Very well said!
I have a Kindle book (Metric made me Sick - But I'm better Now) that says
essentially the same thing - we look upon most measures as comparisons. This
is bigger than that, that is less than the other, regardless of what
measurement units are being used. There is not much that we can actually
visualise in terms of either units or physical properties.
John F-L
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 7:10 PM
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:52631] The U.S. Isn't as Anti-metric as You Think
The recent exchange on this list about radiological units raises a bigger
point that is often missed in discussions on the metric vs. customary
systems with the public. When it comes to most measurements, people are
not as wedded to the customary system as they think.
Outside of a few common measurements in ordinary life -- the inch, the
mile, the pound perhaps -- customary units don't make that much difference
to people. If you say that the speed of light is 300,000 k/s or 186,000
mi/s, how many people comprehend either? The measures are used primarily
for comparison or for standards.
Ask people how many feet there are in a mile. Most don't know. Ask
people how many ounces there are in a pound. Most don't know. Most don't
know that there is a troy ounce used to measure gold and an avoirdupois
ounce to measure everything else. Ask people how many ounces there are in
a quart. Most don't know. Most don't even know that the ounce of mass
and the ounce of fluid are different.
The metric system is a rational system that is easily understood, once
people get past the notion of trying to "convert." The quiz show "Are You
Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" recently had a third-grade question: "How
many decimetres are there in a metre?" This is what puts people off using
the metric system. When was the last time that you used a decimetre?
Whenever metric measurements have been introduced as a standard, there has
been no public outcry. Have you heard of any public outcry to return to
measuring pills in grains rather than milligrams? Have you heard of any
public outcry to return to measuring wine in fluid ounces rather than
millilitres? Do people even know how many fluid ounces there are in a
bottle of wine? Do they even care?
All this folderol about opposition to metric "conversion" is a red
herring. I decided in my daily conversations not to use feet or inches,
but metres and centimetres/millimitres. Not once has anyone asked me:
how long is that?
One of the websites that I founded has used SI metric only for almost
twenty years now. The site has nothing to do with science or engineering,
but social issues. Most of the readers are from the United States. Not
once in twenty years has anyone even commented on the exclusive use of
metric. I think that our motto should be: Just do it!
Martin Morrison
Metric Training & Eductional Columnist
USMA's "Metric Today"
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