[PatrickHenry]

The good thing about this "shrinking sun" business is that we need all the global warming we can generate. The other good thing about it is that by noticing those who adhere to this bizarre idea, we can identify those who have not yet heard of nuclear fusion. Generations ago, before this energy source was understood, it was widly assumed that the sun could not be very old, because it couldn't keep burning at its observable rate for very long. It was part of the "young earth" line of thinking.

[bondserv]

Hello Pat et al,

Did the article mention anything about the sun shrinking because of burning? Seemed to me they were using, "The data Eddy and Boomazian examined spanned a 400-year period of solar observation".

It doesn't seem like they were speaking of a theoretical burning shrinkage of the sun, but an observable physical shrinkage. "Furthermore, assuming (by uniformitarian-type reasoning) that the rate of shrinkage has not changed with time".

Seems like an honest examination of observable evidence to me. What else can we do to make assessments?