LEARNING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY

The Times (via my wife):


Actually, switching Britain over to right side of the road driving would probably make for much greater safety for visitors during the games. Yet I suspect UK Metric won't be calling for such a change -- even though the biggest danger by far faced by non-British in Britain isn't terrorism or street crime; it's crossing a street. Indeed, until one gets used to it, instinctively we guests and visitors hailing from drive on the right societies start out looking to the leftwards when we go to step off a curb. Not a good idea in Britain . . . stepping off a curb while looking left.

UK Metric evidently feels the real problem is the mixture of metric and non-metric that is common in Britain. To them, the best solution is to do away with all non-metric. Perhaps. But the fact that there is so much metric should make the metric visitor far more comfortable during a two-week sports event in Britain than they are during visits to another far less metric-inclined society -- interestingly, too, the only one backwards enough to have been able to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. Indeed, that one has managed to carry off Olympic game hosting in 2002, 1996, 1984 and 1980 (to cite merely its most recent four), and despite far less widespread metric use, during each of those fortnights metric-using visitors somehow coped just fine.

Of course, their name being UK Metric says about all one needs to know really. Still, it's fascinating how culturally dismissive and demanding some become when it comes to their pet goals. That not everyone is comfortable with changing to metric possibly for reasons to do with just the fact that they DON'T want to is always overlooked.


I addressed above already the "modern and dynamic" issues. (After all, as pointed out, the U.S. is one of the most modern, multicultural and dynamic societies on the planet and doesn't favor metric.) As to the "multicultural". Kinnock has just told us that he believes -- seriously -- that it is in fact "multicultural" to wipe out a method of measurement and replace it by a single one that must be used the world over.

It's hard to believe he'd think that about language. In fact, measurement is learned in much the same manner as language. And UK Metric admits as much in demanding the British learn to "think metric".

That being the case, this question pops to mind. Because, say, France adamantly refuses to "think in English" -- essentially the global language -- and insists on obstinately clinging to its decidedly minority (in global terms) French language, presumably Lord Kinnock would not consider France to be "a modern, multicultural, dynamic place", but a "backward nation"? (Note to any commenters: please bear in mind that is a rhetorical question!)

Or, closer to home, being from Wales, presumably Kinnock has no problem with Welsh being supplanted entirely by English -- especially since Welsh is spoken fluently by only a fraction of Wales' total population?:



UPDATE, February 24: Hello Pajamas Media readers! (If you are interested in any more, I'm sure you've already figured out that this being a Blogger page my main is located here.)

Incidentally, the above post was composed just before dinner on the 23rd. At the time, my attire was of a standard working day sort. I am definitely not permitted to sit at the dinner table in pajamas.

Well, at least not yet anyway.  ¶ by Robert, Thursday, February 23, 2006