Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: Hibou Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,alt.usage.english Subject: Re: GNU Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:48:31 +0100 Lines: 37 Message-ID: References: <10pe83m$3rg2l$1@dont-email.me> <10phnao$113u1$6@dont-email.me> <1rsaf5i.1nrmqo3vtna18N%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <1rsaj4d.rtb8ajbdoy69N%snipeco.2@gmail.com> <10pkqka$22prd$1@dont-email.me> <10ppr5m$3m2br$1@dont-email.me> <10pr6gg$2t5v$1@dont-email.me> <10pv2af$1eb4h$2@dont-email.me> <87zf3wx1jt.fsf@parhasard.net> <10pvhqb$1j2vg$1@dont-email.me> <1rsjtwr.9h8wo7a6jjujN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <10q2o7j$nr7l$1@news1.tnib.de> <1rsostx.1fumdje1pdrftiN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <1rsoqz0.19zzbh71ebfb7bN%snipeco.2@gmail.com> <18a11176d0ed8bfb$1717$2710841$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com> <10qat4h$1fq2k$1@dont-email.me> <1bin9mx3hc.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net i+pmL8zYfzHdoK8IHqZ1UwIRSb6MsNk3hmWGYhf274L9ufGFCM Cancel-Lock: sha1:mUjiysUBDN5dIBbZ+1wNpRZ+HsE= sha256:x//WJ49jrEwvT2mHSf3K9Mp9whUdaqtge50nKb3oisg= User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Content-Language: en-GB, fr In-Reply-To: <1bin9mx3hc.ln2@Telcontar.valinor> Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:84582 alt.usage.english:1141540 Le 29/03/2026 à 13:25, Carlos E.R. a écrit : > On 2026-03-29 12:18, Hibou wrote: >> >> (Speak not to me of half-litres; 'half' is all right with Imperial >> units, but has no place in SI (but then, neither does the litre). Half >> a cubic decimetre of milk, anyone?) > > As I live in a metric only country, I can tell you with authority that > we speak of half a litre of milk with total ease and naturality. [...] I'm sure that's right, that you do speak of half-litres with complete naturalness. The point is that it's a bastardisation of the system. It's not pure SI, and it's not in the spirit of the wider metric system, which works on multiples of ten, not two. It's an adaptation, a frig, an attempt to provide the human-sized units that the Imperial system already has. As to my comments about swimming pools, the Isle of Wight, Wales, cups of flour, and so on, the point there (perhaps with a dash of owlish humour and tongue-in-cheekiness, which colm won't be used to) wasn't that these are precise units; it was that they are an attempt to improve understanding. People need this. Enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool or 2,500 cubic metres? Cubic metres are fine for the water bill. Swimming pools may be better when talking to the man on the Clapham omnibus. "It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population" - … and my guess would be that almost everyone masters more than one dialect (posh and local). As with language, so with measurements? Why not? The brain can cope. Indeed, it may be good for the brain to do a few conversions once in a while - 1 mile = 1.609 km, 1" = 2.54 cm, 1 kilo = 2.2045 lb, 11 stones = 70 kg, etc.. A bit of mental arithmetic may help to stop the neurons rotting away.