Why a New Hypothesis?

Before 1962, the year in which H.H. Hess revived and revised Arthur Holmes’s (1931) concept of seafloor spreading (which also was proposed by Ampferer [1941]), the geology and geophysics departments of the world taught several geodynamics hypotheses. These hypotheses stimulated lively discussions and resulted in the publication of a highly diversified spectrum of ideas. After Hess’s version of seafloor spreading was published, diversity in geodynamics thinking began to wane, and outside of Asia and Eastern Europe, had all but vanished by the end of 1963. Most of these earlier and now contrary concepts are no longer taught or are presented briefly as old, outdated ideas in light of the new hypothesis of plate tectonics. This fact should generate concern among all scientists, for historically the rigorous testing of ideas effectively ceases in intellectual environments dominated by a single concept. Furthermore, it is the belief of these authors that as intensive geotectonic research has vastly increased the database for Earth-dynamic studies, plate tectonics has not adequately and completely explained the geology of many regions of the world.