[Info-vax] Why is starting epoch 17 Nov 1858?

[Dave Froble]

On 3/11/2021 9:03 AM, Tom Wade wrote:
> On 2021-03-09 23:49, Michael Moroney wrote:
>
>> If it were up to me, I would have used whatever date the Gregorian
>> calendar first went into effect somewhere, so that earlier dates, in
>> fact all valid Gregorian calendar dates, could be represented. But, of
>> course, it wasn't up to me.
>>
>> (somewhere = some Catholic country/ies, probably Italy. The Protestant
>> countries were quite reluctant to implement such popery at first.)
>
> It may seem quaint that a sensible measuring reform could generate the
> kind of hysterical opposition that the Gregorian Calendar did,
> particularly in Britain. They held out for 170 years against what was
> perceived as a foreign attempt to foist something alien on them.
>
> The same irrational not-invented-here resistance can be seen today in
> the US by those opposing the adoption of the Metric System, despite the
> fact that is far more logical and easier to use.
>
> tom dot wade at tomwade dot eu
>

There is a major difference..  The Gregorian calendar is somewhat more 
accurate.  The metric measurement system is no more accurate.

Your argument is the same as "French is a better language than English, 
stop using English".  It is an opinion.  I understand English, I do not 
understand or speak French.  I understand the English measurement 
system, I know how long an inch is without having to think about it.  If 
someone tells me an object is 2 inches in length, I know about what that 
is.  If someone tells me an object is 5 centimeters in length, I really 
have to think about that for a while.

Why am I irrational if I choose to use something I'm familiar with?

-- 
David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
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