Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))
Bernd Jendrissek (jndber01@scilab.uct.ac.za)
Mon, 9 Oct 1995 15:23:57 GMT
In article <456lhe$m2q@ixnews7.ix.netcom.com> aax@ix.netcom.com (ANDREW GRYGUS) writes:
>In <456elh$t8v@cnn.Princeton.EDU> jrhodes@pupgg.princeton.edu writes:
>>>Interestingly enough, the Roman foot of 296 mm and the English foot of 308
>>>mm have preserved this value over five millenia and are now to be
>>>discarded in favor of the metric system.
[...]
>The foot has stood the test of time because it as the most useful human
>scale measure. Unfortunately, a bunch of "intellectual" morons think
>they have a better way and want to force it on everyone else.
Well I certainly don't make 1-foot strides, I make more like 1 metre, and
yes 1 metre is closer to my strides on most days than 1 yard. Now who would
actually go and get a shoe 308mm long and "foot it out" to see how long
something is?
It all boils down to what you're used to; if you're anywhere on earth, you
use the metric system; if, on the other hand, you are in the US ;) you use
weird metricised units - a foot is EXACTLY 304.8mm.
Thing is, the imperial units are simply too cumbersome to work with in a
scientific and even household context. Since we have ten fingers, I think
it is just too natural to have a system of units based on the number 10.
Metric is cool (AND Microsoft, Mr previous poster) - both are good at making
apps, just not always OSes.
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