2001-06-16
I didn't write this. It came from http://www.metric4us.com/. You might
want to send the author your comments.
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrt�mlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
are free!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph B. Reid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, 2001-06-16 09:03
Subject: [USMA:13800] Re: Let's have a look what supporters of the English
Imperial system have to say and why it's all nonsense:
I congratulate Kilopascal for his thorough refutation in USMA 13786 of many
of the myths producewd by opponents of the metric system. Here are a few
comments.
Burma authorized the use of the metric system in 1920 (just as the USA did
in 1865). Travellers to Burma and Liberia have the impression that they
are metric, or changing to metric. I prefer to say "the rest of the world
is metric". If anyone objects, press them to prove their statement.
I consider the prime reason to go metric is that the rest of world is
metric. American export trade would be helped if American goods were
metric. Secondarily, going metric would save America a lot of unnecessary
arithmetic, and would allow many calculations to be done that are now too
complicated to be attempted in inch-pound.
Another killer-question is "What are the various imperial electric and
magnetic units?"
I believe the Mayans used base-20 arithmetic and that Babylonians used 60
as their base. Anyway, it is from the Babylonians that we got degrees,
minutes, and seconds. Adopting a meaurement system based on 8, or 12, or
16 would be theoretically better than our decimal metric system, but would
be practically advantagous only if all numerical records in the last
several thousand years were converted to the new base at the same time. I
shudder at the thought and would never propose it.
Kilopascal mentions that the US military as the strongest in the world. It
is thoroughly metric because it wants to be able to operate efficiently
with its NATO allies, and there is no way that they are going to use
imperial. Also, maps made in other countries are made to metric scales.
>The U.S. have a so-called representative democracy. Decisions are not made
>by the people, but by representatives elected by the people. These
>representatives then make laws, decide if to engage in war with other
>countries, or if to update weights and measures. If you wanted a public
>ballot on the metric system, you would have to question how democracy works
>in the U.S. in general, and that is a whole different topic.
Quite right! I believe that social scientists distinguish between
delegates and representatives. A delegate votes the way his constituents
want him to. A representative votes for what in his judgement would be
best for his constituents. I don't know of any country that has gone
metric as the result of a referendum.
>Since the size of a degree Fahrenheit is smaller that that of a degree
>Celsius, Fahrenheit is more accurate!
On most Fahrenheit thermometers there is a graduation every 2 degrees,
while on a Celsius thermometer there is a graduation every 1 �C = 1.8 �F.
Therefore the Celsius thermometer by that argument is the more accurate.
>The fractional scale of the English system uses a binary subdivision scale
>(1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64). This is what computers use, too!
In 1940 I was sent to work at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. Although
they still used feet and inches, binary fractions of an inch were
forbidden. 1-1/8" had to be written as 1.125", and so on.
Regarding Napoleon Kilopascal wrote " But after the French got sick of him
and banned him to Saint Helena,". It was not the French. They were not
asked. It was the British and the Prussians who banished Napoleon..
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
