One of our regular contributors, Phil Hall, looks at the success of the recently-introduced plastic bag charge in England, and asks if there are lessons for the completion of the UK’s stalled metric changeover.
Category: Education
How the UK created a measurement muddle
The series of four articles on the outcome of the EU referendum continues with a look at how the current measurement muddle came about.
The curse of conversion factors
In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at lists of plausible conversions in both directions between imperial units still in use in the UK and metric units.
OECD report highlights problems with numeracy in England
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published a report entitled “Building Skills for All: A Review of England”, part of the OECD Skills Studies series of reports. Ronnie Cohen considers its findings.
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On the beach (in North London)
The onset of foggy mornings and dark evenings reminds us that winter is on its way. Ronnie Cohen has written an article that may just get us thinking of those lazy, hazy days of summer spent on a continental beach (metric measures taken for granted) or perhaps even on an urban beach alongside the North Circular Road in North London.
The flip side of SI
Charlie P, a regular if occasionally critical contributor to MV, promised he would on his return from holiday give his thoughts on “the flip side of the SI as far as the average man in the street is concerned”. These now appear below. They are of course not endorsed by the Editors of MV, but may provide food for thought.
A day at the National Museum of Measurement
The summer holidays are in full swing, so John Frewen-Lord provides us with some light reading for a lazy day, plus a reminder that it is back to school in a month. Now where are my sun glasses?
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The white heat cools
We review the events that followed the announcement in May 1965 of a change of Government policy on the adoption of metric weights and measures.
Celsiheit is back – but help is at hand
Just when we thought we had seen the last of Fahrenheit temperatures, a tabloid headline warns us against complacency and reminds us of those awkward conversions. Awkward no more, we are pleased to say, as Metric Views has learnt of a simple formula.
A problem with symbols
A quest by one of our readers for a new washing machine has prompted a look at Britain’s confused approach to the use of symbols.
Metric Views 