The “ human ” statistics of terrestrial impact cratering rate ⋆

The most significant periodicities in the terrestrial impact crater record are due to the “human–signal”: the bias of assigning integer values for the crater ages. This bias seems to have eluded the proponents and opponents of real periodicity in the occurrence of these events, as well as the theorists searching for an extraterrestrial explanation for such periodicity. The “human–signal” should be seriously considered by scientists in astronomy, geology and paleontologywhen searching for a connection between terrestrial major comet or asteroid impacts and mass extinctions of species.