Phillip Susi wrote: > Christof Krüger wrote: >> Unfortunately, computer designers, technicians etc. are not living in an >> isolated world (well.. maybe some of them). >> No one wants to forbid the computer people to use base 2 numbers. They >> are just asked to write KiB instead of KB if they mean base 2 >> quantities, because the rest of the world already uses kilo as 1000. >> Changing the rest of the world makes no sense and having distinct names >> for distinct thing does no harm. > > Different disciplines often ascribe different meanings to the same > words, so there is no reason why the prefix "Kilo" can not mean 1024 in > the context of computer science, so please stop complaining about that. > You should just learn that in this context, that is what it means. > Always has and always will.
*Different* disciplines, yes. Here the same words are used for two meanings in the same discipline. The SI units and prefixes aren't just words - they have each been constructed and assigned specific meanings in a _universal_ context. Your analogy with the mouse fails because "mouse" is a naturally evolved, everyday word, which has *not* been universally defined (the well-defined, scientific term would instead be lat. _Mus_ for the genus or _Mus musculus_ for the species known as the common house mouse). -- Magnus Holmgren [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
