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

[Michael Moroney]

On 3/11/2021 1:39 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 3/11/2021 12:44 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 3/11/2021 11:45 AM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:

>>> 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).
> 

What's funny is some of the imperial units are base 2 underneath.

8 fl oz = 1 cup
2 cups = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon

And there are uncommon names for other binary units, 2 fl oz, 4 fl oz, 2 
quarts (other than half gallon) as well as things like hogshead but I 
don't remember them.

Personally, I think the metric system would have been more easily 
accepted if it didn't try to use completely new definitions for units 
like 1/10000 the distance between the North Pole and Equator. Imagine if 
they started with "Let's make the liter equal to the quart" and people 
would have little problem with a gallon being a quaint name for 4 
liters. But it was created by the French and I have no idea what they 
used before the metric system.