I've been on a bit of an astronomy/cosmology surfing expedition the past couple of weeks, and delving into the archives of some good blogs, I keep coming across reminders of last year's furor: the question of Pluto's planetary status. (Hey, even I briefly weighed in on this one.) I'm tempted to go through my browser's history and build a page of nothing but clever posts about the issue, but for the moment, here are two:
Here's the meta-comment on the whole mess, from Sean Carroll:
Most everyone who writes about it admits that it doesn’t matter, before launching into a passionate defense of what they think the real definition should be.
And from the same site, but a different author, yet another example of why it's usually a bad idea to let governments mandate science: "States have Rights, but I don’t think this is one of them."
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And don't forget the newest new thing to say, if you're a budding geezer: BWPWAP!
This should fill in admirably if you've been looking for something to replace: "You know you're getting old when your kid asks you, 'Is it true that Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?'"
I used to love that line. I actually might start loving it again, given its ability to provoke mystification in most kids selling you lattes. Well, okay, french fries.
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