|
It is odd that Americans have accepted feet and inches but
not stone and pounds. If one were to state their height in decimal yards,
decimal feet or inches only, no one would understand. If someone were to
state their weight in stones and pounds, no one would understand.
We seem to understand our English system per application,
not in general. How many Americans would comprehend gasoline sold by the
pint or quart? How many butchers would understand a request in fractional
pounds or pounds and ounces? The butcher's at the local farmer's
market become confused if I throw them a curve and ask for xx ounces
instead of quarter pound increments.
Think of an application using a specific unit and then use
a perfectly valid alternate English unit and see if the person understands or
requests you to use the standard unit for that application. We don't seem
to be able to convert between units with ease.
I can't see this happening in the metric system. If
someone says their height is 1.8 m but the person hearing prefers centimetres,
they aren't at a loss when metres are used. Can anyone think of an example
from the SI where one prefix is the standard, but a person would be lost and
confused if another prefix is used?
Dan
----- Original Message -----
|
