Once again, some DUers think science is a democratic proposition.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. That's a weird argument you're putting forward there

The classes and membership of classes of celestial objects are decided on by conventions and use. Both can change, without any changes in scientific knowledge. And there's nothing that says you have to have a certain amount of scientific knowledge to get to have your voice heard.

I think the IAU's arguments about Pluto were reasonable, so I'm happy with the 'dwarf planet' definition. But it is possible for people to think a collection of scientists haven't made a good decision about language (were they all astronomers? Were there some linguists involved too, or philosophers, who could have greater expertise in classification than astronomers?) As an example, some people may think all birds should be called reptiles. Or perhaps crocodiles should be reclassified as birds. There are scientific justifications for these opinions, but I wouldn't say it should be up to palaeontologists alone to make the decision on usage.