Re: measuring systems (was: Selenites)

Pablo Flores wrote:

> But I only said I didn't like seeing those measures on documentaries and
> movies. Well, movies can do whatever they want to, of course, but
> scientific programmes which are supposed to be watched by many people
> outside the US _should_ avoid using that system, in favor of the metric
> one, which is more common to the rest of the world.
Well, one of the problems with this is that most of the documentaries
made in the United States are made specifically for Americans, and
perhaps all the other English speakers in the world by extension.  Only
as an afterthought would American documentary makers want to
internationalize their documentaries, because the market is greatest here
(and besides, e.g., just how many Europeans are interested in the intimate
details of the Mexican-American War?).  A great many American documentaries
are like this:  they are very American in appeal (like Ken Burns' _The Civil
War_), and so nobody thinks about the possible foreign appeal of such
programming.

But here's a question:  if the US were to make a change over to the metric
system, but kept its present units in remetricized forms, would you find
that acceptable?  What I mean for example is we use meters, kilometers,
and so forth, but change the present value of mile to some useful multiple
of the kilometer (like 1 mile = 2km, rather 1.6 km as now), and do this with
other present units (1 inch would change from 2.54 cm to 2.5 or 2 cm, etc.).
What do you think? Would that still be confusing to you?


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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
ICQ#: 4315704   AIM: Deuterotom
Website: <http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."

We look at [the Tao], and do not see it;
  Its name is the Invisible.
                 - Lao Tsu, _Tao Te Ching_

Nature is wont to hide herself.
                 - Herakleitos
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