Comments on: The Rod Delusion http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/ Floccinaucinihilipilificating antidisestablishmentarianism since 2001. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:50:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Andrew http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-5270 Andrew Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:34:36 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-5270 Since I've not heard about it, not very. Have they finally made some progress with it, then? Since I’ve not heard about it, not very. Have they finally made some progress with it, then?

]]> By: Dave http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-5268 Dave Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:47:22 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-5268 How excited are you that soon the kilogram will finally be perfectly defined, one way or another? It was the only imperfect part of the metric system. How excited are you that soon the kilogram will finally be perfectly defined, one way or another? It was the only imperfect part of the metric system.

]]> By: Andrew http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1151 Andrew Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:55:20 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1151 What I love about that argument is that its proponents never seem to spot that it boils down to "it's better because it's much, much harder to use". I know I personally have to use my two-and-two-seventy-fifths times table every other week, and always curse my school for not teaching me about fathoms. What I love about that argument is that its proponents never seem to spot that it boils down to “it’s better because it’s much, much harder to use”.

I know I personally have to use my two-and-two-seventy-fifths times table every other week, and always curse my school for not teaching me about fathoms.

]]> By: Lozza http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1150 Lozza Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:49:06 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1150 I love John Brown of Long Buckby's argument, on the Times page you link to, that using imperial measurements improves your mathematical ability because you have to calculate in bases other than ten. That would explain why British and American schoolkids are so much better at maths than their French or German counterparts. Oh, hang on a minute... Of course, as an Englishman living in Paris, I can just laugh when before I'd have seethed. I love John Brown of Long Buckby’s argument, on the Times page you link to, that using imperial measurements improves your mathematical ability because you have to calculate in bases other than ten. That would explain why British and American schoolkids are so much better at maths than their French or German counterparts. Oh, hang on a minute…

Of course, as an Englishman living in Paris, I can just laugh when before I’d have seethed.

]]> By: Dave http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1149 Dave Mon, 20 Aug 2007 02:37:28 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1149 I'm still forced to use torr, apparantly for traditions sake. I’m still forced to use torr, apparantly for traditions sake.

]]> By: Andrew http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1148 Andrew Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:09:16 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1148 <p>They could just decimalise cricket. 10 players to a team, 10 runs for a boundary, 100 for a boundary with no bounces, 1m long pitch with a 1km boundary (that's why you get so many runs if you can clear the thing), and carzy 1m high stumps 1cm apart. Mind, hitting the 1cm ball with your 1m-by-1cm bat would be tough.</p> They could just decimalise cricket. 10 players to a team, 10 runs for a boundary, 100 for a boundary with no bounces, 1m long pitch with a 1km boundary (that’s why you get so many runs if you can clear the thing), and carzy 1m high stumps 1cm apart.

Mind, hitting the 1cm ball with your 1m-by-1cm bat would be tough.

]]> By: Adam http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1146 Adam Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:22:47 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1146 I've just had a horrible thought, if they abolish imperial - they may abolish cricket. I'm off to lie down for a bit I’ve just had a horrible thought, if they abolish imperial - they may abolish cricket.

I’m off to lie down for a bit

]]> By: SupSuper http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1144 SupSuper Sun, 19 Aug 2007 01:55:36 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1144 It's all metric system around here, so to me, imperial simply strikes me as <i>bizarre</i>. The whole point of the definition of a system is so that there's a standard, and I can hardly see anything standard about imperial. It's derived off object-based measurements so I can see why it's considered more convenient, but that's just that, not a system, not a standard. There's nothing that dictates what makes a unit. It's designed so you can easily visualize a unit and measure by it, but once you start having to convert between them, it becomes choatic because there's no standard, the units can be anything. Imperial units, for all they're worth, are fairly independent, all having their own "system". Metric system is standardized, designed so you can easily colerate between various units. Sure you'll have a hard time finding objects that are exactly a meter or some such, but the point is you can easily go from a meter to a decimeter to a centimeter and so on, or even from squared meters to liters and what not. So you don't have to memorize tons of different units and can convert of the fly. It's standardized so everything is base 10 and nothing more, so even any newly introduced units will still be easily converted to existing ones because they all follow the standard. The argument of imperial users having no problem with it is a bit flawed because obviously, people will eventually grow used and skilled to whatever they've used the rest of their lives. Just like us metric users can't fathom imperial concepts. (so maybe I'm a bit biased, but oh well) But for someone completely devoid of such concepts, metric will come across much easier than imperial. And that's the point of the systems. The same goes for the fact that "majority doesn't make it right". If I ever travelled the world I would have to learn new languages to cope with whatever countries I went to, otherwise I'd have to restrict myself to Portuguese-speaking countries. Greek might be a minority language in the world, so I don't have to know it to interact with it, but if I went to Greece it would become a majority and I would have to stick to it, no matter how much I didn't like it. Thus if the majority of the world uses the metric system, you have to learn it if you want to interact with it, or restrict yourself to imperial-using countries. If imperial was the majority, or if I went to an imperial-based country, I would have to learn it. As it stands, I like metric. I like my base 10 and I like my easily referenced units. I like that water freezes at 0 and boils at 100. And I like that I can more or less visualize a decimeter in a palm and a meter by stretching my arms. That's where I stand. It’s all metric system around here, so to me, imperial simply strikes me as bizarre. The whole point of the definition of a system is so that there’s a standard, and I can hardly see anything standard about imperial. It’s derived off object-based measurements so I can see why it’s considered more convenient, but that’s just that, not a system, not a standard. There’s nothing that dictates what makes a unit. It’s designed so you can easily visualize a unit and measure by it, but once you start having to convert between them, it becomes choatic because there’s no standard, the units can be anything. Imperial units, for all they’re worth, are fairly independent, all having their own “system”.

Metric system is standardized, designed so you can easily colerate between various units. Sure you’ll have a hard time finding objects that are exactly a meter or some such, but the point is you can easily go from a meter to a decimeter to a centimeter and so on, or even from squared meters to liters and what not. So you don’t have to memorize tons of different units and can convert of the fly. It’s standardized so everything is base 10 and nothing more, so even any newly introduced units will still be easily converted to existing ones because they all follow the standard.

The argument of imperial users having no problem with it is a bit flawed because obviously, people will eventually grow used and skilled to whatever they’ve used the rest of their lives. Just like us metric users can’t fathom imperial concepts. (so maybe I’m a bit biased, but oh well) But for someone completely devoid of such concepts, metric will come across much easier than imperial. And that’s the point of the systems.

The same goes for the fact that “majority doesn’t make it right”. If I ever travelled the world I would have to learn new languages to cope with whatever countries I went to, otherwise I’d have to restrict myself to Portuguese-speaking countries. Greek might be a minority language in the world, so I don’t have to know it to interact with it, but if I went to Greece it would become a majority and I would have to stick to it, no matter how much I didn’t like it.

Thus if the majority of the world uses the metric system, you have to learn it if you want to interact with it, or restrict yourself to imperial-using countries. If imperial was the majority, or if I went to an imperial-based country, I would have to learn it.

As it stands, I like metric. I like my base 10 and I like my easily referenced units. I like that water freezes at 0 and boils at 100. And I like that I can more or less visualize a decimeter in a palm and a meter by stretching my arms. That’s where I stand.

]]> By: Adam http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1140 Adam Sat, 18 Aug 2007 20:33:46 +0000 http://www.apathysketchpad.com/blog/2007/08/18/the-rod-delusion/#comment-1140 Wow, you really have been storing that vitriol up for some time. Apparently imperial is useful for something. A chain seems to be (from my understanding) exactly the length of a cricket pitch (the square, not the whole field!) Wow, you really have been storing that vitriol up for some time.

Apparently imperial is useful for something. A chain seems to be (from my understanding) exactly the length of a cricket pitch (the square, not the whole field!)

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