cameo said:
I seem to remember that a few dacades ago (maybe in the '70s) there was
some kind of federal push to convert the country to the metric system by
a certain date that is already in the past. As it's painfully obvious by
now, not much came out of that initial excitement.
Why do you think it is that the US public so resistant to such a change
when the metric system is so much simpler? Much of the rest of the
industrialized world is already on the metric system and not following
their lead just impedes international commerce.
Time for some Golden Oldies:
From April 10, 2001 -
Lord Valve Speaketh:
The metric system, which was based on an arbitrary
measurement (one ten-millionth of the distance from
the equator to the North Pole along the longitude
line which runs near Dunkerque, France, or somesuch
nonsense) to begin with, is not inherently more precise
or accurate than any other system. The fact that the
international standard for the meter is now specified
as a certain number of wavelengths of a specific
frequency of light, or as the distance light travels
in 1/299,792,458 of a second,
[flash forward to today - I should have mentioned that
the second is also an arbitrary unit, no matter how
finely we can slice it with modern equipment...]
doesn't occlude the fact
that its genesis was as entirely arbitrary as the Old
English standard for the inch, which was "three barley-
corns, hard and dry." Its confusing array of suffixes
and prefixes is not easily memorized. And, contrary to
the general European perception, Americans are not
intimidated by it. It is taught in American schools.
I am equally comfortable with either system, which puts
me considerably ahead of most Europeans. I *prefer* to
buy my milk by the quart, my steak by the pound, and my
gasoline by the gallon. For eyeball purposes, the English
system beats the crap out of the metric system. In fact,
the only thing I can see about the metric system which
would make it more desirable than the English system is
that pecker-length sounds more impressive in centimeters.
This may have been the deciding factor for the French, who
invented it. I am, however, fond of using the phrase
"a metric shitload."
I think the entire world should convert to the Whitworth
system anyway. ;-)
Lord Valve
I specialize in top quality HAND SELECTED NOS and
current-production vacuum tubes for guitar and
bass amps. Good prices, fast service.
NBS Electronics, 230 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209-1510
Phone orders/tech support after 1:30 PM Denver time at 303-778-1156
VISA - MASTERCARD
"I'm not an asshole, but I *play* one on the Internet." - Lord Valve
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And this, from later in the same thread:
April 10, 2001
k said:
Isn't the Imperial system used by such
technically advanced nations such as Uganda??.
The proof of a systems validity is who uses it,
most scientists worldwide prefer to work in
metric units as it's a lot more useful.
I don't recall where I said differently.
However, it's still a preference, and
still arbitrary. Science can be done
with any measurement system.
I'd also like to point out American money
is a decimal currency, if Imperial was so good
you'd all be counting cash in guineas, pounds,
crowns, schillings and pennies.
An excellent and interesting system, with
broad historical traditions. And that's
"shillings." (Accuracy, wot?)
Finally not even the British who
originated the Imperial system use it anymore
with it's little gems like alcohol proof: 57%
is 100 English proof at which point alcohol
burns with a blue flame when mixed with
gunpowder. You'd have to be drunk to be mixing
alcohol with gunpowder and setting fire to it!!!
Ah, my very point...these things are *far*
more interesting than the dry, boring metric
shit...kilo-deci-centi-wank-wank-wank...bah!
Give me spans, fathoms, furlongs, leagues,
cubits, chaldrons, firkins, hogsheads! Pipes,
poles, puncheons and roods! Kilderkins and
knots! Ells, chains, hands and nails! Manly
measures for manly men! These are the things
of legend...the metric system is good for
little more than scaring children or putting
oneself to sleep. I resist the inroads the
colorless metric crap has made; give 'em
2.54 centimeters and they'll take 1.609
kilometers! (Barf.) 28.35 grams of prevention
are worth 0.454 kilograms of cure, I always
say. That's my story an' I'm a-stickin' to it.
Lord Valve
I specialize in top quality HAND SELECTED NOS and
current-production vacuum tubes for guitar and
bass amps. Good prices, fast service.
NBS Electronics, 230 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80209-1510
Phone orders/tech support after 1:30 PM Denver time at 303-778-1156
VISA - MASTERCARD
"Ninety percent of everything is CRAP." - Sturgeon's Law
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So there! ;-)
Lord Valve
Old
.
