No Olympic games without measurement
Accurate and consistent measurement is fundamental to modern life, and in few branches of human activity is it more important than in sport - including, of course, the Olympic Games. This is the message given by Andrew Wallard, the President of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) to mark World Metrology Day (article suggested by Martin Vlietstra).
In his message Professor Wallard argues that “Our motto for 2008, “No Games without Measurement,” may be stating the obvious but we all know that measurement is important to nearly all aspects of society. So let us use [World Measurement Day] to press our message home to a particular group of people with whom we may normally have little contact, in the hope that they will appreciate what we do for them! Let us all hope they may go on to appreciate the importance of good measurement in its broadest contexts in our world.” If only.
Unfortunately, many British people (including many journalists) are non-numerate when it comes to measurement. Probably the most important reason for this is the fact that we try to muddle through with two incompatible systems of measurement, often making inaccurate conversions and failing to grasp the meaning of reported dimensions. Thus, journalists measure height in “double decker buses”, length in “football pitches”, and use “the size of Wales” as a unit of area. Meanwhile the NHS has invented a new unit of measurement for alcohol imaginatively called … the “unit”!
This reluctance to use the obvious measurement units (in these examples, metres, square kilometres and centilitres) is partly the result of the Government’s policy of teaching metric units in school maths and science lessons while maintaining imperial units for much of everyday life outside the school gate. In practice, in order to function effectively in modern Britain, people need to understand both metric and imperial units - yet many do not have a secure grasp of either. Hence the resort to physical comparisons and disguising metric units with new names.
Professor Wallard’s message can be read in full on the BIPM website at this link.
Also of interest on the BIPM website are the links to the following factsheets issued on World Metrology Day:
Distance
Height
Mass
Pressure
Speed
Substance
Time
Traceability
(NB: Copyright on these factsheets rests with BIPM and its partners)
Notes:
- World Metrology Day was 20 May - the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875, which the UK signed up to (late, of course) in 1884. The official text of the Convention is in French, but an English translation can be read on the US Metric Association website at this link.
- Andrew Wallard, Director of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) studied Natural Philosophy (Physics) at St Andrews University where he was awarded his PhD. He subsequently worked at the National Physical Laboratory and at Whitehall in the Department for Trade and Industry before taking up the deputy directorship of the BIPM under fellow-Briton, Prof Quinn. After Prof. Quinn retired, Wallard was appointed director of the BIPM.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:11
The NHS “invention” - the “unit” of alcohol is based in good science, the only problem being that the NHS is unwilling to publicise their “good science”. While I do not expect the general public to neccessarily understand the definition (Most Britons are notoriously innumerate), the definition should be made more widely availalbe so that doctors and journalists in particular can educate their respective constituencies in an manner.
I have no qualms about publicising the definition of a unit of alcohol, it is nothing more than 10 ml [or one centilitre] of pure alcohol. Thus a 25 ml tot of 40% spirits contains (0.4×25) ml of pure alcohol. This is equal to 10 ml of pure alcohol which is exactly one unit.
May 28th, 2008 at 16:40
With reference to the Olympics, do you think anyone in the British media will do the sensible thing and refer to the length of the marathon as 42.2 km? After all, we have 100 m, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000 and 10000 m; and then the marathon is 26 miles! You couldn’t make it up if it weren’t true.
Try asking someone how much longer how many times longer the 400 m is than the 100 m, they’ll say 4 (obviously); then ask how many times longer the marathon is than the 10000 m and see if anyone knows.