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Re: Strange Maths (was Re: Why not 13 months?)
meron@cars3.uchicago.edu
Mon, 24 Jul 1995 22:53:36 GMT
In article <5qLxzdDzcsB@khms.westfalen.de>, kai@khms.westfalen.de (Kai Henningsen) writes:
>jvolin@panix.com wrote on 20.07.95 in <3umun5$flu@panix.com>:
>
>> Similar to the present day world standard of electrical voltage - 110,
>> 120,220,240, and numerous variations of the above. Also standards like Hz
>> in alternating current - 50Hz, 60Hz. Or international standards in
>
>Stop for a second and consider why you can tell this as you do ...
>
>> In thousands of years, will historians and archeologists ponder as to how
>> a civilization able to construct artifacts that demand a high degree of
>> engineering skill could do so, with no basic worldwide standards of
>> measurement?
>
>.... maybe because we _do_ have these standards?
>
>A standard of measurement is _not_ having the same AC frequency
>everywhere. It is having the same value for 1 Hz everywhere, so you can
>specify a device for 50 or 60 Hz.
>
>You're just using the standards you claim don't exist.
>
>Kai
You miss the point of the poster. The point is that you do not need a single
set of standards in order to develop an advanced society. Talking about
"having the same value for 1 Hz" is meaningles. 1 Hz is not a value, is a
frequency unit. You can use different units in different places. We do use
different units of length and weight in different places. It does complicate
matters sometimes but by no means it prevents the creation of advanced
technology. All you need is the ability to translate between different sets of
standards, and this one always exists, by definition.
Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
meron@cars3.uchicago.edu | chances are he is doing just the same"
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