I'll try to give this individual a break since he's just a young ignorant idiot, but I just had to react to this nonsense! (Anyone would be welcome to post my response to this guy...)
On Sun, 30 Dec 2001 16:59:57 Han Maenen wrote: ... >Philip Moore ( - 131.111.237.176) on Sunday, May 14, 2000 - 01:30 pm: >As a 20 year old science student at Cambridge University I have been exposed >to "metrication culture" all my life. Wrong, wrong, W-R-O-N-G, sir! There is no such a thing as 'metrication culture', p-e-r-i-o-d! The SI system is a **scientific tool** to allow societies to conduct measurements, a purely technical exercise! So much so that this is *taught* in schools in classes in science subjects, NOT ***ARTS***, by the way! (Just a parenthesis here that should not be part of my response addressed to our forum here that I am SICK AND TIRED of this boloney talk! Alas...) > We are not taught Imperial Measures >anymore, and this is a crying shame. ? Why would that be a shame, when NO COUNTRY ON EARTH calibrates and measures their measuring instruments and devices by them (not even the US, by the way, so much so that such measures only exist as referenced to metric parameters!)??? Please answer me that, sir! > I for one taught myself Imperial >measures >and used them to pass my Physics A-Level! ? I find this rather strange, do you mean that exams in Great Britain are all stated in obsolete units? I rather doubt that... >The Imperial System is more practical because its units were developed from >use, rather than by Committee. Dead wrong, sir! I'd strongly suggest that you go back to history class and reread the real story behind this "system". You will find that such units were "developed" by individuals who had absolutely no clue about how to do metrology, when science was even still anathema. AND, to top it all up, devised and enforced by some obscure anglo-saxon king that noone seems to remember (rest in peace...). It requires greater numeracy than Metric, but >this is a skill to be encouraged! ? I beg your pardon? Why would I waste my precious time in exercises of futility? I have better things to do in my life than to torture myself with such useless elocubrations. Time is precious and IS money, sir. Despite the advent of computers and technologies that make such tasks more user-friendly and less time consuming, the *bottle neck* would still exist: *us*! And labor costs are huge, sir! (Just food for your thought!...) > It is part of our culture and history and >should not be replaced by a soulless alternative. ? Yes for the second, but no for the first. I'd strongly suggest you revisit the definition of culture in your standard dictionary. You'll find that the issue of "customs", for instance, is not meant to include these, as a closer investigation of the meaning of that term would demonstrate. As for SI (metric) being "soulless" well... Science is not in the business of having a "soul", sir, but in the business of studying and understanding the reality around us. And doing it in the most effective and efficient way 'cause people have better things to do in life, you know... >I don't suggest we outlaw Metric - that would make me as bad as the EU - but >let those of us who want to do so use Imperial! >... Good grief! Thank you... However, it's the business of ANY government ANYWHERE in the world to *dictate* what system of units should be used in trade and economics and science, and on that score it's unfortunate (for you, I guess) that metric happens to have been the choice by nearly all civilized nations... Have a nice day (really!). :-) Marcus Is your boss reading your email? ....Probably Keep your messages private by using Lycos Mail. Sign up today at http://mail.lycos.com
