[LEAPSECS] Reliability

[Steve Allen]

On Fri 2009-01-02T00:10:10 -0500, Daniel R. Tobias hath writ:

> What does "mean" mean?  Don't be mean about it!  :-)


In this particular arena, the accepted meaning of mean has been
changed as it was handed along a chain of names, notably among them,
but not limited to
Ptolemy                  150
Huygens                 1665
Flamsteed               1672
Newcomb                 1895
Aoki et al.             1982
Capitaine et al.        2000

Curiously enough, in scant weeks the Secretary of State, who has sayso
over the US position presented to ITU-R by USWP7A delegates, will be
the woman whose husband's presidential deposition included the
infamous words

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4XT-l-_3y0

This whole issue is a conventional matter, and conventional reality
is established in accordance with the needs of its makers.

--
Steve Allen                 <sla at ucolick.org>                WGS-84 (GPS)
UCO/Lick Observatory        Natural Sciences II, Room 165    Lat  +36.99855
University of California    Voice: +1 831 459 3046           Lng -122.06015
Santa Cruz, CA 95064        http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/     Hgt +250 m