Pluto is no more

[Nikolas]

I really don't see it as rude but if people thing that my post is rude I do apologize for it. I didn't mean to be rude, and usually I'm not. So sorry for that Eric, Farl and everybody else.

The thing is that I see this kind of thread in every forum and it's made an impression on me.

Now about your answer to my (hypothetical) question, and thanks for actually answering it. The thing is that we're talking about a simple definition here. It is not about trusting the scientists.

You talk about wasting money. The internet is a great tool, but here we are arguing about (almost) nothing, which is usually the case in most forums. Heck the internet costs a lot of money to maintain, no? But here we are wasting it. Don't think I'm rude but in comparison to wlking on the moon, or saving Earth from a meteor catastroph, defining the term planets and taking out Pluto seems tiny, same as having the internet and this thread (or any thread that I've started ). See what I mean?

My who cares comment, came along with an excuse that

Every forum I've been has a thread about poor pluto...Weird

.

Anyways, free forum, free talk (that's why I posted in the first place), keep discussing Who am I to start stoping threads?

EDIT: BTW I just fail to see the importance of that. Maybe it's me (probably it is me...)

[m0ds]

Well of course poor Pluto! For the majority of us alive today, it is a "known" planet, and we surprisingly - live on a planet. Sure, we don't think about it that often - hence litter, slums, global warming etc, but there are times when we really do think about "our" planet at least - major natural disasters - of which there's been a buttload in the last couple of years. So there is a relevance in it for most of us.

[Nikolas]

Still if we were to decide that Earth is no longer a planet. Or rather called a planet, but fgfgfg! That wouldn't change anything. Remember you're using nicknames (I'm not lol). You're mark, mOds. What if you go to another forum and name yourself something else?

[m0ds]

It wouldn't change what it physically is, sure - but it would certainly change how we go about talking about it, how we relate to it etc, and this could lead to confusion. As would me changing my nickname on another forum. People would think I'm two completely seperate and different entities, and not just one.

[Erenan]

Yeah. I was confused at first when this Nacho guy showed up.

You talk about wasting money. The internet is a great tool, but here we are arguing about (almost) nothing, which is usually the case in most forums. Heck the internet costs a lot of money to maintain, no? But here we are wasting it.

Eric wasn't exactly talking about wasting money, per se. He was saying that this change in terminology may cause people to view scientists' actions as a waste of money. His interest wasn't in whether they're wasting money, but in the effect it has on the general public.

[MrColossal]

BAN THE GENERAL PUBLIC!!1!

also, Erenan is right, I was quoting hypothetical people.

[Traveler]

What Mr. Colossal said about the public is unfortunately true. Many people will see this reclassifying as an act of incompetence and this is magnified by the media. You see all the "poor Pluto" stories because it's summer and nothing happens, so reporters have to make a big story about nothing.

Science makes progress by reevaluating known facts to see if they can be organized into a more logical system. This involves reclassifying things, like it happened to Pluto. But in that sense Nikolas is right - it's not as big a deal as the media pushes it down our throats. But as I (and others, on these forums and elsewhere) said: Pluto is not going anywhere, it'll still be a *named* part of the Solar system and it'll still be investigated to extract more information about it.

As a matter of fact, I don't really care, if Pluto is a planet or not. What I care about is that now there is a clear, logical (and wonderfully simple) definition for what a planet is. I'm such a geek that I'm actually glad about this.

[Nacho]

Sh*t Erenan! I have "The AGSer formerly know as Farlander" under my avatar... I am not diguising me or something... 

Anyway, Nikolas, your post hasn' t been rude to me, but saying "Who cares" after 4 pages or hot arguments sounded in my head like a "You all ares silly, I ares the smart ass, I don't like this thread, so, move one to one I like most, end of the discussion!11!"

I know this wasn' t not your intention because I think I know you quite well from msn, but it has still been a bit annoying.

No need to  apologize, though.

[EagerMind]

Keep in mind, that the definition of a planet (or any other celestial body) will necessarily be arbitrary.

Which is exactly what all the hub-bub's about!Ã, 

I did a little reading on my own, and came across this article on Wikipedia about the definition of planets. It's a bit technical in parts, but I thought it was a good summary of all the issues, and it definitely shows that there's far from agreement on this issue. Traveler, unfortunately a lot smarter(?) people than you and I are having troubles resolving this.Ã, 

What Mr. Colossal said about the public is unfortunately true. Many people will see this reclassifying as an act of incompetence and this is magnified by the media.

I agree. I think the lesson here should be a little eye-opening to everyone. I tend to have faith that a global community of specialists (not all of whom are in agreement and will continue to work towards some resolution) tend to know what they're doing. But I think the media - perhaps in trying to simplify this for the general public - has mis-portrayed the whole issue.

The media has framed this as: Scientists think there are too many planets in our solar system. Since Pluto has a different orbit than the other planets (specfically, it overlaps with Neptune's), they've decided it's no longer a planet.

But anyone who does a little digging on their own (and how many people do that?) will discover that this doesn't appear to be the case at all. Pluto's orbit in relation to Neptune doesn't seem to have anything to do with this. Instead, it appears that new discoveries have placed Pluto in a field of objects of similar composition, some of which are bigger than Pluto itself. So, does this mean that Pluto is really a planet, or just another object in this field of stuff? Certainly a valid question in light of new evidence. This is a perfect model of how the scientific process is supposed to work.

In short: don't necessarily take for granted everything the press is trying to feed you!

What I care about is that now there is a clear, logical (and wonderfully simple) definition for what a planet is.

I'll agree that the new definition seems reasonable. I think the problem is (as I just discussed) that it hasn't been put into its correct context.

The internet is a great tool, but here we are arguing about (almost) nothing, which is usually the case in most forums. Heck the internet costs a lot of money to maintain, no? But here we are wasting it.

Nikolas, I think everyone respects your opinion that this isn't an important issue for average bubba. Heck, I'll wholeheartedly agree that whether we call Pluto a "planet" or "dwarf planet" has no impact on my life - but I do think it makes for an interesting discussion.

But I'm not sure how you can call this a waste of time/money? Especially in the context of a community that's focused on the discussion and creation of a genre of games that has been defunct for 15+ years. (I don't mean adventure games as a whole, but rather the low-res, 2D Sierra/Lucasfilm games that we specifically focus on). Hopefully you don't think this whole community is a waste of time?Ã, 

Hopefully you can see we're not really just talking about whether we call Pluto an apple or an orange. But we've gotten into the nature of the scientific process itself and the role/behavior of the media. I think these are certainly important issues to everybody!

[Nikolas]

Hem...

I don't consider this, or any thread to be a waste of time. It was just an example. Don't take it the wrong way.
I use the internet as a tool and I have found jobs over the internet! No it's not a waste of money or time or anything. Although sometimes we do things that are not very important.

I love this forums!

(I love MODS)

[EagerMind]

It was just an example. Don't take it the wrong way.

Don't worry, no hard feelings! I guess the loss of Pluto has everyone on emotional edge. Poor, poor Pluto.Ã,