Americans fail science

Post by **TPRJones** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:45 am

Alhazad wrote:The earth is not really orbiting the sun, either...

Point. But the barycenter is inside the sun, so it's roughly the same thing.

Alhazad · Post by **Alhazad** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:58 am

I think it's outside right now, or was recently.

Back on topic, it'd be impossible for the two to relate to each other if the sun had no position, so I'd say the sun's position is dreadfully important -- at least equal to Earth's.

Plus hey, Earth is a planet anyway, so its position also counts for the definition. Move the goalpost and call the game.

Post by **TPRJones** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 2:17 am

Well, the definition did say planets - as in more than one - so which other planet is important to the our daily lives?

Take that!

Post by **thibodeaux** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:40 am

Did we decide if astronomy is even a science? They don't do no reproducible experiments.

Alhazad · Post by **Alhazad** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 9:48 am

TPRJones wrote:Well, the definition did say planets - as in more than one - so which other planet is important to the our daily lives?

Take that!

Theia.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 10:36 am

Alhazad wrote:
TPRJones wrote:Well, the definition did say planets - as in more than one - so which other planet is important to the our daily lives?

Take that!

Theia.

Boom. So's Jupiter because it's influenced Christ only knows how many asteroid orbits. Hell, if there's no Jupiter, dinosaurs might have evolved into the sentient species.

Edited By Malcolm on 1442068630

Post by **GORDON** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:27 pm

thibodeaux wrote:Did we decide if astronomy is even a science? They don't do no reproducible experiments.

Hmmm. There's lots of observation and theorizing, but.

Is driving a rover on Mars considered to be ASTROnomy? Not by strict definition.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:49 pm

If experiments have to be conducted in an ultra controlled lab environment, then astronomy's going to have a difficult time.

Post by **TPRJones** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 1:29 pm

While you can't do reproducible lab experiments in astronomy (at least not yet), you can still use observations to form theories that include predictions that can be disprovable with further observations. I think that counts.

All because we don't yet have the technology to perform reproducible lab experiments in the field doesn't mean they are impossible to ever be performed.

Edited By TPRJones on 1442079041