On 2007 04 21 2:42 PM, "James Jason Wentworth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Many people even in metric countries (cooks, carpenters, plumbers, etc.) don't
> consider *all* measurement scientific. -- Jason
>>
Dear Jason,
I think that the Marquis de Condorcet (1743/1794) put it rather well when he
referred to the metric system as:
'A tous les peuples; a tous les temps'
('For all people; for all time')
Together with the developers of the metric system in the 1790s he believed
that the metric system was for everyone and in all activities.
They were aware that nothing affects human activities so much as the choice
of the methods of measurement. No other aspect of our behavior influences
the course of human activity so directly and so universally. I think that
this was recognised by the developers of the metric system when they adopted
the Marquis de Condorcet's motto.
Looking at this a little more broadly, it seems that there are four
universal methods of written communication.
The four methods that cross all language barriers are:
q the way of writing notes for music,
q the set of mathematical signs and symbols,
q the symbols for chemical elements, and
q the International System of Units (SI).
These four methods can be understood wherever you are in the world and
whatever language you use to speak and to write. It doesn't even matter if
you write with an alphabet or you use pictograms; you will still be able to
understand these four international methods.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305, Belmont, 3216
Geelong, Australia
Phone 61 3 5241 2008
Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online monthly newsletter,
'Metrication matters'.
Subscribe at http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
Pat is recognised as a Lifetime Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist
(LCAMS) with the United States Metric Association. He is also editor of the
'Numbers and measurement' section of the Australian Government Publishing
Service 'Style manual for writers, editors and printers'. He is a Member
of the National Speakers Association of Australia and the International
Federation for Professional Speakers. See: http://www.metricationmatters.com
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