On 2008/01/20, at 7:17 AM, Ezra Steinberg wrote:
With all the renewed hullabaloo over the East London trader using
Imperial only to sell goods, I was reminded accidentally of this
article from 2004 in The Telegraph that makes the necessary points
in support of metrication quite nicely. (It also reinforces Pat
Naughtin's assertions about the value of using millimeters to avoid
decimal points.)
For those who may not have seen it, I've copied it inline below.
Ezra
Dear Ezra,
Thanks for posting Jeff Howell's article (below).
With respect to your comment in parentheses '(It also reinforces Pat
Naughtin's assertions about the value of using millimeters to avoid
decimal points.)', I prefer to think of them as observations rather
than assertions.
As you know I have had extensive experience of metrication programs
in many different crafts, trades, and professions and it is my
observation that these go dramatically more quickly, smoothly, and
economically using millimetres rather than centimetres — the
difference between one year and a hundred years is not difficult to
observe!
For those not familiar with this discussion you can get a taste for
it — both for and against — by reading the article:
'centimetres or millimetres — which will you choose?'
You will find the article, 'centimetres or millimetres — which will
you choose?', at: http://www.MetricationMatters.com/articles.html
where it is the fifth article from the top (or you could search for
the word 'centimetre'). This version is an updated and edited version
of the 2006 edition.
This is an analysis of the arguments for and against using
centimetres or millimetres. It is in the form of a discussion between
three people and it also includes summaries of the main discussion
points, a conclusion to suggest future policies and actions, and
lastly some thoughts from an unlikely source — the concert pianist
Wendy Pomroy — who is also my wife.
Following the introduction, there is a summary of the main arguments
for the use of centimetres or millimetres. If you are pressed for
time, I suggest that you read the first 3 pages and the last 4 pages
and only skim read the bits in the middle that interest you as this
is a long article aimed at being thorough. After the 3 page
introduction and general remarks, I share the main lines of argument
that I have collected; this is the long part of 42 pages; and
finally, there is a 4 page conclusion.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See
http://www.metricationmatters.com/ for more metrication information,
contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or subscribe to
the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter at http://
www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/
Jeff Howell expalins why metric is best for builders
A reader has taken me to task for using metric measurements in
answer to a recent query, when I said that there should be a gap of
at least 150mm between downlighters and loft insulation. He thinks
that most readers of The Telegraph would have difficulty
visualising 150 millimetres, and that I should rather have written
15 centimetres or, better still, 6 inches.
Remarkably, this complaint about metrication is only the second
that I have received in five years of writing this column. You
might expect Telegraph readers to be a pretty conservative bunch on
such an issue, but the indulgence shown me thus far makes me
suspect that there is less opposition to metrication than is
sometimes supposed.
When I started writing the column, we had some discussions about
this. Telegraph "house style" is to use imperial measurements. I
argued that the building industry in Britain has been metric since
1970, that materials are sold in metric sizes, and that all the
relevant standards and regulations are metric, so it would be
difficult - and possibly misleading - to slavishly convert them
all. The editors very kindly - and sensibly - agreed to allow me to
use metric, and left it up to me to decide when, for the sake of
clarity or comparison, I should add imperial equivalents.
When my Telegraph book was published, we agreed on the convention
that where a reader's query uses imperial measurements, these are
left as written, with the metric conversions in brackets, and my
answers are written using metric only.
As well as offering the advantage of global standardisation, metric
measurements are less prone to errors. I once employed a carpenter
who insisted on working only in feet and inches, which I think he
intended as some kind of political statement. Unfortunately his
numeracy and tape-reading skills weren't up to it, and he was
forever getting his seven-eighths mixed up with his fifteen-
sixteenths. Millimetres would have made his life a lot easier, and
kept him in a job.
There are some common misconceptions about metrication, which
contribute to the general reluctance in Britain to embrace it. One
is that it is a fiendish plot by the European Union; but the metric
system is also used in most Commonwealth countries, former Eastern
Bloc countries, and much of the developing world. So readers are
quite at liberty to use metric measurements and remain politically
Euro-sceptic.
Another is that metrication is a lefty/liberal plot. In fact, the
first letter of complaint I had, four years ago (Ezra's note: the
date of that complaint would be back in 2000), told me that if I
wanted to use metric measurements I should "go and write for The
Guardian". At the time, however, The Guardian's house style was
firmly imperial, and, in common with most newspapers, its
journalists are only now struggling to get to grips with grams and
litres.
Most European countries use metres and centimetres, but the British
building industry measures everything in millimetres, thus doing
away with the potential confusion of decimal points (for example,
25mm rather than 2.5cm). On construction drawings you will also
often find that the comma after thousands and the "mm" after all
measurements are omitted. So a town house is 5500 wide, a door
opening is 2100 high, and a kitchen worktop is 600 deep.
One thing I have never understood about the anti-metric movement is
why it has such limited aims. I mean, why stick with feet and
inches when you could campaign to restore chains, links and nails?
And let's face it, we all knew where we were with the rod, pole or
perch, didn't we?
