On Jul 30, 2009, at 5:17 PM, Mike Stay wrote:
On Thu, Jul 30, 2009 at 1:50 PM, <rcs@xmission.com> wrote:
In my high-school Latin class, we were told that a pace was one step with each foot, and that a mile was 1000 paces. Assuming a Roman mile is the same as a modern mile(?), this would make a Roman pace = 5.28 (modern) feet.
Yep, a pace is two steps.
In boy scouts, we learned to measure distance by pacing, which is 2 steps; we calibrated so we could do it consistently --- typically 5 or 6 feet, depending on leg length. Mile is of course derived from Latin mille = 1000, but miles have meant different distances in different times and places (and still do --- a nautical mile ~ one minute of arc ~ 6076 ft.) One can learn to count paces digitally (i.e., using your digits in a binary system) in a way that becomes reflexive, so you can do it e.g. while talking to someone, or watching the scenery et cetera. All fingers are used up in 1K paces, which is a generous mile. Here's the wikipedia blurb about the Roman mile: Roman mile In Roman times, the unit of long distance mille passuum (literally "a thousand paces" in Latin, with one pace being equal to two steps) was first used by the Romans and denoted a distance of 1,000 paces or 5,000 Roman feet, and is estimated to correspond to about 1,479 meters (1,617 yards). This unit is now known as the Roman mile.[37] This unit spread throughout the Roman empire, often with modifications to fit local systems of measurements. [edit]