Preface - Why Metricize

As is known to all, measurement plays an important role in the entire human history. No one can live without measurement. From the very beginning, people knew whether the object is long or short, large or small, heavy or light, hot or cold, etc. by comparing and feeling. But sometimes comparing and feeling were unreliable, so people used their body parts (finger, hand, foot, etc.) or other objects as the standard, and then used it to compare with other subjects. This was the origin of the units of measurement.

With the development of human society, Units of measurement were developing as well, which made people measuring more accurately. However, Units of measurement varied from country to country. For instance, People in East Asia were using the traditional system (Chinese in origin), and people in the UK or its colony were using imperial system. The disunity of units brought inconvenience to international communication, so people wanted to create a new system of units which can be used all over the world.

The first practical realization of the united system of units came in 1799, during the French Revolution, when the existing system of measure, which had fallen into disrepute, was temporarily replaced by a decimal system based on the kilogramme and the metre. In 1837 the decimal system was adopted by France, and also during the first half of the 19th century was adopted by the scientific community. 

In 1875 seventeen countries signed the Conventions of the metre, and the new system is officially called metric system. The signing of the Conventions of the metre is the symbol for the start of the unity of units. With more and more country added the Conventions of the metre, in 1960 the CGPM launched the International System of Units (SI), which means the metric system is used worldwide. The unity of units made it convenient for international communication.

However, there are still some people who are not aware of the meaning of the unity of units. They still stick to a different system of units (e.g. imperial system) in international communication, especially on the Internet, which made people from different countries/regions confused. These people only think about themselves, without considering others. Not only does these people bring inconvenience to others, but also what they are doing is equal to turning the clock back, which is useless. Internet belongs to everyone in the world, not belongs to a specific country/region. People should follow the international practice on it. So I am using the blog to let them get metricized. Getting metricized is very easy. It does not take too much; all you need is trying to go metric in your life, studying and work, etc.

Now let us follow my posts and try to get metricized in your life!

(Note: comments need metricizing as well!)