< Return to Video

Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole

  • 0:07 - 0:08
    What does the French Revolution
  • 0:08 - 0:14
    have to do with the time NASA accidentally
    crashed a $200 million orbiter
  • 0:14 - 0:17
    into the surface of Mars?
  • 0:17 - 0:20
    Actually, everything.
  • 0:20 - 0:22
    That crash happened due to an error
  • 0:22 - 0:25
    in converting between
    two measurement systems,
  • 0:25 - 0:26
    U.S. customary units
  • 0:26 - 0:29
    and their S.I, or metric, equivalence.
  • 0:29 - 0:32
    So what's the connection to
    the French Revolution?
  • 0:32 - 0:33
    Let's explain.
  • 0:33 - 0:36
    For the majority of recorded
    human history,
  • 0:36 - 0:40
    units like the weight of a grain
    or the length of a hand weren't exact
  • 0:40 - 0:43
    and varied from place to place.
  • 0:43 - 0:46
    And different regions didn't just use
    varying measurements.
  • 0:46 - 0:49
    They had completely different
    number systems as well.
  • 0:49 - 0:52
    By the late Middle Ages,
    the Hindu-Arabic decimal system
  • 0:52 - 0:57
    mostly replaced Roman numerals
    and fractions in Europe,
  • 0:57 - 1:02
    but efforts by scholars like John Wilkins
    to promote standard decimal-based measures
  • 1:02 - 1:03
    were less successful.
  • 1:03 - 1:07
    With a quarter million different units
    in France alone,
  • 1:07 - 1:11
    any widespread change would require
    massive disruption.
  • 1:11 - 1:15
    And in 1789, that disruption came.
  • 1:15 - 1:19
    The leaders of the French Revolution
    didn't just overthrow the monarchy.
  • 1:19 - 1:22
    They sought to completely
    transform society
  • 1:22 - 1:26
    according to the rational principles
    of the Enlightenment.
  • 1:26 - 1:27
    When the new government took power,
  • 1:27 - 1:33
    the Academy of Sciences convened
    to reform the system of measurements.
  • 1:33 - 1:37
    Old standards based on arbitrary authority
    or local traditions
  • 1:37 - 1:41
    were replaced with mathematical
    and natural relationships.
  • 1:41 - 1:45
    For example, the meter,
    from the Greek word for measure,
  • 1:45 - 1:50
    was defined as 1/10,000,000
    between the Equator and North Pole.
  • 1:50 - 1:54
    And the new metric system was,
    in the words of the Marquis de Condorcet,
  • 1:54 - 1:58
    "For all people, for all time."
  • 1:58 - 2:01
    Standardizing measurements
    had political advantages
  • 2:01 - 2:03
    for the Revolutionaries as well.
  • 2:03 - 2:08
    Nobles could no longer manipulate local
    units to extract more rent from commoners,
  • 2:08 - 2:12
    while the government could collect
    taxes more efficiently.
  • 2:12 - 2:16
    And switching to a new Republican Calendar
    with ten-day weeks
  • 2:16 - 2:20
    reduced church power
    by eliminating Sundays.
  • 2:20 - 2:23
    Adoption of this new system wasn't easy.
  • 2:23 - 2:25
    In fact, it was a bit of a mess.
  • 2:25 - 2:29
    At first, people used new units
    alongside old ones,
  • 2:29 - 2:33
    and the Republican Calendar
    was eventually abandoned.
  • 2:33 - 2:34
    When Napoléon Bonaparte took power,
  • 2:34 - 2:38
    he allowed small businesses
    to use traditional measurements
  • 2:38 - 2:40
    redefined in metric terms.
  • 2:40 - 2:44
    But the metric system remained standard
    for formal use,
  • 2:44 - 2:48
    and it spread across the continent,
    along with France's borders.
  • 2:48 - 2:51
    While Napoléon's empire
    lasted eight years,
  • 2:51 - 2:54
    its legacy endured far longer.
  • 2:54 - 2:58
    Some European countries reverted
    to old measurements upon independence.
  • 2:58 - 3:01
    Others realized the value
    of standardization
  • 3:01 - 3:04
    in an age of international trade.
  • 3:04 - 3:08
    After Portugal and the Netherlands
    switched to metric voluntarily,
  • 3:08 - 3:10
    other nations followed,
  • 3:10 - 3:14
    with colonial empires spreading the system
    around the world.
  • 3:14 - 3:16
    As France's main rival,
  • 3:16 - 3:21
    Britain had resisted revolutionary ideas
    and retained its traditional units.
  • 3:21 - 3:26
    But over the next two centuries,
    the British Empire slowly transitioned,
  • 3:26 - 3:29
    first approving the metric system
    as an optional alternative
  • 3:29 - 3:31
    before gradually making it offical.
  • 3:31 - 3:36
    However, this switch came too late
    for thirteen former colonies
  • 3:36 - 3:38
    that had already gained independence.
  • 3:38 - 3:43
    The United States of America stuck with
    the English units of its colonial past
  • 3:43 - 3:46
    and today remains one
    of only three countries
  • 3:46 - 3:49
    which haven't fully embraced
    the metric system.
  • 3:49 - 3:52
    Despite constant initiatives
    for metrication,
  • 3:52 - 3:57
    many Americans consider units like feet
    and pounds more intuitive.
  • 3:57 - 4:00
    And ironically, some regard the once
    revolutionary metric system
  • 4:00 - 4:04
    as a symbol of global conformity.
  • 4:04 - 4:10
    Nevertheless, the metric system is almost
    universally used in science and medicine,
  • 4:10 - 4:14
    and it continues to evolve according
    to its original principles.
  • 4:14 - 4:15
    For a long time,
  • 4:15 - 4:20
    standard units were actually defined by
    carefully maintained physical prototypes.
  • 4:20 - 4:23
    But thanks to improving technology
    and precision,
  • 4:23 - 4:27
    these objects with limited access
    and unreliable longevity
  • 4:27 - 4:31
    are now being replaced with standards
    based on universal constants,
  • 4:31 - 4:34
    like the speed of light.
  • 4:34 - 4:38
    Consistent measurements are such
    an integral part of our daily lives
  • 4:38 - 4:43
    that it's hard to appreciate what a major
    accomplishment for humanity they've been.
  • 4:43 - 4:46
    And just as it arose
    from a political revolution,
  • 4:46 - 4:50
    the metric system remains crucial
    for the scientific revolutions to come.
Title:
Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole
Speaker:
Matt Anticole
Description:

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-metric-system-matters-matt-anticole

For the majority of recorded human history, units like the weight of a grain or the length of a hand weren’t exact and varied from place to place. Now, consistent measurements are such an integral part of our daily lives that it’s hard to appreciate what a major accomplishment for humanity they’ve been. Matt Anticole traces the wild history of the metric system.

Lesson by Matt Anticole, animation by Globizco.

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TED-Ed
Duration:
05:08
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Why the metric system matters Sep 6, 2016, 11:14 PM
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for Why the metric system matters Jul 21, 2016, 3:29 PM
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for Why the metric system matters Jul 21, 2016, 3:29 PM
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for Why the metric system matters Jul 21, 2016, 3:29 PM
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Why the metric system matters Jul 20, 2016, 1:44 AM

English subtitles

Revisions Compare revisions