> someone was trying to make a name for themselves

100%

Scientists try to coin new terms all the time. It’s great for the researcher if people actually use it. But why do that when you can just sign your name on a term everyone already uses?

Redefining “planet,” from the 9 culturally accepted symbols into something else, was a swindle. “Things that clear their orbits” could have been TTCTOs. It happens all the time, coining precise terms for things. Why should this one have been any different? The public was right to push back and to protect their mythology.