The BBC reports today on an article just published in Science that once again seeks to demean and demote Pluto.
I'd like to announce the beginning of the Pluto Anti-Defamation League.
I'm not a scientist, and I have little interest in why or why not these guys collect grant money to classify, reclassify, and declassify objects in our solar system willy-nilly. However, as a child raised in a pre-September 11th world where Pluto was most definitely a planet, I have multiple reasons for wanting it to stay that way:
1. Building models is fun. We got to build lots of models of the solar system when I was little, using Styrofoam balls (before the CFC crisis), a basketball for Jupiter and a pea for Pluto, etc. I think that Pluto's inclusion both illustrates the sheer size of the solar system, and also teaches kids the value of including the little guy - not just cutting him out of our solar system and letting him drift without a family or a home.
2. My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles/Pizzas. Pluto's the most versatile planet in that mnemonic device. Also, I'm not really sure how to rewrite it so kids can remember the planet names, but I think the scientific community has that ethical obligation to our children and our educational system.
3. Pluto has popular culture currency. Although, to be fair, Disney kinda sucks.
4. Post-script: Apparently I'm not very creative. Other people have blogged about this at length, about a year ago.
On the mnemonic
Another blogger held a contest to come up with a new mneumonic, which could a) protest the demotion of Pluto (hooray!), describe the lonely 8-planet system, or include the new 3 dwarf planets. Fortunately for the future of astronomy, the protest mnemonic won: My! Very educated morons just screwed up numerous planetariums.
The Economist weighs in on the controversy, although the facists advocate killing Pluto
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Pluto Anti-Defamation League
Posted by nuraido at 4:02 PM|
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