POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : A small puzzle : Re: A small puzzle Server Time
8 Sep 2024 07:14:28 EDT (-0400)
  Re: A small puzzle  
From: Eero Ahonen
Date: 24 May 2008 01:33:48
Message: <4837a8bc@news.povray.org>
Darren New wrote:
> scott wrote:
>> Like what? mm, cm, m and km pretty much cover most things in terms of 
>> distance.
> 
> A cm is about right. You need something about a foot, tho. Otherwise you 
> get things like "he was 197 cm tall". Note that people really rarely use 
> "yards" as a measure here. It's feet and miles, unless you're measuring 
> something that's particularly sold by the yard, like cloth.

I think this is an opinion-question, but IMO cm/m is pretty easy and 
logical measurement for people. 197cm tells you that he's 3cm shorter 
than a normal door, so he won't hit his head.

> Kilograms are too heavy and grams are too light. Liters are too big and 
> centiliters are too small. Basically, the factor of 1000 in common units 
> is the problem. :-)

One packet of sugar weights one kg. One liter of milk weight nearly one 
kg. 1-10 kg's are pretty normal weights in everyday life, so how is it 
too heavy? It also tells you immediality that a car weights ie. the same 
that 1510 packets of sugar (no wonder it needs some energy to get the 
darn thing moving).

> Having numbers that go below zero for everyday temperatures seems less 
> convenient.

In below zero (C) temperatures air is dry and most of the normally-wet 
places are freaking slippery. Practically I find it very useful 
information in everyday life (the most important thing about outside 
temparature is that is it + or - in certain times of year).

> And powers of 10 work almost as poorly as powers of 12 for computers. ;-)

Well that's true :).

-- 
Eero "Aero" Ahonen
    http://www.zbxt.net
       aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid


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