On 2009/10/08, at 04:55 , John M. Steele wrote:
How about in English and/or history classes?
Conversions are the work of the Devil, especially as they are taught
here. The conversions between Customary and metric seem to be
chosen to make students dislike the metric system. I would prefer
math time to be spent teaching them to measure and use metric
properly.
History is the proper place for archaic units, and a lot of
interconversion needn't be taught at all; the point is to get people
to quit using them.
Dear John,
I particularly like your line, 'Conversions are the work of the devil
…' and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that metric conversions
delay the introduction of the metric system dramatically.
One of the reasons that metrication was so successful in most
industries in Australia and was done so quickly was because we had the
model of the decimal currency transition as a model. Decimal currency
became a reality in Australia on a single day (1966 February 14).
Similarly Australia also made the transition to metric road signs on a
single day (1974 July 1). These successes were the result of finding
the best that had been done previously in other countries then simply
copying their methods with updated advice from them about any subtle
changes they might suggest with hindsight.
These models convinced many of us, that given the right planning and
the right choice of the methods for upgrading to the metric system,
any metrication upgrade could be done smoothly, economically, and so
quickly that even planning for a single day transition was not out of
the question. (I describe a one-day transition process for a group of
200 plumbers in full in the 'Metrication Leaders Guide'; see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
).
In the end, I believe that it is the chosen method that counts. If you
choose the right steps, your metric transition will also be smooth,
economical, and swift.
If you choose the wrong methods, your metric transition – although
still inevitable – will be expensive, painfully slow, and so bitter
that the political and personal fights will be repeated again and
again for generations.
In my opinion, successful metrication is simply about choosing the
best methods from those that have worked in the past. Simply look for
successful metric transitions wherever they occurred, then simply copy
the successful methods.
The UK and the USA have consistently shown that conjecture about
possible metric conversion methods do not work at all well.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
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 pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
to subscribe.
