To Planet or Not a Planet

From a story in today’s NYT on evolving definitions of planethood:

Not only did the panel members disagree on the definition of a planet, at last report they could not even agree, it seemed, on whether they were making progress. Within the space of a few minutes the other week, I received one e-mail message from Dr. Marsden saying he was optimistic and another from Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington complaining that his morning e-mail gave him no sense that they were close to bringing the issue to a close.

In another e-mail message, Dr. Boss described the process as "like trying to shovel frogs into a wheelbarrow – they keep jumping out again."

Scientists are so cute when they bicker.

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