3 ms·

The EU takes pride in multilingualism. Bilingualism is said to be a core part of Canadian identity. Children are encouraged to learn multiple languages. Yet

The EU takes pride in multilingualism. Bilingualism is said to be a core part of Canadian identity. Children are encouraged to learn multiple languages. Yet for some reason diversity in measurement systems is bad? The US uses two measurement systems. As a practical matter, those who need to use metric do so. Many sporting events are metric. Much commerce is metric. Food labels are metric. I have never seen why this is a problem. Most other folks don't either, which is why we haven't chosen to do stupid stuff like run around and change road signs or insist that people use particular measurements. Oh, and the story about how the spacecraft crashed does not make a convincing case. Any aerospace contractor worth its salt would check all its units of measure. Being entirely metric does nothing to alleviate this burden. Reporting a measure in centimeters rather than meters will get you the same problem. Units of measure must be labeled, period.

Oletros 10y ago
> Reporting a measure in centimeters rather than meters will get you the same problem. Units of measure must be labeled, period. cm to meter is not the same that feet to meter
adventured 10y ago
In terms of first order importance, efficiency in language is even more important than efficiency in measurement systems, it's fascinating how that's ignored (as you noted, it's artificially excused away using culture or nationalism). The EU absorbs a massive cost by maintaining dozens of unnecessary languages. In fact it's so bad that a full 1/2 of all the people in the EU are unable to communicate with each other properly: they speak no common language. It's one of the more obvious weaknesses in their economic competitiveness.
dalke 10y ago
Some people learn a new language or learn about a different culture to get some understanding of a different perspective on life. There is very little interesting or informative about learning diverse unit systems. Now, history of unit systems is interesting, but that's more like learning an aspect of other cultures than about measurement systems.
- mordant 10y ago
  I speak two languages in addition to English, and can (mostly) read and write a third. English is far more expressive than the other languages with which I'm familiar.
  - dalke 10y ago
    What is your point? Consider two color models. One can be "more expressive", that is, have a large gamut, than the second, but be unable to reproduce all of the colors in the second. Or, certainly Lisp is "more expressive" than APL, and both are Turning computable and thus equivalent, but some trivial constructs in APL require much more Lisp to express. How do you express Japanese honorific speech in English?

Oletros 10y ago

> Reporting a measure in centimeters rather than meters will get you the same problem. Units of measure must be labeled, period. cm to meter is not the same that feet to meter

adventured 10y ago

In terms of first order importance, efficiency in language is even more important than efficiency in measurement systems, it's fascinating how that's ignored (as you noted, it's artificially excused away using culture or nationalism). The EU absorbs a massive cost by maintaining dozens of unnecessary languages. In fact it's so bad that a full 1/2 of all the people in the EU are unable to communicate with each other properly: they speak no common language. It's one of the more obvious weaknesses in their economic competitiveness.

dalke 10y ago

Some people learn a new language or learn about a different culture to get some understanding of a different perspective on life. There is very little interesting or informative about learning diverse unit systems. Now, history of unit systems is interesting, but that's more like learning an aspect of other cultures than about measurement systems.

mordant 10y ago
I speak two languages in addition to English, and can (mostly) read and write a third. English is far more expressive than the other languages with which I'm familiar.
- dalke 10y ago
  What is your point? Consider two color models. One can be "more expressive", that is, have a large gamut, than the second, but be unable to reproduce all of the colors in the second. Or, certainly Lisp is "more expressive" than APL, and both are Turning computable and thus equivalent, but some trivial constructs in APL require much more Lisp to express. How do you express Japanese honorific speech in English?