On 2010/03/27, at 06:08 , Martin Vlietstra wrote:
Most maps will be in metric (I don’t know about the US though), so
the mountaineers will use metric units. Of course the press will
dumb it down for the benefit of their readers, but that does not
means that the mountaineers themselves use feet.
Dear Martin,
You say for the benefit of their readers but I would disagree. The
conversion from metric units to some form of the old pre-metric
measures arrives at a cost to the readers. The media do not specify
which of the old pre-metric measures they are using so they as they
almost always fail to note which conversion factors they have used.
But a worse point is that the media with their fun and games with
conversions give the illusion that using old measures is somehow
morally right. Bishop John Wilkins would roll in his grave at St.
Lawrence Jewry in London if he knew that his 'universal measure' was
still being used to support these old, complex, obscure, secret, and
territorial measures.
As you know the UK has only two legally defined old measures left and
these are both strictly defined as metric measures (the pint is 568
millilitres and the mile is 1609.344 metres) but these are enough
moral support for you sports reporters to say and to write 'It missed
by two feet'. It obviously doesn't take much to warp an entire culture.
Cheers,
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
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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]
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