The quote "People tend to think that having a great idea is enough" reminded me of my recent post saying that we shouldn't "pretend that we live under a political system where simply being right and calmly making sound arguments is something that will have any traction with lawmakers".
But the implication of "The Curse of Knowledge" is that we just need to make our arguments more clear, and then lawmakers will realize their error and soon change all the road signs. I was suggesting that lawmakers may instead be more sensitive to large voting blocks, donors, and lobbyists. It's worth pausing briefly to consider which of these two views is more accurate. If it's the former, our letters and editorials will shortly achieve our goal. If it's the latter, we must reform what USMA is and how it operates, because right now we're not even in the game. Registering as a lobby, seeking out wealthy benefactors, and hiring real political strategists may not work out right away, if ever. But without that, we're mostly just talking to ourselves, reminding each other of our great idea. From: Pat Naughtin Sent: 10/03/2008 4:19 AM To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:41782] The Curse of Knowledge Dear All, I wonder whether this idea has any relevance to the metrication process. See: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/213-the-curse-of-knowledge 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 to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/ to subscribe.
