Re: measuring systems (was: Selenites)

Tom Wier wrote:
>Pablo Flores wrote:
>
>> Personally, I don't like the English system.
>>I hate all those feet, yards, miles, inches,
>>pounds, gallons and so on.
>
>Why's that?  I mean, I can understand that you find it unwieldy to use
>(if you ever had to use it, which if you live outside the US, you don't), but
>does it spawn a real visceral dislike of it, just because it's different?
Sorry, I didn't mean that (not so forcefully) :)
I don't actually _use_ it, but I have to understand it whenever I watch
a movie or documentary, because even scientific programmes speak of miles,
feet and pounds.

The reason I don't like it is its irregularity. It's picturesque and interesting
on conlangs and inevitable on natlangs, but I see no point on having irregularity
in a measuring system, especially when we have another one which is regular.


>The fact is, there is no way to make a *perfectly* nonarbitrary
>measurement system.  You will still always base it on something
>that is ultimately arbitrary itself.
True and true. But once you choose a base for your system, you should
stick with it and make derived measures from the base ones,
multiplying/dividing by a constant number (which in our culture
should be ten, or perhaps two).


--Pablo Flores

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