On 2011/01/31, at 09:00 , John M. Steele wrote:
> I continue in my challenge to Pat that I defy him to actually survey the
> difference between International and Survey feet with available field
> equipment.
Dear John,
I have no intention of taking up your challenge to continue any detailed
metrological discussion.
I do intend, however, to sometimes refer to the idea that the lengths of feet
vary as a point to support metrication programs. Consider this thought:
The metre has been the same length since 1795.
However such things as inches, feet, yard,, miles, nautical miles have
had various lengths from time to time during the same period.
This is a true statement to support a mind-set shift to considering the
relative methods of the metric system compared to previous old and variable
measuring methods. It is a metrication statement - not a metrological statement.
To my mind the 1959 retrofitting of the inch, the foot, the yard, the mile, the
ounce, the pound, etc. as pseudo metric "units" has been an unmitigated
disaster. It gave credibility to these old measuring words to which they had no
historical right. Suppose that the 1959 decision had not been made. We would
then be in a position to argue like this:
You can use the metric system for detailed drawings or you could use the
Imperial inch, the Canadian inch, the Imperial inch, the USA customary inch, or
the Mendenhall inch (which might not exist so use a tenth of a foot).
The metric inch of 1959 has more credibility than any of these and so it is a
direct impediment to metrication programs -- pity!
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 for more metrication information, contact Pat
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