Natalie & all:>Date and time are not decimal, but unfortunately nothing can be done about that.AND, Why Not???? I argued some 40-years ago in my contribution: Metric Norms for Time Standards published through (now) Bureau of Indian Standards - see:
Metric Norms for Time
Standard; Standards Engineer, Bureau of Indian Standards; V5
N4; 1971 Oct.-Dec.; pp 58-62and now I propose to COUNT Time of the HOUR
and in link with arc-Angle we may have the day distribution as:
12/24h:100md:100sd::12/24h:60m:60sAlso please see:
http://www.brijvij.com/bb_deci-sec-nu-mtr.pdfmy approach to new definitions for
the Decimalised Time of the HOUR in link with arc-angle (Pi/180). The reason
for failure of French approach to Decimale Time lies here, is my view!
Regards,Brij Bhushan Vij
Friday, 2012 November 30H15:08(decimal)EST
Aa Nau Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatah -Rg Veda
The Astronomical Poem (revised number of days in any month)
"30 days has July,September,
April, June, November and December
all the rest have 31 except February which has 29
except on years divisible evenly by 4;
except when YEAR divisible by 128 and 3200 -
as long as you remember that
"October (meaning 8) is the 10th month; and
December (meaning 10) is the 12th BUT has 30 days & ONE
OUTSIDE of calendar-format"
Jan:31; Feb:29; Mar:31; Apr:30; May:31; Jun:30
Jul:30; Aug:31; Sep:30; Oct:31; Nov:30; Dec:30
(365th day of Year is World Day)
******As per Kali V-GRhymeCalendaar*****
"Koi bhi cheshtha vayarth nahin hoti, purshaarth karne mein hai"
My Profile - http://www.brijvij.com/bbv_2col-vipBrief.pdf
Author had NO interaction with The World Calendar Association
except via Media & Organisations to who I contributed for A
Possible World Calendar, since 1971.
HOME PAGE: http://www.brijvij.com/
Contact via E-mail: [email protected] OR
"GAYATRI LOK" Flat # 3013/3rd Floor
NH-58, Kankhal Bypass, Dev-Bhoomi, HARIDWAR-249408 (Uttrakhand - INDIA)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [USMA:52025] Re: Sent to WSJ....
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:04:18 -0700
Natalie,
It is my impression that most people in the US don't
really know any units of measure.
Thanks for the information on the school.
Helen
On Thu, Nov 29, 2012, at 12:53, Natalia Permiakova
wrote:
Hi Helen,
The school is
one of science and math school of nine specialized high schools in NYC.
Don't get me
wrong, kids there know metric system and can convert imperial-to-imperial, or
metric-to-imperial. But my point is that studying metric in school without
seeing it in every day life as a primary system is a like studying a foreign
language.
I think that
kids understand decimals very well and before any other measurements when they
learn to count and when they start to use money. But with imperial system even
adults are confused (though it doesn't seem they care ;-) ).
Also, using
imperial system narrows scope of problems that can be used in math/computer
problems or adds calculating steps to the solution. for example, how to
calculate an average height of kids in a class? or in excel or database, how
would you represent person's height? (1)two fields, feet and inches, (2)inches
only or (3)feet only using decimals? or average room size, land size. I guess
that decimals are used for that, say, 15.5 feet room.
Date and time
are not decimal, but unfortunately nothing can be done about that. that is why
databases and spreadsheets have special data type - date. Since imperial system
numbers do not fit into standard numerical data type (that assumes decimals) to
handle imperial system special data type should be created for each measurement
or some other workarounds used....
thanks,
Natalie
43,560
square feet in an acre
5280
feet in a mile
16
ounces in a pound
128
ounces in a gallon
23
confused kids in a class
What
could be simpler?
From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]>
Cc: Dimitri Skliar <[email protected]>; Natalie Kozlova <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 11:24 PM
Subject: [USMA:52004] Re: Sent to WSJ....
Natalie,
Right now I am giving presentations on
why education should be metric only in schools, and I am seeing that kids don't
understand decimals well past the age that they should. I taught in South Korea
for a while, so I have an idea of what kids can and can't do there.
I am giving my presentations in
Colorado. Where is the science high school were the kids had such difficulty?
Helen Bushnell
On Mon, Nov 26, 2012, at 20:44, Natalia
Permiakova wrote:
well
said, Bridget.
Another
reason to move to metric is to be able to use calculators. since calculators
are 10 based, it makes it instant to figure out how many marks on the ruler
0.27 is. In metric countries a third grader will tell you that right away, but
in US it takes some time for a specialized science high school freshman to
figure out. when i saw it with my eyes, I become passionate about US adopting
metric system for the benefits of education.
My
daughter, a high school senior now, learned metric system in elementary school
as well as in all the science classes. But it will be marked in her head as
"for something else" (travel, science) unless she sees it every day and in the
first place, not in parenthesis.
I believe the
government should require for the consumer products metric measurements to be
listed *first* on the products and imperial to be in parenthesis (and maybe
optional, up to the manufacturer) and I don't think it would require any
taxpayer's money.
I think some
states at least allow that - I was surprised to get a JOBY gorilla tripod and
to find on the package metric dimensions listed as primary. I am in love with
the product partially because of that ;-)
tv weather
channels/reports should start providing temperature in celcius at least
silently on the screen to get kids get used to it and for the sake of foreign
visitors and immigrants(think New York) . i have sent emails to some tv
channels about that but never heard from them back.
Then, the
schools and (non-science) education will follow. To learn metric system in
elementary school but not to see and feel it in everyday life only adds
confusion for kids.
also, to make
older people comfortable, imperial measurements should be additionally provided
in public places, highways, roads for, say, 50 years.
I was really
upset to learn recently that California transportation system went metric and
then returned back to imperial
(http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oppd/metric1/DD-12-R1_Final.pdf). what a waste of
money (on both ways)! ;-(
After that I
stopped active discussions on the metric system and use partisan methods: stick
a "pro-metric" signature to my emails, distribute metric rullers/conversion
charts to my friends, ask how many pints in a gallon at work.... Most people
are not even aware that there is a need in metrication of US.
thanks,
Natalie
43,560 square
feet in an acre
5280 feet in a
mile
16 ounces in a
pound
128 ounces in a
gallon
23 confused
kids in a class
What could be
simpler?
Inbox
4563
From:
Metric Rules Info <[email protected]>
To:
U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]>
Sent:
Monday, November 26, 2012 6:28 PM
Subject: [USMA:52002] Sent to WSJ....
Dear Sir:
Justin Scheck correctly points out that efforts to convert the
United States to the metric system have faced significant cultural resistance
over the past four decades ("Cooking a Poundcake in a Metric Oven Is No Easy
Task", Nov. 24). Although metric system devotees are often portrayed as
amusing eccentrics, a far more serious issue involves the significant
disadvantage imposed on American students by an educational system that fails
to adopt the weights and measures used not only by 95 percent of the world’s
population but also in the fastest growing occupations in the United States.
Current research suggests that as much as 40 percent of
instructional time in primary and secondary education is now spent on
standardized test preparation and administration. By using customary units in
standardized testing, particularly in science related subjects, American
Educators and by extension our children are faced with the unique liability of
dual-measurement instruction.
It is commonly acknowledged that students who choose to enter
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields must learn to
use the metric system. Those who have the intellectual skills required to
achieve these advanced degrees will likely find the conversion to "metric
thinking" to be a modest burden compared to acquiring the rest of the knowledge
needed to succeed in their chosen profession. However, few realize that the
healthcare industry is also exclusively metric. As the fastest growing
employment sector in the United States and currently employing one in eight
Americans, millions of workers such as doctors, nurses, physician assistants,
pharmacists, physical therapists, nutritionists, and home health care workers,
to name a few, are required to learn and effectively function in metric units.
Learning a new measurement language is not an easy task for all Americans.
Preventable medication errors in the United States continue to have deadly
consequences. Please refer to the Institute of Safe Medication Practices
(http://www.ismp.org/pressroom/PR20110808.pdf) for additional information.
Healthcare and STEM occupations are only two areas of
employment where American students are not well served by the use of customary
units in K-12 STEM instruction. Most modern career paths in manufacturing such
as precision and additive manufacturing and notably, all American automotive
manufacturing have voluntarily converted to metric units. The United States
Armed Forces, which is the largest organization in the world, requires its
workforce to learn and function in metric units.
While it is certainly amusing to read about Zach Rodriguez's
reprogramming of his parent's oven to display metric units, there are far more
important questions requiring national attention. Why does our K-12 educational
system continue to use customary measurement units in STEM instruction when
neither university level programs nor professional employment opportunities
utilize them? Could one call educating our children to think and function in
customary units an institutionalized cognitive disadvantage solely impacting
American children? I have not found any occupational evidence to support the
continued practice of utilizing customary units in STEM instruction.
I wish this article would have dedicated less time to the
philosophical, cultural aversion to the adoption of the modern metric system
and instead focused on a more practical question: How might America’s
preference towards customary units impact your child’s future employment
opportunities?
Cordially,
Bridget Nagarajan
Executive Director, M Power
(www.teammetric.org)
