True. Measuring a person’s height in millimeters implies too much precision (and isn’t all that accurate down to four places; people’s height varies by several millimeters depending on how stretched out your spine is at any moment), and meters creates a decimal point.
Carleton 179 cm From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Martin Vlietstra Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2014 07:34 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:54530] RE: FW: ID Card in Jordan In some countries, blood sugar level is measured in mg/dL. I believe that the use of dL rather than litres or mL is to avoid using decimal separators. A blood level are typically in the range of 75 to 150 mg/dL. This could be written as 0.75 to 1.5 mg/mL or 750 to 1500 mg/L. The first of these has decimal separators and the second has a “surplus” zeros. The same argument applies to the use of centimetres rather than metres for people’s heights. From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Altounji Sent: 25 December 2014 01:40 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:54528] FW: ID Card in Jordan In this case cm is the preferable unit. Anyway, metric includes multiples and submultiples of the main unit. John Altounji One size does not fit all. Social promotion ruined Education. http://johnaltounji.weebly.com/ From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 2:12 PM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:54527] ID Card in Jordan How is personal height rendered on ID cards around the world? Every card I have ever seen renders height in centimeters only. I have never seen an ID card rendering height in meters (for example 1.81 meters; I always say 181 centimeters, which is my height). The photo attached shows the ID card of this captured Jordanian soldier as 178 and does not even bother mentioning that those are centimeters, since it is common knowledge. When considering which unit to use for any purpose, it is preferable, in my opinion, to avoid having to use a decimal. It just makes your number a lot cleaner. Also, take notice of the date format and the absence of how heavy one is. Any thoughts? David Pearl www.MetricPioneer.com <http://www.MetricPioneer.com> 503-428-4917
