On Fri, 3 Jan 2003 12:13:06 -0500, Tom Parmenter
<tompar=Jk6FQSss4Zz2eFz/2MeuCQ(a)public.gmane.org> wrote:
As I always say in these debates:
1 -- Except for temperature (the degrees are just too big), the metric
system is better worked out than the American, easier to use in many
applicatoins, etc.
2 -- The purpose of the encyclopedia is not to make people better, it
is to impart information to readers.
3 -- Millions of American encyclopedia readers cannot do the
conversions in their heads and should be provided with useful
information on the height and weight of the hippopotamus.
I was in school when NZ metricated and am still capable of using inches and
millimetres in the same sentence. I also hobbywork in a theatre where most
of our stock set has imperial dimensions thanks to its age. But I would
argue for metric any day.
And if you try to play the numbers game, the US will lose, particularly if
you throw a billion Indians into the mix. English is also the Lingua Franca
of much of Africa, and even though internet use is still very limited in
these countries, Wikipedia is a site that could easily end up with a much
higher profile there than in the 2nd World.
--
Richard Grevers
Christchurch, New Zealand