[sdiy] Metric OT rant

[Colin Fraser]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl 
> [mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Tony Allgood
> Sent: 11 August 2002 11:10
> To: synth-diy
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Metric OT rant
> 
> Its called the imperial system over here. And it still lives 
> with us in
> many things. For the moment we still buy our beer in pints, have road
> signposts in miles (although footpath signs are going over to 
> Km), weigh
> babies in lbs, and have all wood screws in imperial sizes 
> (metal screws
> are generally metric tough).
> 
> Life is never easy :-)

The problem with the adoption of the metric system as I see it, is that
the decimal number system is wholly unnatural.

In everyday life, how often do you deal with things in tens, compared
with 2's and 4's, or halves and quarters, etc ?
Just because we have 10 fingers doesn't mean we live in a universe where
most things occur in multiples of 10.
The imperial system is more natural, not just because the sub-divisions
of units are more natural numbers, but because there are handy
references in natural objects.
The tip of my index finger to the first knuckle is an inch. My forearm
is a foot long.
By the 'rack of the eye', everything is in imperial units to me.
What natural reference is there for a millimetre, or a metre ?
When you're dividing something up, how often do you need to divide into
10 parts, as opposed to half, thirds, or quarters ?
With 12 inches in a foot, you can divide a foot into 2, 3, 4, or 6
parts, with a whole number of inches.

As a practical example, when I was calculating the size of cutout I
needed for some keyswitches on a panel, and marking the switch
positions, the size I had for the switch was given as 19mm. I was trying
to mark increments of 19mm along the panel for the right number of
switches, counting in my head.
19, 38, 57, 76... ugh.
When I realised I was dealing in 3/4 inch steps, it got a lot easier...

This is a rare case where the US of A has the right idea.
Mine's a pint !

Colin f