The Search for a More Perfect Kilogram (Wired)
Of all the scientific dragons to chase, precision must be one of the most vexing. The Search for a More Perfect Kilogram …
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Some Practical Consequences of Going Metric
My recent entry: President Obama, Give Us a Yard and We’ll Take a Meter has generated a fair amount of email (thank you, by the way). Among the comments were concerns about various aspects of doing the conversion, specifically about all that math to go from one system to another. Then there were comments about the realities of conversion. Let me try to address both of those items.
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President Obama, Give Us a Yard and We’ll Take a Meter
For all intents and purposes, the United States stands alone in relying on an inefficient and antiquated measurement system. For decades the cry has been that it will be too expensive or too inconvenient or too confusing to change to the worldwide metric standard. With the current economy in dire straits, can we really afford this ridiculous policy? Not only does it makes us look like provincial boobs, but (and this will get people’s attention) it costs us money. If ever there was a golden time to attack the problem with a bold mandate for change, this is it.
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