1.83 metres under
Please, never hesitate to (politely) tell me that you think I got something wrong (heck, I know it’ll be popular if I admit it). Here is good example from my mailbag. Reader TW thinks “measuring force in pounds is a disgrace for your books.” I agree. He continues:
Your audience is probably quite international — which is where the SI system of measurements is used. As far as I know, it is at least taught in science classes in the United States and Canada as well. The SI system is clearly superior! As you advocate clear thinking, I would love to see if you use SI measurements primarily. The Imperial system is outdated and only used in North America.
Officially, Canadians are on the metric system. Unofficially, we often still do as the Americans do. Some metric measurements we have adopted wholeheartedly, like the kilometre. But most Canadians still give their height and weight in feet, inches, and pounds. I entirely agree with the criticism, and I’ve done a round of conversions, particularly where most needed. I can’t promise there aren’t some Imperial strays — it’s a really big website — but it’s much improved.