> Charlie Bell schreef:
>
> > > Conclusion: everyone that uses imperial units becomes racist and
> > > homophobe.
> >
> > I'm neither. Still can't think in kilometres, and height in centimetres?
> > Forget it. Not a clue. Car power output in kW? Nope. Gimme good old bhp.
And
> > beer that's not in a pint glass??? No thanks.
>
> Of course being this static you still have to count money according to
that old
> and very strange Brittish system. One pound is 12 (IRC) shillings and 1
shilling
> is ... whatever? ;o)
<L> Decimalisation happened the year I was born, so I've never really had to
deal with it.
> It's all a matter of willingness to change I guess. I don't object to
different
> unit systems but it usually confuses matters unnecessary. Why have a
standard if
> no one uses it? Just because it's more convenient and easier to work in
the old
> units? No good excuse. But dinosaur units stay alive I guess as long as
the
> dinosaur professors are still around to teach them. (I'm thinking
> electrochemistry here)
It's a big difference, though, changing an entire system of currency (which
is where the Euro is struggling... how can people use it if they're still
using their old coinage for day to day transactions?) and changing the way
people measure stuff.
And it's not just willingness to change. People are very partisan, and to
your average older person, this just seems like being told what to do by
those damn Germans. <shrug>
It's fair enough trying to work towards a standard, but the problems start
when people feel you're forcing something on them. That's why, in the UK,
most places have metric in big writing, and imperial measurements underneath
in smaller writing. Give it another 15-20 years, and they won't need the
imperial measurements.
I still like pints though. Preferably full ones.
:o)
Charlie
