I stand informed.
Thank you, all!
>
> From: Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: 2004/06/08 Tue PM 06:25:04 EDT
> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [USMA:30086] Re: Horses and hands
>
> Dear Bill, Paul, Marion and All,
>
> My remarks are at the bottom of three posts.
>
> > On 2004 Jun 7 , at 10:27 AM, Paul Trusten, R.Ph. wrote:
> >> ... metrication (should) be applied rationally, without interfering
> >> with certain customs that have little to do with trade.
> >
> on 2004-06-09 03.28, Bill Hooper at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > If "applied rationally" and "without interfering with certain customs"
> > means we should allow every little minor sector of society continue to
> > is a special set of non-SI measuring units, then I would have to
> > disagree. That's how Ye Olde English system got to be the mess it is.
> >
> > I will agree that the word "allow" in my statement above can be applied
> > many ways. No, I do not think we should send in the measurement police
> > to arrest people if the use "hands" to measure horses or "pounds" to
> > measure horse meat in private conversation. But I do believe that all
> > sectors of society should be encouraged to use SI for all their
> > measurement processes, and they surely should be required to provide
> > information in SI in all legal documents and proceedings.
> >
> > I certainly do not think it is wise to give in to those who would use
> > "custom" or "tradition" or "familiarity" or "convenience" (which is
> > usually just a euphemism for familiarity) as an excuse to continue
> > using and promoting old fashioned special units. At the very least,
> > that practice should be officially frowned upon and officially
> > discouraged. It is not "applying metrication rationally" to do anything
> > less.
> >
> on 2004-06-09 05.04, m. f. moon at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > And with 12" wheels and 200 mm brakes. Great.
> > Marion Moon
>
> After 34 years of the metrication process in Australia, most industries have
> metricated successfully (~ 88�% e.g. building, engineering); some are still
> struggling but they are still striving to achieve metrication (~ 7�% e.g.
> textiles, clothing) and the remaining ~ 5�% are still firmly committed to
> keeping their old measurement mindsets.
>
> The industries and activities that seem to be having the most trouble with
> metrication in Australia include:
> . tyre makers fitters and users
> . horse buyers, sellers, handlers and riders
> . shoe makers, sellers and buyers
> . fishing rod makers and users
> . computer screen makers, sellers, and buyers
> . word processor makers, sellers and users
> . makers of sticky labels
>
> Several thoughts come to mind about these groups.
>
> 1 They are only having trouble with length metrication. For example, tyre
> makers buy and sell raw materials in kilograms and they develop their
> compound formulas in grams and litres; horse persons buy their grain in
> kilograms and provide water to their horses in litres; and computer people
> make their entire product in metric units and then describe the screens and
> floppy disks in computer inches. In each of these cases the problems arose
> as they tied to convert from traditional units to centimetres.
>
> 2 Where the divisions between prefix choices were in 1000s (1000�g = 1�kg,
> 1000�mL = 1�L) none of these groups had any problems and converted
> immediately usually within the 1970s. They all use grams, kilograms, and
> tonnes and they all use millilitres, litres and cubic metres.
>
> 2 After an initial failure trying to use centimetres, the industries and
> activities in the above list simply reverted to inches, hands, barley corns
> (sizes numbers), feet, computer inches, and inches with fractions (x2),
> respectively. They then, individually and separately, developed a rationale
> for their seemingly anti-metric behaviour that included the words (as Bill
> puts it): 'custom', 'tradition', familiarity', or 'convenience' to support
> their failure to adopt simple metric length measures.
>
> 3 Individuals within these groups (not recognising that they are already
> substantially metric) then develop and flaunt their limited knowledge of old
> measures � this is often to enhance their status as an anti-metrric person
> within their group. As an example, horse persons use the 'hand' as their
> justification to chat about furlongs, and miles without having any
> comprehension of either of these units. Remember that when they buy a tonne
> of hay they expect to get 1000 kilograms not 1000 pounds.
>
> 3 Many of these groups produce products that affect many of us in our
> daily activities and this can give a false impression that metrication has
> made less progress than it actually has. This is an important point if you
> believe that a great deal of the metrication process is about altering
> individual mindsets and group mores, and that the numerical technical stuff
> is relatively easy..
>
> 4 These groups now act as festering sores on the body metric in that they
> provide continuous on-going examples that justify, for others outside their
> group, why it is not necessary to consider a change to metric by saying,
> 'but they didn't have to', as they point to one or other of these groups as
> an example.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Pat Naughtin LCAMS
> Geelong, Australia
>
> Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication
> matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words
> subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> --
>
>
--
Paul Trusten, R.Ph.
3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122
Midland TX 79707-2872 USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"There are two cardinal sins,
from which all the others spring:
impatience and laziness."
---Franz Kafka
