[ltp] how to start with thinkpad T60?

[Mario Butter]

On Feb 17, 2008 3:13 PM, James Knott <james.knott@rogers.com> wrote:
> Units in science can be redefined as better data and measurement
> techniques appear.  Even back in the 18th century, air pressure was
> specified for determining the freezing point of water in Celcius.
> Fahrenheit is "backward" because like every other measure in the
> imperial system, it is largely arbitrary and there is nothing that can
> tie it, in a coherent system to anything else.

Fahrenheit is defined according to the temperatures of the freezing
and boiling points of water at one standard atmosphere, like Celsius.
It is not "arbitrary."

>  The metric system is design so the various measures are related to other measures.

To what other part of the metric system is the Celsius scale related?
And, BTW, the standard SI temperature scale is Kelvin, so you're not
even using the SI metric temperature scale. For your information,
temperature is one system that is not integrated into the metric
system, tied to other metric units.

> Then tell me which one is easier to work in.  Try scaling over
> the various ranges of length, weight etc.  In the metric system,
> everything relates to powers of ten, so scaling simply means moving the
> decimal point or changing the value of an exponent.  You don't have to
> worry about converting from pounds to ounces to tons or inches to feet
> to furlongs etc.  It is a measurement system and not a collection of
> arbitrary measures.

Err, it's trivial to work in units of tenths with ANY system. There
are, for example, 10 "0.1 lb" units in a pound.

I have no issues with working in either system. Perhaps the people who
are backward are those who have trouble using more than one system?

As an example, if I were measuring a piece of wood that I wanted to
cut into thirds, and that piece of wood was a yard long, I would make
my cuts at one foot intervals, a point that is clearly marked. Other
easy divisions used for construction are similarly marked. If that
piece of wood were a meter long, I would make my cuts at
33.33333333333333333... centimeters. This would usually not be marked
on my ruler, since there is a reliance on decimal marks implied in the
SI system, rather than marks based on fractions common in
construction. Works really good for science and engineering, however
for "real world" applications like construction, etc, the SAE system
works well. Especially since the SAE system COMES FROM those same real
world applications.

And virtually all SAE measurements have been tied to physical
constants over the years, as have most SI units. So the argument that
they're "arbitrary" is nonsense.

And the standard unit of time measurement in the SI system is hours,
minutes, and seconds. These are not related to each other in powers of
10.

BTW, do you even know why the use of Celsius is common in countries
that use the SI system, even though it's not part of the SI system?

-- 
Mario

http://mario.silent-tower.org/