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

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 3/11/2021 12:44 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 3/11/2021 11:45 AM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
>> In article <s2de9m$hrd$1 at dont-email.me>, Dave Froble
>> <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
>>> 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?
>>
>> It's not irrational, but consider other issues.
>>
>> First, without looking it up, explain the what a BTU is.
> 
> It's been a while, but I seem to recall it is the amount of heat 
> required to raise an amount, I forget the amount, of water one degree 
> Fahrenheit.  I could look it up, but why bother.
> 
> What I do seem to have some feeling for is sizing furnaces, and how many 
> BTUs should be used for a specified area, say, 2000 sq ft.
> 
> Oh, darn, there I go again, using those damn imperial measurements.  The 
> thing is, I can function with them.  I have no idea what 2000 sq ft 
> comes out to in millimeters, centimeters, meters, or whatever.

It will be square something. Square meters are probably most convenient.

Roughly 180 square meters. Divide by 10 and deduct 10%.

(the "true answer is 185.8)

> I can function with what I know.  I cannot do so well with what I do not 
> know.  Why can't I just use what works?  It's not broke, why fix it?

Progress.

Horses worked fine for field work for many years. Most prefer tractors 
today.

> As a point of curiosity, what measurements does the rest of the planet 
> use for sizing furnaces?

KW as replacement for BTU/hour

>> Due to being based on factors of 10, various units have clearer
>> relations to one another and are easier to calculate.
> 
> If using slide rules, yes, if using computers which can do whatever 
> calculations are required, not so much.

Even computers.

>> Most of the world uses it, so it facilitates trade.
>>
>> Science is based on it.
> 
> Some scientists may use it, but science is not based upon some numeric 
> scheme.  That claim is beyond absurd.

Scientific papers are usually required to specify measurements in SI units.

> Do you imagine the universe in general gives a damn about your base 10 
> numeric system?  Not even the computer you're using does so.

The internals of computers are mostly two based (exceptions being BCD
and some old IBM FP).

But the interface is very much decimal oriented.

Arne