In November 2018, representatives from 58 countries voted unanimously to redefine four basic units of measurement: the kilogram, the mole, the kelvin, and the ampere. The New York Times published a photo of the assembled conference delegates. -- see "The Kilogram is Dead. Long Live the Kilogram!" (Xiao Zhi Lim). New York Times. November 16, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/science/kilogram-physics-measurement.html

In May 2019, the redefined kelvin unit of thermodynamic temperature went into effect as an international legal standard.

This event caused me to recall wanting to know more about the under-publicized role of Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) in the rapid process of transforming Japan from a feudal a modern industrial state. -- see Colin Latimer, "Kelvin and the Development of Science in Meiji Japan," Chapter 13 in "Kelvin: Life, Labours and Legacy" by Raymond Flood et al. (2008) http://www.f.waseda.jp/sidoli/Latimer_Japan_Kelvin.pdf

Kelvin's Japanese students at the University of Glasgow eventually became professors at the University of Tokyo and senior members of the civil service.

The Meiji government sought and acted on Kelvin's personal recommendations about bringing British STEM experts to Japan. These European-educated men were part of a larger group that were collectively called o-yatoi gaikokujin (御雇い外国人 honorable hired foreigners")

Going forward, I plan to do some casual reading about these oyatoi. It's likely that I'll come across a few anecdotes which might be of some use or interest to one or more people in our QOTO group.

We'll see. Just a thought.

What do you think?

QOTO = Question Others to Teach Ourselves?