>Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 11:11:36 -0400
>Subject: Re: Measurements
>From: Lyle E. Browning <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Anita Cohen-Williams <[log in to unmask]>
>X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.551)
>
>Please forward this one on as well. thanks.
>
>
>On Tuesday, September 9, 2003, at 08:55 AM, Michael Striker wrote:
>
>>I'm afraid that I have to stop lurking for a moment to point out that
>>recording an historic feature in the units in which it was made provides the
>>investigator with insight into the behavior of the person responsible that
>>is not available when using metric.
>
>snip
>>
>>I think that the latter description provides more information about the
>>intention of the builder.  The builder had a mental template from which he
>>constructed the lime kiln, and that template was not expressed in
>>decimeters.
>
>The strength of using computers and CAD in our profession is that is
>doesn't really matter if you use on or the other. The computer translates
>them effortlessly. I use both on the same site. On the display screen, at
>the analysis phase where it's important to understand construction in a
>base3 system or a base16 system or whatever, I set the units to the
>particular unit I'm interested in and go from there.
>
>The problem here is that it's not an either-or issue. It's the mental
>construct in your noggins that's causing the problem. You're still
>thinking in paper space. The computer couldn't care less which is used.
>I'm using Vectorworks on a Mac so I'm sure that AutoCAD can do at least as
>well.
>
>
>Lyle Browning
>
>
>Without stratigraphy, there is no archaeology.