They should have just gone with it, and said the people have spoken. It would have been good for morale, because everyone would have a smile on their face every time they said the name in a British accent.
I disagree. I think it's fine to disregard juvenile name suggestions, and the supposed disappointment in the Internet will be forgotten in a couple of days.
"Juvenile", oh please. There's miles of difference between juvenile and irreverent. Keep in mind that a multi-million dollar reusable rocket stage just landed on a ship named "Of Course I Still Love You". "Boaty McBoatface" isn't such a bad name, but the rejection of the name is indicative of a very substantial cultural divide.
It was a fun suggestion but going with it would have reminded me of the world exemplified by the movie Idiocracy. We are heading in that direction with the likes of adult colouring books, but I think it's a good sign that there is still some form of resistance.
Just my observation that adults are regressing into child like behaviour as each generation takes over. Less people taking responsibility for themselves, more people hiding from the world through escapism and a general irreverence for history and tradition. I might be wrong but it keeps bubbling up.
You're not alone; I definitely see this pattern and it's quite frightening. It's not just juvenile, which has existed for a while, it's infantile. And that's new and it's worrisome.
What would you like to happen? That people stop doing things they feel enjoyable in order to achieve a requisite level of gravitas that would satisfy your aesthetic sense about how society should present itself?
No matter how dumb of a name it's given, it will be responsible for cutting edge research. Trying to keep some levity is not at all incompatible with accomplishing real serious science. Bill Nye's the Science Guy (the show) is practically a slapstick variety show, but it's also responsible for making science accessible to countless children.
Adult coloring books range from valuable therapeutic outlets to merely pleasant creative expression, and comparing it to the literal downfall of society due to lack of intelligence is a stretch at best.
