"He was a Scientist. He would Understand"

Until last Thursday, Clyde Tombaugh was the only person in the western hemisphere who had discovered a planet. He was a 24-year-old working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ who spent months looking for the planet that would have explained the odd perturbations to Uranus' orbit.

AP Photo:
In this 1980 photo provided by Dale Wittner, Pluto discoverer, the late Clyde Tombaugh is shown outside of his home using a telescope he had constructed himself.

He found it, and thereby secured his place in the history books. But with the recent vote by the IAU to demote the object to a "Dwarf Planet" those history books now require revision, and Mr. Tombaugh's name will likely drift even further into obscurity.

Tombaugh's widow Patricia said in a telephone interview yesterday that she was frustrated by the decision toe strip Pluto of its planetary status, but she was careful to add the Clyde would have understood. "He was a Scientist. He would understand they had real problems when they started finding several of these tiny things flying around the place."

How many people in how many occupations would react to such a reduction in the status of their crowning achievement, the very focus of their lives, with such equanimity? This type of mental flexibility, and the willingness to change world-views based on incontrovertible natural evidence is the acme of the scientific method. Bringing a similar approach and philosophy to other fields would have broad ranging technical, political, economic, and religious advantages.

Sadly, most people tend to cling more tightly to their world-view, and so we suffer ill-informed leadership and strife across the Middle East and Africa. Kudos to Clyde. I'll always remember Pluto, and your intrepid spirit.