Peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 edition. Excerpt: ...principle, which is consistently applied throughout to the attainment of its professed design. We are, nevertheless. sorry that we cannot give it our support, having by the very constitution of our society, and from its first foundation, adopted the number 10 as the basis for such a system. On reviewing the grounds of our original determination we see no reason to depart from it. When the metrical system was invented by the careful deliberation of the first mathematicians of the age, they studied the question by the arithmetical scale, and especially to take 12 as a basis, because that number seemed to have in some respects a claim to be taken in preference to 10. After a full examination of the question they decided that it was necessary to retain 10 as the basis in arithmetic, and to adopt it universally for measures, weights and coins. Your system would be far more difficult to learn than the other. When learnt, it would require a smaller number of figures in each operation, and might therefore present some facilities for making calculations in writing, but it would be very burdensome to the memory so as to be unsuitable for mental arithmetic, and consequently for all the smaller dealings of the shop and the market, and for those minute calculations which in all arts, trades and manufactures often requires to be performed with the greatest possible rapidity. There is a limit to the powers of the human mind, and it appears probable that, except in extraordinary cases a system founded on 16 as-a basis, would be found to exceed the natural capacity of man for the use of numbers.-. You object to the meter, as much too long to be convenient to the artizan, and you therefore choose for your unit a length which is about the seventh part...