At there is ONE more like me - who had NO education literally and have grown to be an autodidact! Your suggestions, although intelligent, I doubt SI workable.
I have grown simple and like ground simplicity. My basic theme is METRICATION, *Time, Arc-angle and Calendar - to be on ONE axis*. Any purposeful solution lies on this.
What is the term, 'Shamegagram'? Has it anything to do with...Shame!?
Brij
From: "James R. Frysinger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [USMA:24138] Re: Megagram, shmegagram!!!
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 09:41:45 -0500
James Wentworth wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
> I feel strongly compelled to comment on the many recent posts concerning
> unit names (megagram vs. metric ton vs. tonne, "What shall we re-name the
> kilogram?," "Are the hectare and liter SI-kosher?", etc.).
>
> As far as I can tell, I am the only one on this list who is *not* a
> highly-educated professional. I currently work as a parking lot attendant,
> my schooling ended after two years of college, and my real education has
> been "the school of hard knocks." My socio-economic status gives me a more
> realistic perspective on what will work and what won't work to expedite US
> metrication since I am, for practical purposes, a "Joe Sixpack." Here are
> six observations:
>
> [1] Using the megagram (and its symbol Mg) instead of the metric ton or
> tonne is a *very* bad idea....
Excellent point on the propensity of neophytes to the use of the metric
system to confuse things. Proof in point, my liberal arts college
students sometimes confuse milli and micro and occasionally mega
prefixes.
> [2] Re-name the kilogram? Forget it!....
Judging from the rate at which the CGPM is willing to make changes
(they favor reluctance over rashness), my personal guess is that it
would take over 10 years to get them to change the name of the kilogram,
and more likely it would be forty of fifty years. I don't want to wait
that long to see the U.S. go metric.
> [3] Trying to retire the hectare and liter would be very foolish.....
Your points on this are excellent! This is meant to be a useful system,
albeit one with a rigorous theoretical basis. But, rigor aside, it must
be useful to the public.
> [4] The decimeter should be included in any program to popularize the
> metric system in America. The most common complaint I've heard and read
> from tradesmen is that "the meter is too big and the centimeter is too
> small." Like Baby Bear's porridge, the decimeter would be "just right."....
I disagree here only to the extent that I think the analogs will be
felt to be cm:in, dm:ft, m:yd. The decimeter is too large to be
considered the replacement for the inch, in my view. And my students are
more likely to confuse inches with centimeters than with decimeters when
they must use dual labeled meter sticks or tapes.
> [5] If you were to ask 100 randomly-chosen Americans about the metric
> system, all of them would say they've heard of it, and many of them would
> even be familiar with the commonly-used units. However, I doubt if even 5
> of the 100 would have heard of SI....
True enough! In public, it should be "the metric system" first and
foremost, then *perhaps* and parenthetically "the SI". In legal
documents, the introduction should always define "the metric system" as
used within as meaning "the SI". That's essential for legal and
technical reasons and since darned few Americans read legal documents,
it won't get in their way.
> [6] For weather reporting in the US, the hectopascal should be used as a
> 1:1 "drop-in" replacement for the millibar. The millibar is so seldom used
> here for public weather reports that there would be no familiarity issue
> with replacing it.
Yep!
> The perfect is often the enemy of the adequate.....
Thanks for this breath of common sense, Jason! This is one of the most
intelligent posting I've seen here for weeks. Some people get college
degrees and some get an education. Relatively few get both, a wag might
say.
Jim
--
Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!"
James R. Frysinger, LCAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/
10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Charleston, SC 29407 phone: 843.225.6789
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