Hello Michiel,

 >>> Bj”rn asked what could possible go wrong and I gave two examples of
 >>> something actually going wrong. I didn't make that up, these are
 >>> real life examples. Sure I am serious.

 WH>> I believe you and concede.  However, we could surely argue here that
 WH>> it's really not clear the units are the problem.  If you work with
 WH>> multiple units, it becomes your job to verify.  Still, see below.

 MvdV> We could argue but...

 MvdV> o When a plane crashes, there is an investigation.

 MvdV> o If the investigation shows that the crash was due to it running out of
 MvdV> fuel.

 MvdV> o And the investigation reveals that the captain ordered 5000 kg of
fuel.

 MvdV> o And the investigation shows that 5000 pounds of fuel were loaded.

 MvdV> o And the investigation shows that the location of the crash is
consistant
 MvdV> with the plane taking off with 5000 pounds of fuel.

 MvdV> .. What is there to argue?

Years ago, the football coach for LSU was on board a private plane
and it crashed over the ocean, killing all aboard.

The plane was en route from Louisiana to North Carolina, but kept
on going over the Atlantic Ocean until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
Was it really due to the plane running out of fuel, or the pilot and
passengers losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen? Certainly no
experienced pilot would have allowed an airplane to continue flying
over the ocean past its intended destination ...

 WH>> But let's ask this.  Must the population change their units because
 WH>> pilots might get things wrong?  I'd think the pilots should change
 WH>> join the standard and let people drink their pint of beer.

 MvdV> Pilots are not a seperate species genetically isolated from the rest of
the
 MvdV> world. Neither are anethisists who could mistakenly deliver the patient
5
 MvdV> Gallons of NOx instead of 5 litres.

What about doctors who administer lethal doses of meds for those who
are sentenced to death? First, do no harm. That is the oath every
doctor takes. What difference does it make what kind of drug that is
used to kill people? Vets use drugs to kill dogs and cats. Why not
doctors use the same drugs to kill people who are condemned to death?
The amount doesn't really matter, as long as it is enough to do the
job.

 MvdV> Kids who learn about units of measurements today are the next generation
 MvdV> pilots, doctors, engineers and cooks 30 yaars from now.

Having enough fuel on board an airplane is important. But too much
of a good thing can also be bad. Very bad. Overloading an airplane
with fuel might cause the airplane never to gain enough height to
remain airborn, in which case the flight will come to an end in a
giant fireball.

 >>> People often do not see the benefits until they actually are in the
 >>> situation. I sure see the benefits of not having to deal with of
 >>> local measuring systems and I am very glad my predesessors of a 100
 >>> years ago did see it that way too and acted on it by doing away with
 >>> local measurements and adopting a universal system.

 WH>> That sounds reasonable. If an American puts himself in your shoes,
 WH>> he'd grow up in a culture that's using a universal system.  He would
 WH>> perhaps be thankful as you are.  If you put yourself in an American's
 WH>> shoes, you'd have grown up in a culture that's using the imperial
 WH>> system. Perhaps you'd want to change it!  That's very likely to
 MvdV> happen
 WH>> because that is happening!  Indeed, you wouldn't see the benefits of
 WH>> _not_ changing because you're not their situation! :-D (Don't take it
 WH>> personally.  I am having fun, but not at your expense.  Seriously.)

 MvdV> Whatver. If I grew up in a situation where I was using a system that was
 MvdV> only used by a small minority of the world's population, I would
certainly
 MvdV> see the benefits of change.

Some cultures use very primitive systems. And those primitive systems
work. For those cultures they work quite well. Which is why they still
use them today.

 MvdV> I was born with a native language only spoken by less than one percent
of
 MvdV> the worlds population. If I had a choice in the matter, Dutch would not
be
 MvdV> my native language.

We do not have a one-world language. What we have is a mixture of
languages that are used throughout the world. Same with measurements.
There is no one-world standard.

 >>> You know, here in Europe two or three hundred years ago, we had
 >>> local measuring systems. We had "Rijnlandes voet, "Utrechtse voet",
 >>> "Amsterdamse duim". Etc, etc. Napoleon ended that and he introduced
 >>> the meter end the kg. And science, technology and trade accepted it.
 >>> I sure see the benfits.

 WH>> That makes perfect sense.  Let's take UTF-8 --- if you're the Internet
 WH>> type of person.  Nearly everyone in Western countries are using it.
 WH>> It makes a lot of things work well.

 MvdV> Yes, I am an UTF-8 evangalist. I am actively promoting its use in
Fidonet.

Hooray! I'm with you on that!

 WH>> I was remarking just the other day that I can never quite understand
 WH>> which encoding Bj”rn is using. Sometimes it displays just fine, but
 WH>> there are places in Bjorn's own messages that do not.

 MvdV> See FTS-5003.001

Simple enough.

 >>> From a global POV, you guys across are still using local
 >>> measurements....

 WH>> You think I'm an American! :-)

 MvdV> You live on the continent of North America don't you? ;-)

I am Cajun. That does not mean American. Even though Cajuns
can be called Americans. No such animal as Cajun American.
Those critters never existed. With, or without, a hyphen.

--Lee

-- 
It's not for women.

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