Hi Pat,
I am not sure that I can agree with you regarding some of the systems quoted a number of those listed are built up using a number of base units and are defined in such a way that they obey the laws of mechanics. They have not been fully expanded they various units of measure do not have names unless they are based on some physical concept. Unlike the imperial/customary collection of units, they have been designed with certain principals in mind and the rationale behind their basis makes interesting reading as well as providing an insight into SI. May I suggest that those who are interested visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_of_measurement. _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pat Naughtin Sent: 08 May 2010 01:11 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47332] RE: Meter in UK conversation Dear Stephen, You may have noticed that I do not get involved with debates and discussions about the relative values of the metric system compared to all of the older so-called 'systems'. Nor do I respond to statements like, 'I heard a polish farmer use the word, furlong, forty years ago'. I don't respond to these discussions at all but when tempted I think of an old saying that I learned from my grandmother about mud wrestling with a pig: 'You both finish up covered in mud, but the pig enjoys it.' My view is that supporters of the metric system are ultimately seeking honesty in measurement, whereas supporters of earlier collections of measuring words (which they often erroneously call 'systems') are supporting dishonesty in measurement. To be fair, however, such folk are not always deliberately doing this; their motivation might be purely innocent but it has the same effect of supporting the dishonest dealers who use old measuring words for some sort of commercial advantage through obfuscation. To my mind none of these can be called a 'system': apothecaries, atomic, Bohr, British commonwealth, British empire, Commonwealth, conventional, customary, electrodynamical, electronic, English, geometric, Hartree, historical, human-scale, Imperial, international, local, mesures usuelles (customary measures in French), national, natural, Planck, quantum, royal, Schrödinger, standard, stoney, traditional, troy, or the U.S. customary 'system'. I believe that the metric system is the only system that ever existed all the others have simply been retrofitted with some metric system properties and then relabelled.. 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 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 <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 to subscribe.
