Re: Not Quite Independence

[Gary Karshner <karshner@STMARYTX.EDU>]

Tom and list,
        The US went on the metric system in 1866 by act of Congress. Then
we promptly bought one of the standard meter bars, printed conversion
tables and continued to use "English" units based on metric quantities.
        Tom you may remember that an Imperial (Canadian) gallon was not
the same as the one in the  US. This was because of this conversion.
        We have made a little progress in the last forty years. When
congress takes up the subject they no longer become male chauvinists and
read off the measurement of Hollywood stars in centimeters to much
laughter. As you mentioned our best effort was in the 1970's when road
signs appeared with km as well as miles, and the arm forces converted to
metric. Then only to slide backward and remove the road signs, because of
the public backlash. I remember having lunch with a librarian during
that  period claiming that it was all a conspiracy to get them to buy all
new metric sized card catalogs!
        I was hoping when the Mars Polar Lander failed to land because of
a conversion mix up that Congress would again address the issue, but they
have continued to be shy of readdress the question and we go on being one
of three third world counties that aren't metric. I hold out little hope
under our current chauvinists president that thing will change before the
end of this century.

Gary


> IFB we are not a metric nation because "using the metric system" has been
> so often introduced to young minds as a conversion thing. Even looking at
> the signage on our superhighways, one might say the the designers used a
> calculator instead of moving the cruddy post. I graduated from a Canadian
> college when that country was using only English units.
>
> It is fine to exercise proportional reasoning by randomly poking a hole in
> a plastic cup for each student to establish individual volume units, use
> these to fill a single same container and then make a conversion table of
> everyone's "unit" to everyone elses without ever using a "standard unit" at
> all. But, I always taught that a measurement should be made in the units
> one intended to use and conversion was needed only when one forgot or was
> unable to do that. My classroom tapemeasure had both English and Metric
> scales on it, to further make the point that one was unlikely to land a job
> as a "converter."
>
> As I entered the classroom after a short military career, it seemed to me
> that this nation would become metric, if by no other means, by virtue of
> the metrics found in military and other government surplus -- a staple in
> my classroom and lab. But, this is taking much longer than I imagined 40
> years ago.
>
> Tom Ford