Belgian_Draft

Once again you attempt to change the definition. I'm through arguing with you. If you think that an entire group of scientists discussing the issue of what to base a standard measurement on ends up in something just pulled out of thin air for no reason, than there is nothing I can say that will change your mind. Good day. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Perhaps you should stop using a french definition of the word. In english, nothing special means arbitrary. Say WHAT??? From Merriam-Webster... From the Cambridge Dictionary... I also posted a definition earlier from yet another online dictionary. None of them are French. None use the word "special" anywhere in their definition. Instead of trying to disprove my argument, you could say why you feel the metre is arbitrary. Thus far all arguments you have made can only be backed up by your opinion, not evidence. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

I remember an airliner that ran out of fuel several miles high because of confusion caused by the two systems. Luckily the pilot was very experienced in gliders and sailplanes, enabling them to make it to an old airfield. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

It's comical seeing you continue to try to come up with reasons that this definition is meaningful. You said yourself, there was nothing special about 39.3 inches. And it's not exactly the most useful definition out there - the marks on the platinum bar were much more convenient than having to remeasure from the pole to the equator (huge potential for error here) Where do you think the measurement for the platinum bar came from? I'll give you a hint...it has to do with the north pole and the equator. I have also said that there does not have to be anything "special" about it for it to not be arbitrary. What is comical is reading you two redefining the word to suit your argument. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

BTW, your math is wrong here. Well, you're right about something anyway. 1/5 mm=.0002 metre=.02% of a metre. I neglected to convert from decimal to percent. Thank you for pointing that out. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

I agree, slow is the best way. People would get along with the metric system much better if they stopped trying to convert everything to imperial. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

It's like talking to a wall! There's nothing special about 39.xx inches as the length for the meter. It could have been twice as long, or half as long, and worked out just as well. (the mass of a gram would change, of course) And this is why is it arbitrary. You didn't do the research, did you? Like I said before, if it was arbitrary there would have been no reason whatsoever for having chosen 1/10,000,00 the distance from the NP to the equator. But there was. There were lots of reasons and the decision wasn't made by one man, it was made by a group of scientists. The decision was not made lightly. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Maybe once this economic downturn is over people will appreciate what they have more than they did and stop wanting more, more, more. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Or kelpland. You can wave your hands about and insist it's not arbitrary, but repeating it over and over doesn't change the fact that the meter could have been derived from an infinite number of ways. 1/100th the height of Versaille the length of the arm of king Louie - not permament, but they could make a standard, like the kilogram mass. 1/x the distance from Buckingham Palace to the Eifle Tower ..... Go read the definition of "arbitrary". Then do some research into the how the length of the meter was derived and why. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Uh huh . . . please divide a meter into exactly 3 equal parts. Base 10 is just as arbitrary as anything and in some cases less useful. Easy. 3 parts, each 333 1/3 mm. Regardless of what base number is used, there would still be instances where rational numbers are the only way to get an exact calculation. Has nothing to do with whether or not the system is based on arbitrary units. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

You fail to comprehend to meaning of "arbitrary". Arbitrary means baseless. Pulled out of thin air. At random. No reasoning or thought behind it. The use of the earths diameter was not just used at random. It was chosen because it was stable, measurable, there was only one, and a lot of other reasons. It wasn't chosen just on impulse or by just one person, rather by careful thought by a group of scientists. Far from arbitrary. Using a base 10 system makes it easy because that is what everyone used then anyway, and we still do. So, you see, there is nothing...not one single little bit...that was or is arbitrary. Except in Quadeland. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Where did you get the idea that it had to be "special" to not be arbitrary? According to any definition I can find "special" has nothing to do with it. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

There is nothing "special" about that distance. But that doesn't mean it is arbitrary. Something that is arbitrary is , as in the definition, not based on anything. If some Frenchman had just held his arms apart and said, "This will be a metre. Mark it on a stick", then you would be 100% correct in saying the metric system is arbitrary. But that's not what happened. The first defintion was the length of a pendulum that swung with a 2 htz frequency. That never caught on and a few years later was changed to reflect the distance from the NP to the equator. This distance was very carefully and painstakingly calculated. That is completely opposite an arbitrary decision. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Incorrect. The SI was arbitrarily made up by some French guys trying to take over the world and was adopted by some countries that wrote it into their laws. Ok, I see how you want to discuss the topic. You want to completely forget about how the metre was derived, what the definition of "arbitrary" is, and the obvious superiority of the metric system over imperial. BTW, I did some checking and come to find out, the French were off in their measurement of the distance from the north pole to the equator. They assumed the earth was perfectly round, which it isn't, and they were off on the length of a metre by 1/5 of a millimeter. That's .0002% of a metre. I did the calculation for you since it is so hard. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

You mean "decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute" ? Thank you for reinforcing my position. The metric system is not decided by a judge or arbiter, but rather is determined by standards set by law. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Uh huh . . . lemme ask you this; what's so "special" about 1/10,000,000th of the distance between the pole and the equator? The real answer; nothing. It's completely arbitrary. AND they didn't even get that right so now it's redefined as some fairly bizarre distance that light travels in a vacuum in some bizarre fraction of a second, but that's also completely arbitrary and is only used so that it closely fits the original concept. The entire metric system is arbitrary. There is no basis for thinking it's superior in any way, shape or form. By definition, the metric system is anything BUT arbitrary. The defintion of a metre was changed to one based upon light in a vacuum because it is constant and not subject to degradation like physical standards kept on shelves. The reason for change had absolutelty nothing to do with the accuracy of the original measurements. I don't know if they were right or not, but it is a moot point. The superioriy of the metric system lies within it's ease of use. Everything is converted from one unit to another just by moving the decimal point. When compared to the imperial system, it's a no-brainer that metrics are much simpler to use. But the biggest reason of all is that I would rather get a free litre of stout than a free pint! HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

I thought it was the kilogram that was arbitrary with the metre being related to the kilogram. Neither is arbitrary. A meter was originally 1/10,000,000 the distance from the north pole to the equator on a line of longitude running through Paris, France. It is now defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1⁄299,792,458 of a second. The gram was originally the weight of 1 cc of pure water, later the term was changed to reflect mass. A kilogram is 1000 grams. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

What is arbitrary about it? HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

No. Calling an engine 1.5024 gallons would be retarded as engines have never been referred to in that way. Engine cylinder displacement is properly referred to as VOLUME, not a measure of mass. A liter is volume. It is 1000 cubic centimetres. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Kallend must be sleeping in this morning. I would have expected him to post a reply by now. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

It will happen eventually. Many facets of American life are already going by the metric system that were in the domain of the imperial system just 20 years ago. Auto manufacturers advertise engine size by liters where 20 years ago the standard was cubic inches. Tire sizes are almost all metric. Soft drinks are sold by 1 & 2 liter bottles. Heck, drug dealers lead the way by dealing large quantities by the kilo! The metric system is too easy to use for it not to take over, but it will take some time. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

I think it's a safe pick for Obama. He needed someone in there who could handle the job without rocking the political boat. Obama is going to have enough challenges in the coming months and years without adding to them. Panetta's lack of experience "in the spook world" could very well be a huge plus. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

Fixed it fer ya. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

The improper use of there, their, and they're. And Billy Mays. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

I like that idea. But I am afraid it would be harder than getting term limits, something that hasn't had much success. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.