>While #1 is certainly true and is a very important advantage of metric, >it is NOT THE ONLY simplification that the metric system provides. The >other simplification is one appreciated more by scientists, but is >significantly more important. > >That other advantage is the one usually identified as coherence. ...
It is worth mentioning that as well as the powers of 10 and coherence, there is one other advantage of the metric system, and that is consistency. Once you learn about millimeters, centimeters, meters, kilometers etc, you haven't just mastered distance, you can apply what you've learned to mass (grams), capacity (liters) etc. With the Imperial (or Colonial) systems, learning that 12 inches makes one foot, and three feet make one yard leaves you totally unprepared for 16 ounces in 1 pound and 14 pounds in one stone, or 20 fluid ounces in a pint (Imperial that is, for Colonial it's 16) and eight pints to a gallon etc. It may seem obvious to those of us that are metric literate, but when putting forward advantages to those who aren't, it shouldn't be forgotten. I would suggest this consistency would be more immediately relevent to the average punter than coherence is, although as a scientist I can certainly appreciate the latter. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Wade | EMail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EuroKom | X400: g=tom;s=wade;o=eurokom;p=eurokom; Unit A2 | a=eirmail400;c=ie Nutgrove Office Park | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696 Rathfarnham | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697 Dublin 14 | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer Ireland | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !"
