Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/08/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This metric debate led me to find this intriguing site from some Brits (of all people). It's an eloquent and cogent expression of why we yahoos cling to our inches and pounds. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/estatopia/inch.htm Quotes: "Metric is a (scientific) way of measuring the world as if we were not in it, not a part of it. But we are in the world, we are a part of it and we need a measurement system which takes account of our existence and which allows us to know our place in relation to nature. If we understand that we are part of nature then we will be less inclined to destroy it." "Those who know their history will know that the metre was invented in France in 1790 and is, allegedly, one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator. The invention of the metre was part of the Revolutionaries' rational and scientific response to what they regarded as the superstitions of the past. By contrast, the British Imperial system (as used by the Greeks and the Romans as well as in pre-revolutionary France) is anthropometric which means it is based on the human frame. From time immemorial units of measure have been derived from the human figure: palm, hand, foot, cubit etc. Some fall out of use and become archaic but those which remain do so for the very good reason that they are convenient, practical, easy to understand and, above all, easy to visualise which is a necessary part of translating working drawings into a built structure. This was clearly demonstrated to me when I recently had a garage built. The workmen, all of whom were under 30 years of age were thinking and working in feet and inches - 18" deep foundations, 4" step etc. When any change such as that wrought in 1965 is mooted, nobody ever consults the real experts, the people who actually do the work. Where theory and practice do not coincide then theory is wrong and practice is right. " "The reasons put forward in support of metric are far from compelling. They range from the feeble (everyone else uses it) to the dimwitted (we have ten fingers for counting on). There has never been, to my knowledge, a logical demonstration of its superiority /in use/ over traditional measurement. One of the most famous architects of the Modern Movement, Le Corbusier, used feet and inches to calculate his twin modular system of design after struggling and failing to work it out in metres and centimetres." "We have now all been thoroughly brainwashed into accepting the weatherman on TV and radio telling us the temperatures in Centigrade (or Celsius or whatever it's called this week). But there is a curious thing happens during the summer months. When it gets hot outside, the newspapers and radio and TV start telling us the temperatures in Fahrenheit with phrases such as "..in the nineties". This is understandable because talking about temperatures "..in the high thirties" doesn't quite have the same impact. Nor does talking in Centigrade give any indication of the /relative/ temperature, i.e. how it feels to us. Is it hot or cold today? Will I need a coat if I go out?" -rei On 08/09/2010 11:39 AM, Aram Langhans wrote: > Ah, to be metric. I sure remember the ill-fated attempt in this > country to "Go Metric". I had just started teaching in this little > town in Washington, Odessa. I was teaching 6-8th grade science. The > law gave all kinds of money and materials to schools to teach the kids > metric. The school looked around at the staff and classes they had > and asked, "Hmm. Who should we give this task to. I know. Science > teachers. They use metric anyway." So the task was mine. But they > also looked at all the materials that were send and saw that there was > a "lot" of math involved, so the said the math teachers could assist > the science teachers. Let the fun begin. The materials, or at least > the ones that I got, were all conversion based. Lets teach our kids > how to convert from the English system to the Metric (or should I say > SI) system. I looked at that and said, forget that. They will never > learn it that way. So, the math teacher and I devised an immersion > curriculum. For 15 minutes each day (at the start. It expanded as > time went on), we started talking in just "metric". We would hold up > objects and ask what length, volume, mass, etc. they were. Just > "Think Metric". We went on metric field trips around town, walking > about and asking how far that was, sizes, masses, etc. The kids were > really learning the metric system. Of course, after they left our > classes, they were back in the English world again. It didn't take > many years and the school district said stop. Too bad. I felt we > were really making progress and the students were bilingual in > measurement. > This country has always been afraid of change. From things as benign > as metric to civil rights. If I remember correctly, when Canada > changed, they just said this is the way it will be and did not teach > how to convert. As Nike says, Just Do It. Change all the signs, order > forms, product labels, etc. Just Do It. Mass confusion for a bit, > but if you have to, you will. Of course, any politician who votes for > something like that would not be reelected. > So, as a scientist and science teacher, I just plug along an in my > class, we Just Do It until it is second nature. > > Aram > > Aram Langhans > Semi-retired (retarded?) Science Teacher > & Unemployed photographer > > "The Human Genome Project has proved Darwin more right than Darwin > himself would ever have dared dream." James D. Watson > >> Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:07:57 -0400 >> From: Rei Shinozuka <shino at panix.com> >> Subject: Re: [Leica] Today is 8/9/10 >> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> >> Message-ID: <4C5FEF9D.40406 at panix.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed >> >> On 08/09/2010 03:34 AM, Jeff Moore wrote: >>> While I don't want the world to be boringly culturally homogeneous, >>> there are some things we should all just get with the program on: >>> >>> >>> - Use the metric system, dammit. >>> >>> >> Metric? We might as well dissolve the NFL and watch guys in shorts >> maneuvering black and white Archimedean Buckyballs using only their >> feet. >> >> :-) >> >> But any American born in the 1960s should remember this: >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metric_Marvels >> >> The article closes: >> >> "Ultimately, /The Metric Marvels/ failed to convince Americans to >> convert to the metric system. ... Americans largely ignored governmental >> attempts to push them in the direction of metrication, and the USMB [ >> (U.S. Metric Board <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Metric_Board>) ] >> was eventually disbanded in 1982 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982>." >> >> -rei >> (the ugly american, whose favorite lens is the 1.97 inch noctilux) >> >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information