that they were in fact quite a bit older than that.

But if you hike all the way down to the bottom to the Colorado River, you will encounter very, very ancient rocks. And it was It was these rocks that Americans began to discover over the course of the 19th century and to imagine that they were not 6,000 years old, that they were in fact quite a bit older than that.

And that's what my book is calling the deep time revolution, because it really is revolutionary to think about time in such expansive terms. essentially how big the stage is for the story of Earth and for the story of life upon it.

And that's what my book is calling the deep time revolution, because it really is revolutionary to think about time in such expansive terms. essentially how big the stage is for the story of Earth and for the story of life upon it.

And that's what my book is calling the deep time revolution, because it really is revolutionary to think about time in such expansive terms. essentially how big the stage is for the story of Earth and for the story of life upon it.

Well, this is such a great question. So in fact, they didn't know how old the rocks actually were until the early 1900s. And that's when they discovered radiometric dating, which is dating rocks by the decay of electrons and protons and all the chemists out there.

Well, this is such a great question. So in fact, they didn't know how old the rocks actually were until the early 1900s. And that's when they discovered radiometric dating, which is dating rocks by the decay of electrons and protons and all the chemists out there.

Well, this is such a great question. So in fact, they didn't know how old the rocks actually were until the early 1900s. And that's when they discovered radiometric dating, which is dating rocks by the decay of electrons and protons and all the chemists out there.

Fill in with science. So that's what we call actual dates is assigning an actual year value like how old you are, how old I am, how old the Earth is. They did not have this before 1900. And so what I'm calling the deep time revolution unfolds only with relative dates. So that's saying that a layer of rock that lies on top of another one is younger, right?

Fill in with science. So that's what we call actual dates is assigning an actual year value like how old you are, how old I am, how old the Earth is. They did not have this before 1900. And so what I'm calling the deep time revolution unfolds only with relative dates. So that's saying that a layer of rock that lies on top of another one is younger, right?

Fill in with science. So that's what we call actual dates is assigning an actual year value like how old you are, how old I am, how old the Earth is. They did not have this before 1900. And so what I'm calling the deep time revolution unfolds only with relative dates. So that's saying that a layer of rock that lies on top of another one is younger, right?

Because we imagine that things are deposited in order, right, as you would make a sandcastle at the beach. The layer on the bottom was put down at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The layer on the top was put down at 3 o'clock. But you actually have no idea how old the layers are. And so what's extraordinary about the deep time revolution is that it unfolds precisely in the absence