matt mann wrote:
>
> Actually, it was my experience, (and I am only
> speaking for myself here) that metrics were a basic
> part of the curriculum, both in high school and
> college math classes. And this was way back in the
> early '80's.
>
> Once again a foriegn citizen shoots his mouth off with
> unfounded generalizations about American culture
> without the slightest bit of research first.
>
> The sad part is that your Anti American bias is
> exceeded only by the ignorance of the idiot that made
> the initial comment about pounds and inches.
In defense of Balaji, I must protest your remarks. I am an
American, and I too, went to school in the United States (in Glendale,
California) where I "learned" the metric system back in the late
1960's and early 1970's. My teachers didn't understand how the metric
system worked, and did a LOUSY job of teaching it to me because they
related EVERYTHING metric to SAE measurements. Therefore, we learned
that there are 453.592 grams per pound or .0296 liters per fluid
ounce, 30.48 centimeters per foot, 1.609 kilometers per mile (ad
nauseum!) and the unwieldy conversions between the different systems
made SAE conversions seem easy. (But I still can't remember how many
bushels there are in a peck!)
Most of us Americans are afraid of metric measurement. I remember
reading commentary in Sports Illustrated about how metric measure
would change football:
"The Rams have the ball on the 42.789 meter line. It's second and
3.89795713 to go!"
It was a ridiculous attitude to hold then, and it STILL is!
Now, I don't particularly appreciate having to own two complete sets
of hand tools in order to work on the average American car. (Is that
10 mm, or 7 / 16 ?) In response to pressure from certain industries,
the U.S. never "officially" converted in 1976, as was planned. If we
had done so, you would have grown up with a different attitude, I
think. Perhaps you are too young to remember those days, but I can
vividly recall the mass hostility exhibited toward the proposed
changeover during the early 1970's.
My father in law, who grew up in Canada using what he calls "the
Imperial system", used to express a great deal of antipathy for
metric measure until he witnessed the EASE in which I could mix a
gasoline to oil ratio for a two stroke chain saw in the metric system.
He has never said anything about it again, because he'd been taught
about metric measurement in the same manner that it had been taught
to me.
Balaji is right. You were rude in your response to him and should
apologize. There is simply no excuse for the kind of arrogance you've
displayed in your message.
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9782>
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html
Biofuels list archives:
http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address.
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
