A few days ago, my daughter bought a second-hand set of kitchen scales and then found that the only weights were imperial - no good for her metric recipe books. I went to a shop that specialized in kitchenware and asked for a set of metric weights. The girl looked a little puzzled and then asked "Oh do you mean those with ounces on them".
Are American shop assistants as stupid? _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John M. Steele Sent: 11 December 2010 11:45 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:49157] Re: Problems of conversion The author doesn't seem anti-metric at all, as he(she?) says, "Goodness. I am just glad that we have shifted to metric and so not have to worry about these complicated conversions." However, conversion is the only way old information can be salvaged and used in a modern world. Old recipes may not be valuable to everyone, but certainly family recipes are handed down generations and hold some value to family members. You may need to do some research to understand and update obsolete units. You condemn all conversion; I draw a distinction between forward (to metric) and reverse conversion. Forward conversion is a perfectly respectable practice. Of course, if you teach forward conversion, the student has to be innumerate not to understand that dividing instead of multiplying allows reverse conversion, so you open that can of worms. _____ From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, December 11, 2010 2:01:03 AM Subject: [USMA:49154] Problems of conversion Dear All, Once you go down the anti-metric conversion road, the possibilities seem to be endless. See http://katonglife.blogspot.com/2010/12/problem-of-conversion.html for an asian example. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS 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/ to subscribe.
