Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
Then there's the metric fashion for naming units after people. What could be less rational than that?
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I believe basing the value of a unit of measurement off the length of a specific individual's body appendage is less rational (i.e. inch, foot).
The name of a unit is just a name but at least prominent scientists' names are spelled and abbreviated the same in every language. No system is immune, in fact every temperature measurement system is named after a person (since Celsius took over the "centigrade"). Many measures common to both systems are also named after people; Watt, Volt, Ampere. Seems like a canard.