Page 317 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
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22.4 Statistical Analysis and Predictions

Table 22.1 displays six observations, as currently available with respect to two

time-scales: the scientific cosmic time-scale, measured in Gyr, and biblical time-
scale, measured in days. For the latter scale, we have been assisted by oral Jewish
tradition, going back at least two thousands years, to determine the value of a single
observation (X 6). For the former scale, it has been emphasized that with regard

to two observations, there seems to be scientific controversy whether estimates
can be given for the Y values to any reasonable accuracy. One observation regards
approximate dating for the appearance of first large-scale structures (at the end

of the dark ages and the re-ionization of the universe). The other observation
regards the beginning of life on Earth as we know it (namely, characterized by
first appearance of multi-cellular and sexually reproducing life). Accordingly, the

statistical analysis is divided into two parts:

• Section 22.4.1: statistical analysis applied to the complete sample (six
observations);
• Section 22.4.2: statistical analysis applied to a reduced sample (four
observations only; two possibly controversial observations removed).

22.4.1 Statistical Analysis of the Complete Sample

In this section, we statistically test two mutually exclusive hypotheses:

• H 0: There is no relationship between the two time-scales;
• H 1: The two time-scales are linearly related (implying that the two time-
scales measure the same “thing”, only in different units).

To test these hypotheses, linear regression analysis was applied to the complete
sample, with biblical time-scale serving as the independent variable (the horizon-
tal axis), and the cosmic scientific time-scale as the dependent variable (the verti-

cal axis). For n=6, linear regression analysis yields linear correlation of 0.9963,
2
with adjusted R of 0.9907. For 1 and 4 degrees of freedom, the sample F-ratio

value is 534.8, which is statistically significant (p=0.000021). In other words, the
probability of the observations aligning themselves on a straight line, the way they
did, by chance alone (that is, if H 0 was true), is less than 0.0021%.

Figure 22.1 displays the results with the associated 95% confidence limits. All
observations are within these limits. The linear regression equation is given in

the figure caption (atop the plot). Note, that the results of this analysis would