While his facts may have been flawed, namely the result of his innately unscientific source, Ussher's
methodology was actually rather mature for his period (which was, for the record, shortly after the turn of the seventeenth century; pre-
Renaissance). The specific nature of his estimations, while on its own quite amusing, was apparently made so as not to skew the estimation beyond its already vague scope more than it was intended as a precise attempt to discern the age of the universe.
As easy as it is to laugh at religion and its scientific applications in history, Ussher's approximation is an excellent example of just what kind of science was being derived from these supposedly flawless works. Calling Ussher a
nutjob, or anything like it, is evidence more of modern
ignorance than modern
superiority.
Modern belief in this estimation or those much like it is surprisingly strong, when one does not pay exclusive attention to the
scientific community. The subject of the Biblical age of the earth, when applied to modern
sociology, is perhaps a good example of the great potential for massive populations to maintain belief in an apparent falsehood in light of
faith.