The telling observation is regarding the use of the English language. I have been to so many international conferences (mostly in North America, but in a number of other countries as well), and presented papers at many of these conferences, where the stipulation for papers, and the conduct of the conference, is: Text, English, measurement units, SI. Only in those conferences that are US-centric are non-SI submissions permitted.
The use of SI in international conferences (including those held in the US) has been the case to my knowledge for nearly 40 years now (certainly dating from the late 1970s), yet the US seemingly has not acknowledged this protocol, or at least acknowledges it with reluctance. John F-L From: Ametrica Sent: Sunday, November 03, 2013 7:56 PM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: And the winner is … Derek, Both of those descriptions look muddled. A more neat and organized method would be to write them as one would write SI symbols: 60 k£/a and 50 £/ft² or better yet 500 £/m². I think though that the reason there is resistance to expressing prices in square metres is that the price looks expensive, yet it is about 10 times the area in square feet. As for the comment about the government, we have to understand and convince ourselves that the government is an institution, not a sentient being. It doesn’t have feelings for or against metric. Those actions that you speak of come from people. People who make their way into different government departments and use their position to further their own personal gains and biases instead of what is in the country’s interest in the long term. To change this, you have to remove such person’s from office. A few weeks ago I posted an editorial comment from the local newspaper detailing what the function US government is and isn’t. I’ve attached it again. I can’t speak for the UK, but the US is supposed to be a republic and not a democracy. In a republic, the governing forces are required to put the interests of the nation before personal biases. This is obviously not happening and the result is for the whole world to see. John Kennedy said in his inauguration address on 1960-01-21: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8032#axzz2jbjpMuLF And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. The government today is drowning in special interests that do not further the prosperity and a strong, free future for the US. The government today is drowning in people wanting what is comfortable for them in the present time and are unwilling to make necessary sacrifices that will strengthen the country in the present and future. At the time of Kennedy, the world held the US to a high standard, but can that be truly said today? The US expects the world to accommodate its use of Customary Units instead of in good conscience adopting the international standard. And yes, history is judging the US negatively for this. The world has adopted the English language, a benefit to both the UK & US, the least these countries could is adopt the metric system as a sign of equally willing to sacrifice. John Kennedy knew it as did others before him, that a nation is strong and will continue to lead in the future when it puts the general good of all mankind before personal desires. This is where the US has failed and why it is in a state of decline and why it has lost credibility with the world. The real sad part is the failure of the UK & US to do what is right, is that others will do it and as England lost its leadership role in the world, the US will too. There is always someone waiting to fill the vacancy. derekp says: 2013-11-02 at 21:58 @BrianAC It is even more stupid than that. Roads are designed and built in metric, then speed and distance signs in imperial are erected because metric ones are banned. Buildings are designed and built in metric, then re-measured so that they can advertised in imperial. Apparently, “Offices 1200 sq. ft, £60 000 pa” is legal, as it is a description. “Offices £50/sq. ft” is not, as it is covered by the price marking regulations. I sometimes think that, without pro-active support from the Government, the British measurement muddle could go on indefinitely. As you might expect, the Government believes otherwise. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3615/6794 - Release Date: 10/30/13
