Dear Richard,
I am impressed. You were able in your presentation at http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8322000/8322629.stm
to almost avoid the use of measurements altogether. Your exaggerated
arm waving probably keeps you fit! Your only exception was your use of
'half inch' when you referred to the human jaw.
This poses two questions:
Do you also protect all of your students from measurements on a
routine basis?
Do you always encourage the exclusive use in palaeontology of only
referring to old pre-metric measuring words as you do here?
Maybe the article, 'Don't use metric' ( at http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/DontUseMetric.pdf
) will help you with your struggle against the post-1668 modernity
of the metric system (see Who invented the English metric system in
1668? at http://www.metricationmatters.com/who-invented-the-metric-system.html
)
Cheers and thanks for the story – it puts the size of our Australian
sharks to shame – see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/shark-bites-shark-in-half_n_335346.html
where you will be happy to note that the BBC has already dumbed down
the metric units for you when (in their text) they describe the six
metre shark as 20 feet.
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
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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