Well, the man is right. Almost all people we normally run into are not
attuned at all to metric. Let's face it: the US will never fully
convert to SI unless the /federal government/ gets some fortitude and
exerts forceful leadership to make 300 million Joe Sixpaks do it. Given
the culture war mess in Washington, don't hold your breath.
Sort along the same thought, there was a letter/editorial in the Wall
Street Journal a few days ago from a well-known industrialist who just
returned from a business conference in China. He compared the LA
airport, the California highway system, the rail system, the national
economic incentives, and a few others from the US, to those in China.
The comparisons were not good, to say the least.
I would say that when the day comes that the US makes a firm stand for
metric, that will be the day we can begin to gain on China. I am not
speaking of human rights and justice, to be sure.
HARRY WYETH
Bill Hooper wrote:
I got this cordial reply from Mr. Bennett. I don't think he is
anti-metric, just non-metric.
Begin forwarded message:
Dear Mr. Hooper,
I appreciate your letter and your thoughts, sincerely.
Metric dimensions are certainly present in our lives in many ways,
just as you pointed out. Perhaps this is a quirk of Indiana, but I do
find, though, that almost everyone I encounter in daily life here
refers to sizes in inches, feet, yards and miles (except for high
school track running distances, yet not heights or lengths); and
volumes in gallons, quarts, pints and cups (except for wine bottles,
and 2-liter pop containers).
Mechanics do indeed use metric tools; most of my home wrenches,
though, seem to be sized for bolts, nuts and pipes measured in inches.
To push us over the hump toward full conversion, my guess is that
the government will have to do a more widespread public-education
campaign, similar to the one I remember from my childhood. That sort
of all-out push, in reference to my column's wording, was the basis
for my use of the term "mania."
thanks for your interest and time,
Mark Bennett
/Mark Bennett/
/Columnist/Editorialist/Features writer/
/CNHI Newspapers/Terre Haute (Ind.) Tribune-Star/
/[email protected]/ <mailto:[email protected]>
/(812) 231-4377/
