[USMA:32703] FW: Re: UK Public Servant

[John Nichols]

My comment on the inch being 25 mm was meant to emphasize that this simple change in the 1870’s would have eliminated imperial quickly, not the other way around. One method that imperialist hang onto their blessed inch is by refusing to be decimal. So we get the ½, 1/4, 1/8, etc. Pushing 1/25 would have been a logical and easy extension to sell.    Such is life.     John M. Nichols Assistant Professor Room A414 Langford AC  MS 3137 Department of Construction Science College of Architecture Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843-3137   Phone: (979) 845 6541 Fax:     (979) 862 1572 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]   From: owner-usma@colostate.edu [mailto:owner-usma@colostate.edu] On Behalf Of Bill Hooper Sent: Wednesday, 13 April 2005 8:31 PM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:32697] Re: UK Public Servant   On 2005 Apr 13 , at 5:55 PM, Phil Chernack wrote: Unless I need precision, I think of an inch as 25 mm,   I try not to think of an inch. I try to start with the information in metric (especially when I need precision). (I think of) a foot as 30 cm, I think of 30 cm as 30 cm (I) translate a yard to a meter We all know yards and metres are nearly the same so I just use metres. and (I) think of a mile as 1600 m.  I don't think of a mile. I think of a kilometre, and know that it is 1000 m. For weight, ¼ lb is 125 g, ½ lb is 250 g, etc. Don't use pounds and you won't need these long lists of approximations. Start with kilograms or grams and don't be concerned with what fraction of a pound it is. 350 grams is 350 grams (which is 0.3 kilograms). Who needs to know if that is closer to a half pound or to three quarters of a pound?   Volume, a cup is 240 to 250 ml A cup is 250 mL. (period) ... and a pint becomes 500 ml (or ½ liter in colloquial terms). A pint remains a pint. (It does not "become" anything else.) And I continue NOT to use pints. I use litres, and "half litre" is a nice metric amount (equivalent to 500 mL) and it's universal, not "colloquial". YES, I UNDERSTAND AND AGREE, that there are times when conversions need to be made. They should be done by specialists or experts in the field. Such experts already know how to make the appropriate conversion, approximate or to any desired precision. Once the conversion has been made, there is no longer any reason for the non-expert to have to be concerned with what the value would be in Olde English units. Forget that 25 mm is about an inch long and call it 25 mm (or 2.5 cm). Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA ======================== SIMPLIFICATION begins with SI ========================