Dear Augustine,
I have interspersed some remarks within your email.
On 2010/06/10, at 00:56 , Augustine M wrote:
I don't think censoring 'evil non metric' units would be appropriate.
One of the issues here is that you are not censoring 'evil non-metric
words', you are avoiding words that have multiple meanings. The term
'measuring words' is not the same as 'measuring units'. The 'measuring
units' used in the International System of Units (SI) are defined as
international standards and these standards are then agreed by
international treaty between almost all of the world's nations. On the
other hand 'measuring words' simply mean what their devisor and/or
owner want them to mean. For example the barrel used in the oil
industry refers to a barrel that never existed and that has had
various sizes through its history. Another example is the calorie
which is 1000 times smaller than a Calorie because the latter has a
capital letter C. You have to be very careful with all of the old pre-
metric 'measuring words'.
As Lewis Carroll put it in Through the Looking Glass (Chapter 6)
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it
means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so
many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master – that's
all."
Let me use measuring volume as an example.
In the metric system you might use millilitres, litres, or cubic
metres depending on the range of sizes you want to measure. These
terms, millilitres, litres, or cubic metres, all have the same size
everywhere in the world; they do not vary because they are defined as
international standards and agreed under international treaty as
mentioned above. The word 'litre' has only one definition so it has
only one meaning everywhere in the world.
Using any of the old pre-metric measuring words such as ounces, fluid
ounces, gallons UK, gallons USA, gallons UK post 1959, gallons USA pre
1893, barrel UK, barrel USA, barrel Netherlands, etc. illustrate what
Humpty Dumpty was talking about. Anyone, anywhere could decide what
definition of these 'measuring words' they wanted to use and then try
to force their definition on everyone else. This is pretty much how
the oil industry uses the word 'barrel' and how the UK beer industry
uses the word 'pint'.
I'm completely pro-metric, but I don't think censoring 'unapproved
language' is going to work very well. When would it be considered
appropriate to ban a word from being used?
To ban a 'measuring word' is probably not possible. There will still
be good folk who want to use the word 'inch' even though they are
probably unaware that it has had many different meanings in English
speaking nations over the last two hundred years – and even more
meanings if we expand the time over say 1000 years and extend the area
to other nations.
Should 'cubit' always be followed with a metric equivalent in
centimeters, or millimeters. Or maybe we should make sure
everything is expressed in base units only with the proper
scientific notation?
I use the cubit to measure things almost every day. For this purpose I
define a cubit as the distance from my elbow to the tip of my longest
finger; for me, my cubit is very close to 500 millimetres. I use
millimetres because this fits with the building industry policy in
Australia. I use my cubit almost every day because I am carrying two
cubits around with me all the time and I can use both of them placed
end to end to approximately measure a metre.
I say let the list be as it currently is.
This sounds fair enough if the words of the old pre-metric 'measuring
words' had only one single meaning – they don't – so they should be
highlighted as having the faults that they have.
Policing language to that extent sounds a bit too much like 1984 to
me.
Agreed, and probably impossible to do in a democracy.
Legal banning of non-metric units for use in commerce and regulation
would be excellent.
This is usually done by specifying the 'measuring units' that are
allowable in a specific situation, and simply ignoring all other
possibilities. However politicians, who are often quite innumerate,
have trouble getting this right. They might be advised by metrology
experts as to the right way to proceed to protect 'measuring units'
though international standards and international treaties but then
they will be influenced by others (perhaps linguists) who have no
knowledge of 'measuring units' and who are concerned with 'measuring
words'. I suspect that this is how the USA adopted their own spelling
of the words metre (meter) and tonne (metric ton).
But forbidding the 'man on the street' from even using or writing a
non-metric term on a mailing list is taking it a bit too far. It
could make us pro-metric folks look a bit too extreme and scare
people away.
Keep in mind that the whole tradition of providing 'measuring units'
is to provide conditions in any community where honesty is the
prevailing option for all trade and commerce. The alternative is to
allow people – like Humpty Dumpty – to make up their own 'measuring
words' and to use them for dishonest purposes
On the other hand I do sort of like the title 'Censor of Deviations
from SI'. It brings to mind the 'Nobody expects the Spanish
Inquisition' skit from Monty Python only with the 'Censor of
Deviations from SI' barging in anytime someone mentions an evil word
like 'foot'.
Could you please me more precise when you use a 'measuring word' like
foot. I don't know what you mean unless you clearly specify which foot
your are referring to and at which point in history you are referencing.
Augustine
P.S. 'Ametrica', please do NOT add my e-mail address to your list
of e-mail addresses.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see
http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY
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.
