I think most people's confusion stems from the fact that dwarf stars are actually stars ... so it's natural to assume that dwarf planets are planets. But that's not the case (right?) I'm no astronomer, but I wish that the IAU can explain it once and for all. In any case, thank you for your explanation, Laurel!
Don’t be surprised if you hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night. A cat can learn how to do it, spurred on by his instinct to cover up. His main thing is to cover up. If he hits the flush knob accidentally and sees that it cleans the bowl inside, he may remember and do it intentionally.
You're right: it's Planet X (until someone actually discovers it). I'm not so sure about dwarf planets being a subclass of planets. I think the controversy over Pluto and such was that dwarf planets (or previously called planetoids) are not planet. It's definitely confusing!
Hah! Like classical music composer Igor Stravinsky once said, "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." I think Handel took this to an art form, and called it "transformative imitation":
Probably no other composer in the history of western classical music has been as consistently chastised for his musical borrowing as George Friedrich Handel. The first published expose on his musical “pilfering” appeared in 1722, setting in motion a veritable witch hunt that still “harbors a subversive discomfort, a puzzlement of judgment, about Handel’s compositional practices, adding controversy to his art and threatening to diminish the stature of his genius.” Creative art has consistently used imitation and transformation of preexisting models as an educational tool and as a compositional approach. For Handel, this process was known as transformative imitation, and he made an art out of this rather common practice.
I think the biggest factor in environmental issues is population growth. We seem to think that we can solve environmental problems - caused by people - through modifying people's behaviors, rather than reducing the actual number of people (or at least, limiting their growth). I suspect Malthus will have the last laugh on this.
I was a Teaching Assistant in grad school - it's a requirement for graduation. But the quid pro quo was a degree, so I don't know if that qualifies as slavery.
The "'Old Testament' beard" line made me look up David Finkelstein. I wasn't disappointed. Finkelstein was also famous for trying to teach physics to Tibetan monks: "In 1997 the Dalai Lama invited five physicists to the Indian city of Dharamsala for a five-day gathering to exchange ideas. The meeting provided a forum to discuss Western and Eastern ideas about the nature of relativity. After that meeting, the Dalai Lama invited Finkelstein to initiate a program teaching physics to Tibetan monks. Finkelstein, dubbed ‘Mr. Actuality’ by the Dalai Lama, joyfully accepted the opportunity."
In any case, thank you for your explanation, Laurel!
I'm not so sure about dwarf planets being a subclass of planets. I think the controversy over Pluto and such was that dwarf planets (or previously called planetoids) are not planet. It's definitely confusing!
Like classical music composer Igor Stravinsky once said, "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." I think Handel took this to an art form, and called it "transformative imitation":
Finkelstein was also famous for trying to teach physics to Tibetan monks:
"In 1997 the Dalai Lama invited five physicists to the Indian city of Dharamsala for a five-day gathering to exchange ideas. The meeting provided a forum to discuss Western and Eastern ideas about the nature of relativity. After that meeting, the Dalai Lama invited Finkelstein to initiate a program teaching physics to Tibetan monks. Finkelstein, dubbed ‘Mr. Actuality’ by the Dalai Lama, joyfully accepted the opportunity."