Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Gaia or Terra?

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Posted by Cargile (Member # 45) on :

Gaia or Terra? I know the popular term for Earth is Terra, but really now--why call our home planet dirt? Or ground?

It would be nice to see a change in scifi where there is mention of a Gaia/Luna system around Sol.

What are your thoughts?

Posted by Montgomery (Member # 23) on :

Terra is cool. "Terran" is cool.
Latin has a nice feel of historical weight behind it, and it makes you feel clever.

Conversely, "Gaia" makes you sound like some new-age hippie who thinks the planet is sentient.

*Catmanspeak* You dahmn hippies!

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"Is there anyone there with a gun?"
- On the Hour

Posted by The Vorlon (Member # 52) on :

*vorlon speak* Yes.

I actually favour Terra over both Earth and Gaia. The reason being is that it gives US a better name then Humans.

Terra - Terrans <- Nice match
Terra - Humans <- No match
Earth - Earthers/Earthlings <- Both names for us are crappy.
Gaia - Gaians <- Well, it's okay, but I still favour Terran.

Also, I hate it that no one seems to know the sun's real name. You ask someone "What is the name of the sun?" and they say "Uhh, Sun?" *BUZZZZ* Wrong answer! Sol.

Sol - Solar <- See? Isn't that a nice matching pair?

Therefore, other systems should NOT be called Solar Systems, as there IS only one Solar System, ours. Other systems should be either Star Systems or (Fill in the Name of Primary star) System.

I think that's enough gripping for now. Anyone else want to share? =]

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Lyta Vorlon: "Our great mistake. Our failing. And now your failing. The error is compounded."
Delenn: "What mistake?"
Lyta Vorlon: "The first one, the one from which all mistakes proceed: The error of Pride..."

-- Kalesh Naranek, Last of the Vorlon
www.orc.ca/~jheinbuc/

Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :

How about "Stellar Systems?"

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Ah... Now I enter these hallowed halls a conqueror... Yes...

-Megatron, "The Agenda, Part Three"

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

That's a stellar idea.

*likes Terra*

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"Audaces fortuna juvat."
"Fortune favours the bold."

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Let's think about the other planets in the Sol system... Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Naturally, given the precendent, Earth should be called Terra. If we called it Gaea, we'd have to call the other eight Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Zeus, Cronus (or Kronos... :-) ), Uranus (well, okay, no change there...), Poseidon, and, well, Pluto (okay, no change, again...).

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"About as useful as a narcoleptic rickshaw driver."
-James Lileks

Posted by Chimaera on :

I've never actually heard the Earth referred to as Gaia, around here that word is only used in reference to the Gaia theory. I prefer Earth, just because it's so widely used, but Terra sounds alright too. We could mix and match, call ourselves Terrans from the planet Earth, there's no absolute rule that says the two have to match.

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"Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you."
-Commander Riker, USS Enterprise

Posted by Enterprise (Member # 48) on :

*Cartman Speak* It's all a bunch of tree hugging hippie crap!

My view, I like calling my home planet Earth and my species human...

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Brandon "Enterprise" Grasmick
Commanding Officer, USS Sovereign (NX-74222)

"Captain, the Sona crew are willing to negotiate a cease fire. It may have something to do with the fact that we have 3 minutes of air left."
-- Worf

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges
-- In time of war the law falls silent.

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

Terra works better to match with the names of the other planets.
Gaea just doesn't fit right, and as others have said is too "hippie".
I worship the Goddess, and we call the earth "The Mother" .. but I suppose that wouldn't work for a planet name, now would it? *L*

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If Galileo had lied to save his life, would America, or the West, or Space have been discovered?
And if Columbus had never set sail, would the Earth still be flat?

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Jubes: Which goddess would that be? :-)

Personally, I refer to Terra or Earth and Terrans in Trek, but I use Earth and human in everyday usage...

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"I KNOW I'm dense..."
-a certain anonymous administrator

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Gaia and Terra are both pretentious. I cast my vote for Dirt!

--Baloo

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I'm a Dirtling and PROUD OF IT!

Posted by Cargile (Member # 45) on :

That would be the Goddess, TSN, sheesh.

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What do you mean I'm not kind. Just not you're kind.
--Dave Mustaine
"Peace Sells"
MEGADETH

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

THE Goddess.

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Ring this little golden bell
And see what changes with it's knell
Or Wonder, till it drives you mad...
What would have happened if you HAD.

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Reading this thread gives me the oddest feeling that people are talking about me, even though they aren't.

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"And though I once prefered a human being's company, they pale before the monolith that towers over me."
--
They Might Be Giants

Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :

No, we're not, Sol.

Both Terra and Gaia have special meanings for me after playing a bunch of RPGs . I like being called Terran better, but I think Gaia is a better name for Earth.

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"I have come to the conclusion that one man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three on the law become a congress! And by God I have had this Congress!"
--John Adams, "1776"

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

But which goddess is "the" goddess? *decides that it is Artemis, since he likes that name* :-)

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"I KNOW I'm dense..."
-a certain anonymous administrator

Posted by Cargile (Member # 45) on :

TSN, that's the freedom of it. You get to pick and choose the most appropiate Goddess that fits you. Or God.

Er, how 'bout Sol III instead of Terra?
hehe

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What do you mean I'm not kind. Just not you're kind.
--Dave Mustaine
"Peace Sells"
MEGADETH

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

All the Goddesses are one Goddess and all the Gods one God. Choose whatever name you feel most comfortable worshiping, and there you go. I personally just call her "Goddess" or sometimes "Mother" ... If I have to be formal, I sometimes use Luna. But The beauty of it, as Cargile expressed, is that in the Wicca tradition you can choose whatever name of whatever Goddess you want, and whatever name of whatever God you want (be it Allah, or Jesus, or Zeus) and you are still worshipping the divine life force that protects us.

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Ring this little golden bell
And see what changes with it's knell
Or Wonder, till it drives you mad...
What would have happened if you HAD.

Posted by Jaresh Inyo on :

I'm going to stick my tongue out at the next person who calls my dear planet anything but Earth.

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Josh: I think they're getting to know each other a bit too well, if you catch my drift.
Me: Oh, I agree. I think they're spending too much time together, that is of course, if you catch my drift.
Asher: I think he's *ucking her, and he's cheating on his wife, and he's risking his marriage, and if his wife finds out about it she'll leave him and take their son, and his life will be ruined. If you catch my drift...

Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :

Terra.

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Early bird catches the gagh. (The Doctor to B'Elanna at 06:00, "Drone")
www.uni-siegen.de/~ihe/bs/startrek/

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Jubee: Luna, eh? So, since Luna is the moon, and Artemis was the Greek godess of the moon, I guess I was right after all... :-)

Oh, BTW, I feel most comfortable not worshipping anything, so I guess my god would be called Nihil? ;-)

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"I prefer much more diplomatic ways of pissing people off."
-a certain anonymous administrator

Posted by The Excalibur (Member # 34) on :

There once was a series of books, I can't remember the writer, about a guy who can barley remember being taken from his home planet as a child, and spends his life looking for home. He knows the name is either Earth or Terra, but can't remember which. any time he mentions either name the aliens remark, "you come from a planet named after dirt".
The guys name was Earl Dumerest.
Terra comes from Terra Firma, doesn't it??

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The Naked Now

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

It's the other way around. "Terra" is the Latin word for Earth or earth/land/ground.

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"I prefer much more diplomatic ways of pissing people off."
-a certain anonymous administrator