English/metric measurement error in the Mars Climate Orbiter

[tonyfoale]

It really would be simpler if everyone used the Metric system. Powers of ten for multipliers.

Then we would not be able to use those lovely rods, poles and perches. We would have to keep chains of course, how else could you lay out a cricket pitch? One could not expect the MCC to go metric, just not cricket old boy.
I was always aware of the time spent (wasted) on learning £ s p arithmetic in school. At least the Americans have had the good sense to always use decimal currency, so it seems strange that most are resistant to the idea of decimal measurements in general.
Apart from the decimal nature of the ISO metric system the thing that I like the best is the consistency of the units. If you forget what certain derived units are you only have to use the base units of kg, m and sec to get reminded.

What is a newton - we know it is a force and as F=ma a N must be kg.m/sec^2
What is a joule - it is work so it has to be force x distance which is Nm. So 1 joule = 1 Nm
What is a watt - it is power so it has to be work/time which is joule/sec or Nm/sec So 1 watt = 1 joule/sec = 1 Nm/sec
What is a pascal - it is pressure so it has to be force/area which is N/m^2 So 1 pascal = 1 N/m^2

That is as simple as it gets. This consistency of the units reduces the chance of errors greatly.
Do not just think of the ISO metric system as being only a decimal system, it goes much further than that.