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I GREATLY enjoyed reading William Neil's
humourous letter "A system built on the human form" putting the case
for the imperial system of measurement.
It made a change from the usual anti-European
argument and provided a splendid example of how numbers can be
manipulated to support almost any cause.
Of course, many of the quoted "facts" that
underpin Mr Neil's assertions are spurious, and can be argued
against.
The idea that the average man is six feet tall
may be valid from the late 20th century onwards, but was by no means
correct in times past when this arcane number system so much beloved
were evolving.
And how does Mr Neil get 12" from top of head to
centre of chest?
Perhaps he is challenged in the neck department
but makes up for length in his legs. Isn't 666 the mark of the
devil!
Wait a moment, am I on to something here? Measure
from the tip of his horns to the end of his beard, and I think
you'll find it's a yard!
On a more serious note, it often puzzles me why
any person under the age of, say, 40, would describe their height in
feet and inches when they have not been taught the use of anything
but metric measurement in school.
Perhaps parents have more influence than they
like to think.
What's so much harder about saying: "I am 1.85
metres" than saying "I am six feet one inch"?
It's a question of getting used to it, that's
all. Just as when the country implemented the decimal system for
currency, it takes a while for us to become accustomed to the sound
of it. But then it's done and we can all move on.
Mr Neil mentions the imperial ounce in passing,
but I cannot imagine why anyone would want to have to remember there
are 16 ounces in a pound, and 14 pounds in a stone etc etc.
At the end of the day, it's just so much easier
to go metric than to try to remember all these tiresome units of
measure. There's a whole world of things to discover out there.
Life's too short!
One fact that seems to escape all the anti-metric
campaigners is that even they were taught at school to count in
units of 10. Remember units, tens, hundreds and thousands?
Our number system uses base 10.
Last time I looked, I had 10 fingers and 10
toes.
The sooner we get rid of the imperial system, the
better!
One last point that shone out for me from William
Neil's letter; no matter what number system we have, a good teacher
will always make a lasting impression.
ALASTAIR MUIRHEAD
Morecambe Avenue
Caversham | 