03-22-2004, 08:12 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 476
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kati Compton
I think it's all about publishers wanting to make new textbooks and schools not wanting to have to buy them...  |
Hmmmm... Good point!
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03-22-2004, 08:35 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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The interesting thing to me isn't so much whether or not this is a planet, but once again reinforces my belief that as humans, we have such a limited grasp of the universe...there are so many things beyond our understanding, yet we arrogantly assume that science has every answer we every need. I'm a fan of science and pushing the boundaries of human understanding, but we should always do it with humility. ;-)
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03-23-2004, 03:26 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 602
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I voted that it is a planet but I think there should have been another option. THat option might have read something like "I/We don't have enough data to make such a determination".
I, like many others, am excited to think that another planet was discovered in my lifetime. But I still think that our ability to study the universe is not advanced enough to be certian beyond a reasonable doubt that Sedna is indeed anything more than a large object floating in space.
I personally think it'll be years and years before we can say for certian than just what Sedna is.
But that's just my two cents worth
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03-23-2004, 08:26 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 382
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'Planet' is a human concept. It's symptomatic of our need to categorise everything. It's now getting obvious that there's a continuous range of sizes of bodies orbiting the Sun - from tiny grains of dust to Jupiter. But us humans don't like continuous shades of grey - we like things black or white, so we can pretend we understand things because we know which box to put them in.
Whether Sedna is a planet (or Pluto, or Quaoar, or Ceres, or Mercury, or 2002FH) depends on where us humans draw that artificial line. Then we can give all those bodies their little labels and pretend we understand them.
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