Le 29/08/2010 11:17, Stephen nous fit lire :
> On 29/08/2010 12:53 AM, Darren New wrote:
>>
>> Well, *now* it is precise. Obviously it wasn't precise when it was
>> formulated.  I think the foot, however, was the size of some specific
>> king's foot. And the metric measurements have changed definitions over
>> the years as well.
>>
> 
> Henry I of England, but not his bare foot.
> 
>>> Besides, you need to put true mental calculations at work to convert
>>> between
>>> units, instead of simply moving the point forward or backwards between
>>> centimeters, meters and kilometers...
>>
>> Sure, because there are different units, unlike the SI measurements
>> which only have one unit per fundamental element being measured. I still
>> have to put mental calculations forth to translate between seconds and
>> meters, or between meters and light-years, or between watt-hours and
>> watt-months, or between moles and grams, because they're different units
>> based on arbitrary physical properties. The fact that one has to
>> translate between inches and feet isn't really any more of a problem
>> than the fact that metric measurements have to translate between seconds
>> and years.
> 
> I would say less of a problem, actually. Constantly doing mental
> arithmetic helps keep the mind active. I’ve noticed, here in the UK, the
> lack of ability in young people who grew up learning the metric system.
> I assume that they did not have to do sums like:
> What is the cost of 3 yards 1 foot of material @ 2/6 a yard.
> 
> Ans: 8/4 That is 8 shillings and 4 pence.
> 

Why stop at only mental activity, let's also take into account the year
of mint, as it used to be.
And each mint (and that could each city) could have its own agenda for
the weight of its pounds & guinea.

May be I can slice some pounds in two, or scrap enough of them to make a
new one...

Shilling has been dropped in 1971... and the penny is now decimal.
But we can mix pound, shilling (at 20 per pound), pences (at 240 per
pound) and new pences (at 100 per pound) with guinea (1 pound 1 shilling)

Oh, I call in the Bretton Woods system, in which I could exchange 1
pounds for $4.03...

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