Three Silly Reasons for Not Adopting the Metric System
- 1. The Imperial system is based on natural proportions of the human body (1 yard=length from nose to fingertip, etc.), making it a more natural system for humans to use.
- 2. The motivation for the metric system is that base-10 calculations are easier than the various groupings of 3, 12, 16, etc. found in the Imperial system. However, since we can now do our calculations by computer, this argument goes away.
- 3. The Fahrenheit scale makes a finer set of divisions than the Celsius scale; to get the same level of precision in the Celsius scale, you have to use a decimal point.
- 4. Who does the government think it is, telling me what system of measurements I have to use?
- Standardizing weights and measures is an entirely proper role of government, and the framers of the U.S. Constitution specifically gave Congress this authority. Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution reads in part:
- Congress shall have the power ... [to] fix the standard of weights and measures[.]
- If it chose, Congress could require the use of the metric system and make an outright ban on the use of the Imperial system. Instead, it has permitted the continued use of the Imperial system, asking individuals and businesses to voluntarily switch to the metric system.
He should have stopped at three reasons, while he knew what he was talking about -- having the government force metrication is wrong in every way:
Reading just the one sentence in the Constitution and ignoring a couple hundred years of case law also leads to a wrong conclusion, that being that Congress can willy-nilly set or change weights and measures.
We've been over this before, so I'm not going to repeat the various analysis I've posted at least half a dozen times on this forum. Suffice it to say that even if metrication statists could convince Congress to pass legislation mandating metrication in the private sector, and the President to sign it, it would in all likelihood be tossed out by the courts (see USSCt, Rubin v. Coors Brewing Company, 1995).
Jim Elwell
Electrical Engineer
Industrial manufacturing manager
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
www.qsicorp.com
