I felt like it was an engineered distraction at the time.
Scientifically, many things are classified very differently than the common vernacular. So when Pluto made the headlines, I had this sense that something else was going on.
Think of it this way. If we had to acknowledge outer planets by name that would increase the number of planets. Mustn't be. Have to cap the total number of planets, maybe even deny Pluto. Only the 8 classical planets are permitted (even though Uranus and Neptune were only discovered by telescope).
This what happens when specialists think they are the Tidy Tyrants of popular knowledge.
I felt like it was an engineered distraction at the time.
Scientifically, many things are classified very differently than the common vernacular. So when Pluto made the headlines, I had this sense that something else was going on.
Think of it this way. If we had to acknowledge outer planets by name that would increase the number of planets. Mustn't be. Have to cap the total number of planets, maybe even deny Pluto. Only the 8 classical planets are permitted (even though Uranus and Neptune were only discovered by telescope).
This what happens when specialists think they are the Tidy Tyrants of popular knowledge.