As you say, Pat N. in Australia, there's somebody dumbing down our books, and this time, he gives his name!!
Quoting Bruce Raup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > > Hi All, > > > > I was sent a proof copy of Tim Flannery's new book on global warming > entitled "The Weather Makers", and noticed that all the numbers in it > appeared to have been translated from metric originals to non-metric units. > I wrote to the American publisher, and they confirmed that they have > different editions for different markets, and that they translated all the > units for the American version. Here's what he wrote: > > Dear Bruce, > > My name is Brando Skyhorse and I worked with Tim Flannery on The Weather > Makers. Thanks for writing in. > > I understand why you'd be interested in a metric version of the book, > however > no such edition exists in the United States. While metrics is certainly > the > language of science, we also wanted this book to appeal to as large a > group > of readers as possible. We felt that metrics would be confusing for a > great > many readers, so we decided to covert to Imperial measurements for our > edition. The Australian, Canadian and British versions of the book (all > readily available through their respective Amazon sites) use metrics so > I'd > invite you to order one of these editions. > > Thanks again for your email. Hope you enjoyed the book. > > All my best, > > B. > > > My response: > > Dear Brando, > > Thanks for the confirmation that there are different editions for > different > countries. I will pursue getting the book through Amazon.ca. > > I understand the importance of a book like this reaching as many people as > possible, but it would be nice if Americans had an easy and obvious > *option* > of getting books with proper units. When I read phrases like "... a > temperature rise of 9 degF to 18 degF ...", it makes me feel like I'm > trying > to read Braille with winter mittens on. I know the original was 5 degC to > 10 > degC, but there's a veil of medieval cobwebs over the clarity and logic of > the original numbers. I'm forced to reconstruct the original numbers at > every turn, which is highly distracting when trying to understand Tim > Flannery's points. This sort of publication policy only perpetuates the > confused state of the U.S. measurement non-system that isolates us from > the > rest of the world. > > That said, with pencil in hand for frequent marginalia, I am enjoying the > book. > > Best regards, Bruce > > I just thought I'd point out the option of getting books with proper units > through Amazon.ca, something that wasn't so obvious to me. > > Cheers, > Bruce Raup > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. Editor, "Metric Today" U.S. Metric Association, Inc. www.metric.org 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 Midland TX 79707-2872 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] "There are two cardinal sins, from which all the others spring: impatience and laziness." ---Franz Kafka
