Comments on: Illinois stands up for Pluto

By: Library: A Round-up of Reading « Res Communis

Library: A Round-up of Reading « Res Communis — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:09:39 +0000

[…] Illinois stands up for Pluto – Space Politics […]

By: Doug Lassiter

Doug Lassiter — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:25:23 +0000

Dismissing this (fairly pathetic) argument as simply “a matter of semantics” is both true and naive. A lot of science is based on classification, and that includes, but is not restricted to semantics. I can call it Pluto or Otulp. That doesn’t matter. But when I say that it’s not like something, but like something else instead, that’s science.

By: MarkWhittington

MarkWhittington — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:04:19 +0000

The whole question of whether or not Pluto is a planet is not a scientific one, but a matter of semantics.

By: Chance

Chance — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:01:48 +0000

Heh. We should write a song: “Mike Brown’s Planetary Body”, as sung to the tune of “John Brown’s Body”.

By: Chance

Chance — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:59:22 +0000

Don’t feed the troll please.

Anyway, from what I followed of the story, it’s not as if this Pluto issue is an open and shut case where 99% of astronomers agree. It seems more of a semantic argument than a real scientific one. If Illinois wants to call it a planet, I’m sure the republic will somehow survive, regardless of Mike Brown’s concerns.

By: SpaceMan

SpaceMan — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:30:28 +0000

Science is not the exclusive province of a few

Obviously it isn’t a province you can operate in.

By: Freek Fest

Freek Fest — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:02:24 +0000

Science is not the exclusive province of a few.

But you rabid gun toting Libertarian freeks certainly do have the crackpot and conspiracy aspects of science completely cornered.

By: John Malkin

John Malkin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:59:09 +0000

Rod Blagojevich is the least of our problems. As a resident of Illinois, I’m disappointed and I still consider Pluto a dwarf planet but the first dwarf planet. Isn’t it better that he found the first of hundreds than the last of 9? At least they didn’t give it a corporate name.

In Chicago, we are use to the renaming of landmarks like Comiskey Park [U.S. Cellular Field (The Cell)], Marshall Field’s (Macy’s) and Sears Tower (Willis Tower).

By: Mike Lorrey

Mike Lorrey — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:40:46 +0000

Most liberals can quote you Eisenhowers warning against the military industrial complex, but none of them will admit to the other warning he gave: against the techno-intellectual elites.

Science is not the exclusive province of a few.