Pat, I think he was obligated to do so for American readers, most of whom probably don't know the calorie-kilocalorie distinction, and, I would wager, the vast majority of whom do not know what a joule is. On a first hearing, they might think it is something like a diamond.
U.S. public education in SI is still sorely lacking. I recall that I didn't encounter the joule until I began studying chemistry or physics in high school. It would have been great if the NYT decided to lead the way, and simply presented SI units only, requiring its readers to do what my father always told me to do: "look it up." Or, better, "Look it up; you are part of the world." I still treasure my can of Coca Cola from Canberra that lists the nutritional details in kilojoules. Oh, well, it was Cola Cola Zero---NO kilojoules at all (grin). Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: Pat Naughtin To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: 24 February, 2010 02:00 Subject: [USMA:46748] NY Times and kilojoules Dear All, It is only a small mention in the first paragraph of the Notes but the editor at the NY Times actually felt that they had to explain the meaning when they used kilojoules. Here is the paragraph: The term “calorie” sometimes causes confusion. Most people, when referring to the energy content of food, use “calorie” instead of “kilocalorie” — which is the actual unit that food energy is measured in. When I refer to 30 calories, I am following this convention and therefore technically mean 30 kilocalories. For metric system users, that’s about 125 kilojoules. To see this in context go to http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this where you might be concerned about the ideas in the article. Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com for more metrication information, contact Pat at pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
