Re: Metric Time (was Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique))

Kai Henningsen (kai@khms.westfalen.de)
14 Oct 1995 18:49:00 +0200

Whittet@shore.net (Whittet) wrote on 10.10.95 in <45chpc$skj@shore.shore.net>:

> Time: measured in a sexigesimal system hours, minutes, seconds

Yes, and it's bloody awful.

> Space: measured in a sexigesimal system degrees, minutes, seconds
> further divided into stadia, 1/600th degree

I've never had a practical use for anything besides 30 or 45 degrees or
multiples thereof on the one hand (which would be easy in every imaginable
system, including measuring in radians), or on the other hand quite
irregular numbers, which frankly are not helped by a 360 degree system.

All these are artifacts we only keep for backwards compatibility, just
like MSDOS.

> all worked out into inches, feet, yards, rods, furlongs, chains etc;
> to give a geocomensurate standard of measurement which is far more
> precise than the meter and has withstood 5 millenia of use with
> very small variation.

Ridiculous nonsense.

> On any historical timescale the decimal system is a mere anachronistic
> fad favored by people who want everyone to think in increments of a
> power of ten instead of having the choice of using a power of two,
> three, four, six or twelve whichever proportion is most appropriate.

The decimal system is the *only* counting system in use by humans on any
large scale. Just as the base two system is the only one so used by
computers.

It's foolish to a high degree to use a different base except for very
pressing reasons. The computer case demonstrates such pressing reasons.

> That attitude is nothing more than the typical academic lockstep;

... which probably is why most of the world prefers it ...

Hell. How about at least *trying* to use your brain in this type of
debate?

Kai

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