What the heck is a peck? Actually, a peck is a unit measure of dry volume in the Imperial and US systems, equivalent to two gallons, with four pecks to a bushel. For all I know, this is still a measure in common use amongst farming types, in relation to wheat and so on.
I bring this up because I’ve been pondering the introduction of the metric system of weights and measures, along with decimal currency, in Australia, and wondering if that marks the beginning of the process of turning us into a nation of dumb-asses which culminated in the celebration of the turn of the millennium one year early.
When I was a lad, life was a rich texture of complicated, antique and arcane systems of measurement, which we learned to deal with by memorising tables in beautiful blank verse, which I can still sing-song in my head to this day: “eight pints one quart / four quarts one gallon”; “sixteen ounces one pound / fourteen pounds one stone; eight stone one hundredweight” etc.
Calculations of currency offered similar delights, with our twelve pence to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound. Not forgetting sixpences, zacs, two-bob and guineas. Humans have a natural tendency towards invention which delights in such complexities.
Yes, these were complex systems, but they had the advantage of offering an intellectual stimulus, a challenge to our brains, providing continuous and regular exercise of our mental faculties. Yes, the metric system is simple and direct, but it lacks the beautiful complexity of these old systems, and delivers none of the same mental advantages; it’s the pre-eminent dumbing down of society, and we’re poorer for it.
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