I have a vague recollection of hearing that somewhere in the past.
I am part of the generation that learnt imperial at school and then converted in my early 20's. In 1974/5 I did a post-graduate degree at UMIST and caught my supervisor a bit off balance when I told him that I would be writing my dissertation using SI. I think that he had been trying to put the day off, but as I was an overseas student (Sotuh Africa) whose knowledge of imperial units was (to him at any rate) an unknown quantity, he had no option, but to agree. _____ From: Pat Naughtin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 09 June 2010 07:54 To: [email protected] Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: Re: [USMA:47583] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications Dear Martin, Do you remember this: Dear Editor, I am 40. I have never been taught Imperial measures in school and yet I am surrounded by people who talk about inches, pints, miles and ounces. I find it quite obscene that I have to learn about measures that were declared moribund before I could walk. Why did the government listen to the old stick-in-the-muds? It didn't happen with decimal currency because it couldn't. Talk to a twenty year old about shillings and he will think you are talking about Austria, before the Euro. This is how it should be. The past is a different country, we have moved on. But why did we allow some conservative old fogeys to keep on talking about their miles, pints, ounces, stones, feet and Fahrenheit? We should have buried these things in the 1960s when we left the shillings and 240 pence in the pound nonsense. Tens, hundreds and thousands. So easy to calculate. So much easier than twelve pennies in a shilling, twenty shillings in a pound, sixteen ounces in a pound, fourteen pounds in a stone. Not to mention gills, chains, rods, poles, fathoms, bushels and firkins. A cube 100 millimetres by 100 millimetres by 100 millimetres defines a volume of one litre, if you fill it with water it has a mass of one kilogram. If you raise the temperature to 100 degrees the water boils. Cool it to zero degrees and it freezes. This is simple, this is elegant, and this is beautiful. The oldies say: 'Don't talk to me about them kilo-whatsit things laddie I think in inches'. But, the oldies are trying to force me to think in old measures too - despite the fact that all the old measures were scheduled for replacement four years before I started primary school. It is time we buried the imperial system. The only way do do it is to be draconian about it. Do not allow people to ask for, demand or even talk about imperial measures. If you don't draw the line like that, the old fogeys will force it down our necks for ever more. Why must my children, and probably theirs as well as our grandchildren and great grandchildren, have to learn about pounds and inches just because some older people will not make a little effort? Name and address supplied Cheers, Pat Naughtin Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY 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. On 2010/06/09, at 15:19 , Martin Vlietstra wrote: David Cameron was probably not taught how to manipulate imperial figures at school. He might not know how to add up 3 lb 4oz, 5 lb 14 oz and 6 lb 5 oz. It gets even more difficult using a calculator. However Philip Hammond, the new transport minister who is a few years old than Cameron might just remember how to do it. _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: 08 June 2010 22:50 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:47571] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications Please be aware that there is a change of government. The main part of the new government (the Tories) advertised themselves as 'Saving the pound and the ounce for Britain' in a recent euro-election leaflet. If I was a betting man - I would bet a huge sum that David Cameron is not pro-metric. And now he is prime minister. I would not be surprised if this is the first of many moves that could lead some to believe this govt as 'anti-metric'. It could get very interesting/disappointing/pleasing (delete depending on your personal view) > Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 20:29:12 +0100 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [USMA:47570] Re: UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications > > > UK government policy on metication is, to quote one recent Prime Minister: > > "that the United Kingdom should - in stages - switch from imperial to metric units of measurement for an ever-increasing range of uses" > > If the Express story is true (we have to treat it with caution) then Hammond is exceeding his authority. He has no right to obstruct the free use of metric units in department publications. The metric system is the offical system of measurement in the UK except for road signs (as required in the Units of Measurement regulations 1986). Civil servants are bound by this. > > This politician and any others who attempt to halt or reverse progress toward honesty in measurement should be sacked. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "ezra steinberg" <[email protected]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, 7 June, 2010 8:13:56 PM > Subject: [USMA:47547] UK Transport Minister banishes metric in all official communications > > > Is this barmy or what? Hammond has clearly gone 'round the bend ... > > http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/179560/This-U-turn-on-metric-is-miles-be tter > > Ezra > _____ Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up <http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/> now.
