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INTERNET GRANDFATHERŽ
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Pluto I've followed the recent debate on whether Pluto is a planet with mild interest. Apparently, to astronomers this was an important question, finally resolved by eliminating Pluto from our list of planets. A recent newspaper editorial captured my feelings about this question very precisely: Nothing turns on the answer to this question. Pluto will continue to do whatever it was doing when it was a planet and so will the rest of the universe. Our lives are the same whether Pluto is a planet or a piece of green cheese. Pluto doesn't hurt or help us. Coincidentally, a favorite columnist, Marilyn Vos Savant, talked about the cost of worrying about inconsequential things. She points out that our precious resources of time and money should be spent on doing something that matters. If we worry about every possible controversy, if we fight over small differences, if we devote energy to things that don't really matter, we risk not having the time and strength to deal with important issues. I didn't originate the thought that people have a tendency to devote maximum energy to resolving the least consequential of issues. I do see it every day, though, and the same people often ignore more important issues. People worry about minutes and waste hours, people worry about pennies and waste dollars, people argue over rewards without worrying about the quality of their performance. We know what is important but we need to remember to focus on the important. It's important that we do the right thing, that we help others as best we can, that we conserve our energy for things that matter. Let's focus on the consequential and ignore the petty things in life. We'll feel better, we'll get more done and we may succeed in helping others. At least we will have done our best. 9-18-06 2006 Archives 2005 Archives 2004 Archives 2003 Archives 2002 Archives 2001 Archives |