What a fantastic way to quickly state the power and value of the time Metric System, as a Global Public Good!
I think this will help many people in places to take adoptive actions see the benefits. Thanks for bringing it to the groups attention! On Fri, Dec 10, 2021, 1:00 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > Send USMA mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of USMA digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. [USMA 1842] IMF asks "What Are Global Public Goods?" and > includes the metric system as one of these goods (Peter Goodyear) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2021 09:26:38 +1100 > From: Peter Goodyear <[email protected]> > To: USMA List Server <[email protected]> > Subject: [USMA 1842] IMF asks "What Are Global Public Goods?" and > includes the metric system as one of these goods > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi, everyone, > > In [USMA 460] Infrastructure, Paul Trusten asked: > > Is it possible to deem a country's system of measurement as being a part > of its infrastructure? If not a part of physical infrastructure, is it a > part of its intellectual infrastructure, and what are the other components > of intellectual infrastructure? > > In an article on its website, the International Monetary Fund asks a > similar question What Are Global Public Goods? < > https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.org%2Fexternal%2Fpubs%2Fft%2Ffandd%2F2021%2F12%2FGlobal-Public-Goods-Chin-basics.htm&data=04%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7C4457c9b4c00a44c2a24f08d9bcb8ad33%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637748323628710960%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=feFCSerMMtlE46jp0qePI0G%2F7R3jVvO6YW7kL5R9JvU%3D&reserved=0> > and gives the answer: > Public goods are those that are available to all (?nonexcludable?) and > that can be enjoyed over and over again by anyone without diminishing the > benefits they deliver to others (?nonrival?). The scope of public goods can > be local, national, or global. Public fireworks are a local public good, as > anyone within eyeshot can enjoy the show. National defense is a national > public good, as its benefits are enjoyed by citizens of the state. Global > public goods are those whose benefits affect all citizens of the world. > They encompass many aspects of our lives: from our natural environment, our > histories and cultures, and technological progress down to everyday devices > such as the metric system. > > No one can be prevented from using the metric system, and whenever someone > uses it its usefulness to others is not diminished. The nature of their > benefits sets public goods apart from the private goods we see in the store > or the club goods we can pay a fee to access, but this also means they > cannot be found in a store nor accessed via a simple fee. Creating public > goods is much more difficult than supplying private goods, and providing > global public goods poses a unique challenge. > > > [Emphasis added] > > I disagree with the first sentence in the second paragraph. I remember one > USMA member writing that he had asked if he could give metric measurements > on his drivers licence and was told ?Do you want this licence or not?? > Also, I have seen requirements for reporting to US government departments > that specify that the US customary system should be used. No doubt a lot of > American private companies are the same. (A while back I was working in a > data centre operated by a major American IT company in Australia, and its > handbook for worldwide operations was all in customary measures: square > feet of space, BTU of air conditioning, etc.) > > The Metric Maven wrote about invisible infrastructure in an essay titled: > The Visible and Invisible Infrastructure < > https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthemetricmaven.com%2Fthe-invisible-and-visible-infrastructure%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7C4457c9b4c00a44c2a24f08d9bcb8ad33%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637748323628720952%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=2tl%2B47HxBXJFozXN9s2M0HVykV74AYghADYzJO2OWts%3D&reserved=0 > > > > > > Best wishes, > > Peter Goodyear, > > Melbourne, Australia > e-mail: [email protected] > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/private/usma/attachments/20211210/7d9bc8f3/attachment.html > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > USMA mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma > > > ------------------------------ > > End of USMA Digest, Vol 73, Issue 5 > *********************************** >
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