Dear Jason and All, I have interspersed some remarks.
on 2002-12-25 10.59, James Wentworth at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> From my experience, plumbers and carpenters in the US *really* dislike large > items measured in millimeters. That's what they said here too, before they had ever used any metric measures. In short, the Australian plumbers and carpenters were using the same conjecture but without any experience. > Millimeter-sized screws and drill bits are > fine with them, Same here. They claimed that small measures would be OK in millimetres. However, some then claimed that centimetres might be better for bolt, screw, and nail lengths. Again, Australian plumbers and carpenters were using conjecture without experience. > but not things like 2400 mm sheets of plywood. Australian architects, bricklayers, carpenters, and plumbers now happily use millimetres to measure the whole job. I have seen drawings for a house set on land that was 151�340 x 20 160 and the only reference to any measurement units was the statement in the block of information in one corner that read, "All dimensions in mm". I reckon (again from my direct experience) that it took Australian tradesmen about a month to master these kinds of large numbers. And the simple statement, "All dimensions in mm" meant that they would never have to use a fraction ever again, nor would they have to convert between units of any kind. For this sort of simplicity, they quickly learned to accept large numbers. > Tradesmen > here just don't like dealing with large numbers. Any US metrication effort > that does not have the support (or at least no opposition) from these "Joe > Sixpacks" is doomed to failure. -- Jason In 1970, I could have written that sentence referring to Australian tradesmen; they proved me wrong! Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong Australia > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: U.S. Metric Association <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 2:14 PM > Subject: [USMA:24215] Re: Megagram, shmegagram!!! > > > on 2002-12-22 00.42, James Wentworth at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > <snip> >> [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." > It >> is close enough to the inch in size that carpenters and plumbers (more of >> those "Joe Sixpacks") would more readily accept metric rulers if they had >> three unit sizes to choose from (dm, cm, and mm). Even the USMA's >> Swiss-made metric tapes are demarcated in decimeters by printing each >> decimeter in a different background color, so the decimeter must be used > at >> least somewhat in Europe. > <snip> > > My direct experiences are in direct contradiction to the suggestions that > you make in this paragraph. > > In Australia, the industries that chose to use millimetres made a smooth and > rapid conversion to metric measures, and the industries that chose to use > centimetres are still struggling with the conversion more than thirty years > later. > > No Australian industry chose decimetres for their metric conversion. > Worldwide experience has shown that decimetres have never been used > successfully during the change to metric. Their use around the world is > still quite limited. > > I have no idea why it is simpler and easier to convert to metric using > millimetres and so much more difficult using centimetres. I only know that > my experience in working with the agricultural, architectural, building, > carpentry, clothing, footwear, furniture, leather, plumbing, textiles, > timber, and welding industries tells me that this is so. > > Personally, I have no gripe with the units centimetre and decimetre. I can > slither decimal markers backwards and forwards quite readily (and I � > sometimes � assume that others can do the same) > > The fact is that the choice of units has little to do with Baby Bear's > porridge and to assume it does is simply conjecture. If you are looking for > a model of metric conversion that works, then look for it in those places > where metric conversion has been done successfully. Conjecture serves no > useful purpose here. > > If you want a smooth and rapid conversion to metric measures, I strongly > recommend that you choose millimetres for your small unit. > > Cheers, > > Pat Naughtin LCAMS > Geelong, Australia >
