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Ethelred
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quote:
Originally posted by KrazyHorse
A metric mile is 1500 metres, not 10 000. |
That is what is run in the Olympics. 1600 meters is very close to a mile and since they also run 400 and 800 meters I don't know why 1500 was chosen.
The Mile run is (last I heard anyway) the only remaining non-metric race that has an official world record. Too much tradition on that one to get rid of it. A four minute miles means a lot. A four minute 1500 means your loafing or not very good.
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Dry
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Brussels
Sep 2000
time: 06:19
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Troughout time. man has tried to have the most convenient system for a majority of men.
The babylonian civilization had systems (monetary and measurment) based on the number 12. This was the most convenient system for a merchant civ, not knowing the concept of fractions.
The idea was to be able to divide price/weight/length, by 2, 3 or 4 and still have integer values.
This system is still in use for time. Days are dividable by 2, 3 or 4 into a round number of hours. Think about a day of 10 hours, each of 100 minutes, each of 100 seconds... how will you manage shift-work... 3times, err..., 3hours, 33minutes and 33seconds?
Minutes and seconds are even better: they are dividable by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
In the middle age, the measurement units were based more on natural things, like body parts (inch=thumb, feet, span,...) or practical units (one-day-of-horse-travel, distance-you-can-shoot-an-arrow, ...)
For most of these, the convenience was that even when you are on the other side of the hill, or even abroad, the person you are talking to is able to understand and have an idea of what you are speaking of, even if he does not have the same measurement unit. If you travel, you don't need to bring your stock of 1 meter long with you.
A last point was that most unit systems were such that you need to be able to count only to 20. For people with no education, to count above 20 was difficult.
Didn't the UK used 'pences' or something like that (1/12 or 1/20 of a pound) until recently?... not sure??.
With modern times and the discovery of much complex concept, the need to combine those units arose (miles/hour, lbs/square inch, ...). This created more abstract units, with only small relation with 'natural' things. So, abstract for abstract ...
In some activities, the need also came of having a common unit for people of 2 different branches (sailors working in nautic miles, telephone-cable builders in km or miles). Wouldn't it be easier to have an easy multiplier between respective units?
With education, the need of a sub-unit beeing at least 1/20 of a unit disappear.
Since ??? we know how to divide any number by any value, and with communication, there is no problem of finding anywhere a (plastic) stock to have a dm (or foot) estimation.
The idea was thus to have a coherent system, covering even the grey zones between every two domains of activity. The decimal system allows that, Depending if you are an geograph, a house builder or a researcher in elementary particles, you will use the same unit: the meter, only multiplied by a simple, easy to manipulate coefficient. km, m, nm, pm, ...
I don't think the discussion should be about a minority (America) joining a majority (the rest of the world). It is not about two equivalent systems, it is about which system is really the more convenient.
I personnaly think that the old imperial/royal/whatever system is not needed anymore. It is/was more natural and people oriented, but as it was said, people are much more adaptable than one may think (see how fast the euro was adopted).
And the decimal system allows 2 activities, close to each others to communicate more easily, no need of strange esoteric coefficients.
A carpenter must buy planks of meter or decameter size, will make beds of meter(s) size, and will add small decoration of cm size. The bed will be put in a room of a house whose dimensions are in meters, build with materials whose resistance are computed in kilogrammes/sqmeter, ...
Many, many different activities with many, many interactions.
The small advantages of the 'natural' system are today no more needed. People are able of abstraction and counting above 20.
We still need to divide the day in 3 and hours in 2, 3 or 4... but when our children will travel between stars and settle on new planets, what will be that old-fashion way of counting time ... in terrestrian years, month and days of 24 hours ? Nonsense.
All a question of convenience.
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04-06-2002 19:16
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