Today it is has retreated far up the mountain. In this class we will follow two lines of thought, blending scientific inquiry with a bit of the sociology and philosophy of science. The first line of thought relates to how science works. Paradigms can change, sometimes very suddenly, leading to whole new ways of thinking about the natural world. In the second line of thought, you will investigate glaciers and giant ice sheets, using scientific ideas about glaciers to illustrate the concepts of paradigms and paradigm shifts.
Glaciers are bodies of ice that form from snowfall, and flow downhill under the pull of gravity.
But scientists have not always agreed on this. We will explore how glaciers work, and you will learn about glaciers in Washington and the world. Twenty thousand years ago, huge glaciers and continental sized ice sheets covered much of Europe and North America. For the past 2 million years, the ice has advanced and covered these areas every 100,000 years or so. Scientists didn't always agree about this either.