I don't think that there are many in the Australian community who have much understanding of the symbol SI.
Personally, whenever I feel that SI is the best term to use, I spell out the either English translation at the first mention or sometimes the English translation and the original French, and then use SI through the remainder of the document.
It depends on my perception of my audience. If I feel that it will help readers to understand my writing, I sometimes use 'The International System of Units (SI) – the modern metric system' at the first mention, and then use the symbol SI.
To use the _expression_ 'the metric system' on its own has a number of problems, not least of which is the range of 'metric systems' available to us from history. When we say 'metric system' we might be referring to the original decimal metric system (circa 1795), the cgs metric system (circa 1863), the mks metric system (circa 1875), the Giorgi metric system (1901), the mksA metric system (1948/1950), or the Système International d'Unités SI (1960).
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin LCAMS
Geelong, Australia
on 2003/06/08 04.43, Paul Trusten, R.Ph. at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
For just about as long as I've been following this list, I have had a German pen pal in Berlin. Last week, I sent her something I had written,
and it was peppered with the acronym "SI". She, a music teacher and a lifelong European, wrote back to me asking what "SI" stood for, and of course,I replied with an explanation
She is only one person, but it got me to thinking---is the acronym familiar to most people who use that measurement system?
Paul Trusten, R.Ph.
3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122
Midland TX 79707-2872 USA
432-694-6208
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"There are two cardinal sins, from
which all the others spring: impatience
and laziness."
---Franz Kafka
