Holmes's persistence finally began to pay off in 1921, when the speakers at the yearly meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science came to a rough consensus that the Earth was a few billion years old, and that radioactive dating was credible.
Umsebenzi kaHolmes wazitshwa kwaze kwaba ngawo-1920, lapho ngo-1921 emhlanganweni waminyaka yonke weBritish Association for the Advancement of Science amalungu athola ukuthi iminyaka yeplanethi yayiyiminyaka eyizigidi eziyizinkulungwane ezimbalwa, nokuthi ukujola kwe-radiometric kwakuthembekile.