The entire basis for my elementary education was shaken today, when a bunch of men in white coats decided that Pluto is no longer a planet. Now, children everywhere will have to remember the planets by the mnemonic device “My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles, but then took the pickles away 76 years later.” Largely because it has a funky orbit that intersects with Neptune (clearly the one interesting thing about what otherwise is a big rock), Pluto now is classified as a “dwarf planet,” as are Cerers (an asteroid, which I thought was classified as “asteroid”), and Xena the Warrior Planet. I’m sure Happy, Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Doc are happy to have them along.
The biggest problem with this decision? Fifty years from now, when these scientists’ children discover that Pluto once sustained life, we can’t say that there’s life on other planets, just that there was once a thriving society on some ice ball.
Because that’s how science works. By vote. It’s better than the old system, which was essentially “The Real World” without cameras. I say we scrap all that and just boil scientific debate down to the concrete finality of a “rock paper scissors” contest.
I’d almost like to see science work like “The Real World” with cameras. That could be fun.
Cold fusion is hooking up with the missing link? OMG!!!!!! Sooooo hawt!
…
*Scrubs self with bleach*