You're digging your own grave, mate.
I maybe pro-choice with a pro-imperial leaning but at least I recognise that
you are not representative of real pro-metric people and those interested in
promoting metric.
The question is, how many other people are like me, except they see you as
-in fact- a spokesman for the pro-metric side?
Every group has it's fanatics, its extemists, its fundamentalists, - but why
do you have to single-handedly reinvent yourself with a new email address
each time you get banned by groups such as this and proper, decent, truthful
and trustworthy pro-metrics get tarred with the same paintbrush as you?
I'm sorry but people like myself enjoy arguing with ordinary pro-mets but
then you come along and use insults and fantasy to "progress" the argument -
and it just falls apart.
Despite holding my own views that are consistant and IMHO realistic I've
also learned a lot from pro-mets, believe it or not. But fortunately I can
recognise that what the pro-mets say is interesting, informative and
sometimes IMHO wrong(!) what you say is completely off the scale, inhuman,
fantasist and down-right stupid.
Being British, that'll be my two-pence-worth (rather than those cents (US
not EURO!)
SteveH
From: "Daniel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:34729] Re: Dr. Barber
Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2005 14:51:57 -0400
How many decades has the supporters of metric been trying to convince
people that metric is the better system? And how many people have been
"convinced" of it? The more you mollycoddle the lest likely you are going
to convince anyone. Yes, you may hurt feelings when you call someone
stupid, but sooner or later they will come to realize it is true. For
every one person you may convince, there are 10 more that will ignore you.
People have to be made aware there is a cost to not metricating and the
cost is something they will have to endure. There is a reason metric is
the language of science and progressive industries. Real smart people
think and work in metric. Because someone is a teacher doesn't mean they
are brainy. There are allot of ignorant teachers.
Jim Elwell pointed out that industry is converting even if it is hidden
from public view. People who run successful businesses have to be smart to
survive and if metrication increases their chances of survival, they do it
because it is the smart thing to do. They don't worry if the man at the
bottom doesn't like metric. He can always go elsewhere if he doesn't like
the choice made for him.
You are not going to convince certain people by kissing their back-sides.
Kicking them, yes, but kissing them, no!
Dan
----- Original Message ----- From: "Philip S Hall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, 2005-10-02 11:40
Subject: [USMA:34727] Re: Dr. Barber
I didn't see any responses to your comment. Somehow Pierre, I think your
explanation went over the heads of the others who post there. Too much
math. The non-metric users can't do math. It is part of being trained
in imperial, that one is to be both bad at math and to hate it equally
well.
I don't know about the US but I'd lay money on it that there are plenty of
examples of mathematically competent people using non-metric measures.
I've heard mathematics teachers in the UK talk in imperial in everyday
life even though they teach metric in the classroom.
We won't win people over to metric by acusing them of being thick for not
using it. It may be true in some cases that they lack the necessary
insight to understand the advantages of it. In such cases we have to
enlighten them. In other cases they may reject it for more emotional
reasons probably tied up with political beliefs. It may just be a
superficial tendency caused by social pressure (which I think accounts for
most cases).
At any rate we have to treat each case on merit and not assume too much
until we know them better or can discern their attitude from what they say
about it specifically. The important thing is to maintain a stance that
metric is better for purely practical reasons and not to let it get mixed
up with other issues.
Phil Hall
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/116 - Release Date: 2005-09-30
