On 2004 Sep 16, at 11:29, m. f. moon wrote:
But if you think degrees are bad try thinking in radians!
Marion Moon
------ Original Message ------ Received: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 11:09:37 AM PDT From: John Nichols <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [USMA:31112] Metric
From another site - thought I would share it.
They may have been a pain if you wanted to add them up or divide them by
ten, but imperial units were generally based on some natural unit of
measurement
Sure, but that was absolutely no use when you actually needed to use them.
What use is knowing that the unit was the length of the king's foot when
you actually needed to measure something? Once you were out of the middle
ages, no use at all. Same goes for all the volume and area measurements;
they are a farago of arbitrarily related bits and pieces. And there's
nothing instinctive about them; I've got as good a feel for a metre or a
kilo as I have for a foot or a pound.
And have you ever tried to do business in Imperial? Tons, quarters,
hundredweights (112 pounds of course, not 100, that would be too easy) and
pounds. And, God help me, ounces... I have. It's a total mess.
And nobody bring up the famous divisibility of Imperial units. In practice
metric units are much easier to handle in mental arithmetic, because they
work just like numbers, not some weird clunky accumulations of 12 and 16
and 112 and 4840.
The horror, the horror...
The metric units are simple, easy to handle by moving decimal points. They
were one of the best innovations of recent history; in it, we have a lot
for which to thank the French revolution.
As for 360 degrees yes; they are anomalous and a nuisance, but most people
don't need to think about them. Professionals can handle them; at least
they're better than the confusing and complicated points of the compass.
John Nichols Assistant Professor Texas A&M University, Department of Construction Science Langford AC Rm: A414 MD 3137, College Station, TX 77843-3137
Nihil tam absurdum, qhod non dictum sit ab aliquo There is nothing so absurd as not to have been said by a philosopher -------Cicero
Electronic mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Telephone: 979 845 6541 Facsimile: 979 862 1572 Web site : http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/nichols/
-- Scott Hudnall San Francisco, CA USA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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