RHEA TANNENBAUM schrieb:
> Okay, this continent vs. island discussion has gone far enough <G>.
>
> Continents and islands are not mutually exclusive. (All squares are
> rectangles, but not all rectangles are square.) Australia meets the
> definition of an island in that it is surrounded by water. It also meets the
> definition of a continent because it is a distinct land mass situated on a
> continental plate.
>
>I agree with the first ideas, but a scientific definition of continents should
not contain ex negativo parts, should enumerate other terms of the same (!)
level and make clear the differences. "A continent sits on a continental plate"
does not make things clearer, because it is a circulus vitiosus definition. As
you say, some of our conventions on "continents" do not even fit to this
continentel shelf theory. As I said earlier in this discussion, I fear that a
continent is mere a symbolic term based in Greek and Roman history.

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