<THUD....GIGGLE>

[Colin Angus Mackay]

digital man wrote:

I have no idea what 12245mm looks like.

About the width of my house. ColinMackay.net Scottish Developers are looking for speakers for user group sessions over the next few months. Do you want to know more?

[RichardGrimmer]

digital man wrote:

But I can 'see' 3/16 of an inch. I have no idea what 12245mm looks like.

Indeed...... Anyone know the origins of the Imperial system then, and why it splits things down in a rather odd way? "Now I guess I'll sit back and watch people misinterpret what I just said......" Christian Graus At The Soapbox

[R Giskard Reventlov]

Personally I think it mainly has to do with the 'simplicity' of the imperial system (as far as I'm concerned). The fact that I know that 880yards = 1/2 mile(which is incredibly simple mental calculation compared to metric) makes it easy to visualize. Then again, I guess it's all about what you're used to. You don't visualize 500 meters, you just see the 0/5 kiometer. home
bookmarks You can ignore relatives but the neighbours live next door

[steve_hocking]

It roughly equates with various parts of the body (or this is the version I've heard). A foot, strangely enough is about the length of a grown mans foot. A thumb is give or take an inch. Obviously this is from the time when everything was very rough and ready. However if you're a sports fan you'll know that the yard and meter are pretty much interchangable, and when the when ref needs the opposition to retreat ten yards, he'll pace out ten steps. When they superimpose the measure on TV it's remarkably accurate. (Yes, yes, I know the TV measure isn't that accurate...)

[El Corazon]

RichardGrimmer wrote:

Anyone know the origins of the Imperial system then, and why it splits things down in a rather odd way?

for the same reason that days do not exactly fit a year... they were based upon observable objects. This could be body parts, or daily motion. An acre based on how much you could plow for example. When standards were enforced inches grew or shrunk to an equal devision of a larger measurement. http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/WEIGHTSandMEASURES/MetricHistory.html[^] _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

[steve_hocking]

At least if you're going to extol the virtues of the metric system, use it correctly!!! A centimetre only has 10 milimetres in it!!! :P

[Baconbutty]

I am 5' 9" tall and weigh 13st 3lb (I like to think it's all muscle :)) NOT 175cm and 84kg. This metric stuff does keep the brain agile though as I have to do simultaneous conversion from metric to Imperial in order to communicate with my children who only deal in "the dark side". I still remember having to write your own code in FORTRAN rather than be a cut and paste merchant being pampered by colour coded Intellisense - ahh proper programming - those were the days :)

[Lost User]

digital man wrote:

You don't visualize 500 meters, you just see the 0/5 kiometer.

This is what I'm getting at - the calculations for the metric system are much simpler, which makes it easy to work something into something else you can visualize. Paul

Where a pointless picture of song titles once resided only blank space now remains.

[El Corazon]

digital man wrote:

which is incredibly simple mental calculation compared to metric

This is perhaps the first time I have heard of base 10 as being difficult. The problem is not that the metric system is more difficult, it is that you learned the imperial system. The teachers will teach the imperial system and the employers will push the imperial system. So the imperial system will simply be used because it was always used. Is the English language more difficult than say... Japanese? if you were born in the country of the example, you learn it, you live it, and it is easy. Adding Japanese as a second language is difficult, just as adding English as a second language is difficult. Simply because your language is English does not mean that Japanese is necessarily confusing and illogical, it is because it does not adapt well to what you already know. So you are still basing the assumption on a narcissistic view, because you know the imperial system, metric is confusing. No, metric is confusing to you. Metric is easy if you were taught metric, adding a second standard is confusing whether you are trying to learn imperial when taught metric or vice versa.

digital man wrote:

Then again, I guess it's all about what you're used to.

exactly. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

[Andy Brummer]

RichardGrimmer wrote:

why it splits things down in a rather odd way?

So you think hexadecimal/binary is odd? ;)

Using the GridView is like trying to explain to someone else how to move a third person's hands in order to tie your shoelaces for you. -Chris Maunder

[El Corazon]

Baconbutty wrote:

175cm and 84kg.

You are 1.75 meters which is extremely easy to visualize. I have to deal with nautical miles, statutary miles as well as mach numbers, latitude and longitudal references (UTM anyone?), and even the fact that the "meter" is one size in Clarke1866 world reference, and another in WGS84. Even the meter has changed since it was developed as a division of earth surface (as a nautical mile is), as accurate measurement became possible the definition of a meter stayed and the measurement was adapted. Similarly the imperial system adapted independantly in the states and in England. Although you can easily visualize an inch in the USA and it looks similar to an inch in England, the two were not equal and if you measured cloth in the USA and sold it in the UK (or vice versa) basing on your measurements and not theirs you will end up in a lawsuit for shorting your customers, or giving out more to your customer than they expect. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

[Jan R Hansen]

yes and no. I completely agree that you have to learn the mental perception of 1 meter and 1 kilometer more or less independent of each other - as with yard and mile. Sorry, I know what I wrote is easily interpreted the other way. However - being coupled by a factor of 1000 (and I can see that from the "kilo", right... :) ) , I _could_ find out how log a kilometer is once I know what a meter is. That would be impossible with yard and mile. But yes - its the same otherwise. Do you know why it's important to make fast decisions? Because you give yourself more time to correct your mistakes, when you find out that you made the wrong one. Chris Meech on deciding whether to go to his daughters graduation or a Neil Young concert

[Alvaro Mendez]

Did you catch the BT banner ad to the right? Spot on! :laugh: Alvaro

---

... since we've descended to name calling, I'm thinking you're about twenty pounds of troll droppings in a ten pound bag. - Vincent Reynolds

[Jan R Hansen]

I love it :) Not sure which one I like the most - Tesco or carpet warehouse - but it's brilliant. :laugh: Do you know why it's important to make fast decisions? Because you give yourself more time to correct your mistakes, when you find out that you made the wrong one. Chris Meech on deciding whether to go to his daughters graduation or a Neil Young concert

[Barry Etter]

May I ask what's so funny about an ambulance for obese people? :~ Interesting, maybe. A sad commentary on nutrition and health in the U.S., maybe. But fall-out-of-your-chair funny? Not really. Barry Etter

[R Giskard Reventlov]

I am taking the piss. Anything that you're not used to is difficult. The real point is all you metric fascists think that you're the one and only. You're not. Actually I'm fairly comfortable in metric other than 2 areas: distance and temperature and I can fudge those when the need arises although in the UK and the US there isn't much need to get used to distance in metric and I just prefer 45F to 14C. Hey, it's the weekend! Yay! Enjoy either in base 10, 12 16 or 60. Whatever floats your boat. home
bookmarks You can ignore relatives but the neighbours live next door

[R Giskard Reventlov]

Jan R Hansen wrote:

That would be impossible with yard and mile

It is completely the same. I know that a mile is 1760 yards. If I'm used to that why would it be any harder? I just factor a little differently from you, that's all. I reflex it I don't even have to think about it. Stop thinking that metric is the one true god: it isn't. home
bookmarks You can ignore relatives but the neighbours live next door

[El Corazon]

digital man wrote:

all you metric fascists think that you're the one and only. You're not.

nor are the imperial fascists. I use both. I was given the choice, imperial or both, I chose both. I can calculate the speed of sound at sea level given average temperature and humidity too in both metric, nautical miles per hour and statutary miles per hour. If you set the limit that you do not want to learn, you will not, doesn't matter if it is binary, or decimal. The only advantage with metric, is that it doesn't change when you moved across the atlantic. For a very long time a foot was not a foot was not a foot, even after standardization because they were standardized independantly. Even after the inch and foot was standardized between England and the USA, england adapted to the standardization, but the USA refused because their existing measurement was within acceptable "error" -- so they forced someone else to meet most of the way and refused to come even the smaller portion to meet. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

Colin Angus Mackay wrote:

About the width of my house.

Yikes! That's a small house! ---sig---
Might I suggest that the universe was always the size of the cosmos. It is just that at one point the cosmos was the size of a marble. -- Colin Angus Mackay Silence is the voice of complicity PS. If you don't understand my sarcasm -- go to hell!

[Gary Wheeler]

I tend to agree with you, especially from the standpoint of helping and protecting the EMT's and other ambulance personnel. That is difficult work in the first place, and not having the proper tools to care for a patient (especially when they weigh more than 250 pounds) doesn't help.

---

Software Zen: delete this;