I've fixed it this time. The web references work now! Sorry for the
inconvenience.
On 2008/06/14, at 5:08 PM, Martin Vlietstra wrote:
Hi Howard,
A very good article, but may I take you up on one point - John
Wilkins, one
of the founder members and first secretary of The Royal Society and
sometime
Bishop of Chester actually proposed a "metric system" in his book
"An Essay
Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language" in 1668 - two
years
before Gabriel Mouton.
If we can publicise Wilkins' work, then we might be able to dispel
the myth
that the metric system is French.
Dear Martin, Howard and All,
You can find details of John Wilkins work at http://www.metricationmatters.com/articles
and I suggest that you begin with the 'Commentary on John Wilkins'
'Of Measure''. It's the third Wilkins entry and, on my screen, you
have to scroll down a little to see it.
On the issue of 'foreign-ness' for readers in the USA, I suggest that
you download the 'Metrication timeline' also from http://www.metricationmatters.com/articles
and search this for the names, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
and George Washington, all of whom played a significant part in the
development of the 'decimal metric system'.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/
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