The rings are read in groups, not in isolation. Similar ring patterns can be discerned in various trees.
As for ice cores, the same argument is applicable. There is no possible way to determine how many times a patch of ice froze or thawed in any year, nor how many years it may have remained frozen without freezing. It's all circular assumption.
It is not "ice" being read, but remnants of annual snowfalls. The ice cores are calibrated by checking for inclusions from known historical events, such as volcanic eruptions or forest fires.
The ends justify the means for all old earthers.
It seems that, by purposefully misrepresenting the science involved, this statement would be more applicable to YEC types.
Junior, I didn't expect you to understand. Annual snowfall cannot be asserted nor proven. It's all circular assumption.
As for the 'similar' ring patterns, I can demolish that nonsense on my own property. The difference in the growth of digger pines that grow side by side can be remarkable, and I find myself puzzled by those differences often. Also, older trees often grow at different rates than young trees. This can be due to available ground water, or differences in the terrain that the tree is encountering as its roots grow.