On 2010/05/16, at 08:15 , Pierre Abbat wrote:
I've taken all the surveying courses I need for
the degree, the surveying prof doesn't understand metric, and there
doesn't
seem to be much understanding of metric among the students. The
hydrology and
engineering classes were in feet and pounds (with the occasional
metric
problem).
Dear Pierre,
You might remind your professor of the contribution that two great
surveyors, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, made to the
initiation of the metric system as a legal entity in France in the
1790s.
Effectively these two men (assisted by Benjamin Franklin) closed out
the debate and endless discussion as to whether decimal numbers,
division by twelfths or twentieths, or continuous binary divisions
using halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, thirty seconds, sixty
fourths, etc. were best for a measurement system. To Jefferson and
Washington this debate was closed because – based on their surveying
experience – they knew the benefits of decimal measurement, decimal
recording, and especially the ease and accuracy of decimal calculations.
Jefferson and Washington not only had the success of decimal currency
as a model, they also had Thomas Jefferson's 1790 report on the
decimalisation of all measurements, and their firm conviction of the
superiority of decimal measurement and decimal calculation based on
their many years experience as practical surveyors.
I believe that these were major influences on the French philosophes
as they developed the legal structures for the 'decimal metric system'
for France that is now the metric system we all use every day. See http://metricationmatters.com/docs/USAMetricSystemHistory.pdf
where I begin:
Without the influence of great leaders from the USA there would be no
metric system.
Since many in the USA do not believe this statement, let me repeat it
in a different way.
It is my belief that without the influence of Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, and George
Washington, the metric system would not have developed in France in
the 1780s and 1790s.
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
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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