Slashdot Mirror
Pluto Decision Meets with Frustration
fuzzybunny writes "The BBC reports that the IAU's controversial Prague vote on demoting Pluto from planet status was irregular. 'There were 2,700 astronomers in Prague during that 10-day period. But only 10% of them voted this afternoon.'" On a less serious note, lx writes "Nonplussed by Pluto's recent downgrade from Planet Status, Fox News's own John Gibson does an incredible Stephen Colbert impersonation to correct the 'revisionist history' of the IAU's decision. Exemplifying 'truthiness,' from the article: 'Long ago I learned it was a planet and I see no reason to unlearn it. Why should I?' "
Why is it that if this were printed it would be considered Libel and a Lawsuit would be had but we think it is alright to post on Slashdot?
There's a reason why Gibson has the opinion he has. He's a hardline conservative. It doesn't matter what people smarter than him say or the future beholds - what has been in his tradition (in this case, believing that Pluto is a planet) is something that he does not want to question. It's a part of his identity. And conservatism is all about preservation of identity. Everyone should just ignore him because he has no form of scientific argument behind his position.