Quote:
Originally Posted by Frog march
the word 'planet' is part of culture therefore I would say that public opinion is important in something as arbitrary as this definition. It's not like science is taking notice of what the public think the gravitational constant should be.
|
Good point, but I think the Big Eighters, the Pluto Haters, are just as guilty of trying to make Pi=3.0 for the sake of convenience. Since when is it a good idea to determine good science by the rule of majority, whether they are scientists or ignoramuses?
Or is that ignorami?
At least hydrostatic equilibrium is a empirical limit based in a physical process. That limit may be fuzzy without clear data, but at least it's not arbitrary.