-----Original Message----- From: han_maenen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, 2000-10-17 18:00 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: to y'all [Yahoo! Clubs: Metric America] Marcus Berger is an aeronautical engineer who lives in Canada. As such, he has had more than ample experience with 'standard units'. His comments show what he thinks of ifp! Just read them! JAKE: when I said it's more efficient than metric in a lot of ways i meant exactly that. How is it efficient? Well the metric system is based on number 10, which leaves a very limited way of calculations since it can be divided by only a few numbers - 1,2,5 and 10 without giving a decimal/fraction result. Half of 10 is 5. Beyond that the wonderful metric system gets messy. Half of 5 is 2.5, half of that is 1.25 and so on. MARCUS: First of all, we do not consider "fractions" like 1.25 and other "half" submultiples to be messy at all. When one deals with measuring devices, provided their resolution allows you to "read" such numbers, these values can simply and easily be read therein just like any other amount. This is only limited by the resolution of the instrument in use (and on that score metric tapes are superior to their ifp counterparts as their resolution is 1 mm, as opposed to the overwhelming majority of the equivalent ifp tapes, whose resolution is 1/16 at best!). MARCUS: Second of all, *one* of the real sources of the problem is the fact that *EVEN* the ifp "system" is operated in the decimal system (yes, that's right, one does not write like 3.B ft in - as opposed to 3 ft 11 in, I'm borrowing how the hexadecimal system would define the number eleven here). Therefore your point below is actually irrelevant! MARCUS: One other aspect that is important to show is that the ifp system is actually inefficient because it *ALWAYS* requires the presence of dual units (at a minimum!), for example, ft AND in (only in very rare occasions one would see one or the other), which forces people to convert from one to the other all the time! JAKE: 12 (base for a foot) is better. It can be divided neatly by 1,2,3,4,6 and 12. MARCUS: And where is the advantage of this, especially considering that ifp measuring tapes *ONLY* come in factors of 2?!!! Unless one "compartimentalizes" operations there is really no advantage in this. MARCUS: And BTW this is another real problem with the ifp "system", it requires applications to be *compartimentalized/discrete* for it to *work* with any degree of "efficiency", otherwise, its cumbersome nature becomes extremely apparent. This rigidity of the ifp system is a very serious detriment to its usage. Unlike ifp, the SI system falls under the category of a "continuum" system. There are no requirements for compartimentalization for it to work! However, if such "module" approach is required the SI system would work just as well (example, just choose modules of 1200 mm, or similar!!! There is your divisibility by all factors of 12!...). It can be mathematically proven that continuum systems can be "discretized", but *NOT* the other way around!!! JAKE: Number 16 found as a base in weight & volume is also mighty divisible. Prime factors are 1,2,4,8 and 16. 16 divided by 2 is 8, that in half is 4 and so on. Nice an' neat. MARCUS: "Prime factors"??? 4, 8, 16 are not prime numbers, sir!!! (REM by HAN: Prime numbers cannot be taken apart, like 3, 5, 7, 11 etc. 8 can be taken apart as 2*4, or 16 = 2*8 or 4*4, etc.). MARCUS: And again, people are being "held hostage" to this fallacy of divisibility, not realizing that our world operates in a **continuum**! It can be statistically proven that one sees much more often than not *very unfriendly* sizes out there, except when you *force* them to be round rational values by compartimentalization, in which case one limits oneself tremendously in scope! JAKE: This gives us ADVANTAGES OF MANIPULATION while using the standard units since when we work with amounts or measurements we often have to manipulate in terms of HALVES QUARTERS and THIRDS no matter what we do (carpentry, building industry, pack�han_maenen --------------------------------------------- DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE BY EMAIL! --------------------------------------------- You have chosen to receive messages from "Metric America" by email. Reply to this message: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/metricamerica/bbsfrp?action=r&tid=metricamerica &sid=12177109&mid=835 Unsubscribe from the Club mailing list: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/metricamerica/config/change_mb_list Return to "Metric America": http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/metricamerica ---------------------------------------------- Not a member? Remove yourself from this list: http://edit.clubs.yahoo.com/config/unsubscribe_mb_list?.userID=millitesla&.g roupID=metricamerica&.groupType=&.code=kqkKEmys7C
