Dear Editors of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC -
The map and other images of Mars in your most recent issue are stunning,
and I was entranced as I explored the red planet through these images and
the accompanying story. The article suffered from one drawback, however,
in its presentation of units of distance and other measures. Undoubtedly,
all the science and geography surrounding the images is done in metric
units, yet NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC felt compelled to present units in the
archaic customary system of feet, miles, etc. Fortunately, the map had
metric units printed on it, but only in a secondary position to feet and miles.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC is a magazine of international stature, and I feel that
you owe it to your international readers, as well as your U.S. readership,
to adopt a more progressive stance in metrication. Your current practice
allows the U.S. readership a certain laziness in proceeding with
metrication, and promotes their metric illiteracy. In the name of
education, and in the spirit of international communication, I urge you to
adopt a policy of presenting metric units (and preferably strict SI, the
international system of units) to your readers.
And keep up your standards in the fine art of cartography!
- John Tauxe, PhD, PE
Los Alamos, New Mexico
