ENTS, I agree with Will. It's hard to believe metric hasn't been adopted in the United States yet. I'm 30 years old, so metric is all I've ever known... But I find that many people in Canada who are a generation older will still cling to the old English system at times, which makes it difficult for people my age. I know it's particularly widespread in non-scientific areas like carpentry, for example. And you still see food measured in lbs in grocery stores, although values in Kg are usually given as well. Ed makes a good point about having a unit around the particular scale of a foot. What about the decimeter? It seems to just never have caught on for some reason. I think it would make a nice convenient unit for that scale.
It all comes down to how children are exposed to the metric system as they grow up. If they learn to estimate various quantities with it, and their peers do the same, then its going to feel completely natural for them. I've been giving values in both systems for all my posts on here. I measure in metric and then make the conversions when I post because I assume that most ENTS are probably most comfortable with the old English system. I've actually developed the ability to look at a tree trunk and estimate a CBH value in cm. So, for instance, if I happen to be looking for white pines or red oaks I can glance at the tree and be able to tell immediately if it's over 300 cm, which in my books is grounds for documentation. Mike On Aug 18, 8:54 pm, "Edward Frank" <[email protected]> wrote: > Will, > > The system works fine overall, but there are some limitations. One is the > description of relatively small things. A foot is a convenient size for > small things. A foot is easier to visualize than 031 meters or 31 cm. It is > good for approximations. Similarly a gallon is a useful unit, as is a cubic > foot. I like the metric system, but it would be better if it had a unit in > the metric system that was of a scale similar to the foot or gallon. > > Ed > > "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. > It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Will Blozan > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 7:21 PM > Subject: [ENTS] Re: Red Oak in Halifax > > Barry, > > What’s not to like about the metric system? It is far superior to the crazy > base-12 English system and is also virtually universal world-wide. We > Americans are holding on to an archaic system that makes global communication > ever more difficult. As a nation we should switch over and be done with it. > My two-cents from a base-10 monetary system. Imagine counting pennies in > twelves… > > Will --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
