# The trial of Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos)\[sentenced to 11+ yrs, 18Nov2022\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2021, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138 "2021-07-10T04:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/853 "2025-05-13T22:13:42Z")
It all sounds like Fluorescent Nanoscale Optical Resonance Detection to me. šŸ˜‰ Seriously, bravo for some great coinages. Iā€™ll get the SDSAB working on those tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/854 "2025-05-13T22:13:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And interestingly, deca- and deci- are almost unused. Almost is true. a decibel is 1/10 the standard unit of sound intensity - [the bel](https://glossary.slb.com/en/terms/b/bel) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/855 "2025-05-13T22:15:20Z")
Thatā€™s sure the exception that proves the rule. I canā€™t think of a corresponding deca- exception. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/856 "2025-05-14T01:31:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I canā€™t think of a corresponding deca- exception. Thatā€™s all we need. Another dam SI unit ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/857 "2025-05-14T01:45:04Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > For sure 1850 millimeters or 0.00185 kilometers would be silly. US GSA recommendation is that (metric) building dimensions always be in millimeters. > **[mdg.pdf](https://web.archive.org/web/20111215115519/http://wbdg.org/ccb/GSAMAN/mdg.pdf)** > > 134.26 KB > SI drawings preferably use only millimeters (mm) to avoid fractions and to eliminate the repetitious suffix. The following note on drawings will avoid confusion: ā€œALL DIMENSIONS ARE MILLIMETERS (mm) UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.ā€ > **SI specifications have used mm for almost all measurements, even large ones.** Use of mm is consistent with dimensions in major codes, such as the National Building Code (Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc.) and the National Electric Code (National Fire Protection Association). > Use of mm leads to integers for all building dimensions and nearly all building product dimensions, so use of the decimal point is almost completely eliminated. Even if some large dimensions seem to have many digits there still will usually be fewer pencil or CAD strokes than conventional English Dimensioning No problem with a drawing that says your building is 541,000 tall (with millimeters implied). Not sure about EU standards. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/858 "2025-05-14T01:59:57Z")
Now thatā€™s cool! I had no idea. If big buildings are dimensioned in hundreds of thousands of mms, then 1850 mms for a mere human is just great. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/859 "2025-05-14T10:30:45Z")
I was taught woodworking in millimetres - even big pieces of wood - not sure why this is the tradition. I judge my height by centimetres (mostly because I am 1cm short of 6 feetā€¦). All other measurements are fairly normal metric, km/h, etc. Iā€™m a little bewildered why the US retains Imperial units, especially as Ben Franklin was in Paris, just after the Revolution when metric was made obligatory. (Except for time, a weird outlier. The 10 hour day never made it past the planning phase. I blame the project manager) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/860 "2025-05-15T00:30:06Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I was taught woodworking in millimetres - even big pieces of wood - not sure why this is the tradition. It is because many workers canā€™t move the decimal point, canā€™t handle decimal fractions, canā€™t compare meters to mm etc. I donā€™t know how this works in French. Iā€™ve always wondered if ā€˜milli-ā€™ and ā€˜kilo-ā€™ are just their way of saying ā€˜thousandthā€™ and ā€˜thousandā€™. Lots of things used to be specified in thousandths of an inch in Australia (for example, length of a car), so that manufacturing wouldnā€™t have to do unit conversions. Thatā€™s still the case: itā€™s mm, so that manufacturing doesnā€™t have to do unit conversions. In theory ā€˜decimal conversions are easierā€™, but in practice, ā€˜easierā€™ isnā€™t ā€˜easyā€™, and the problem is avoided by doing all measurements in mm. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/861 "2025-05-15T00:40:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I canā€™t think of a corresponding deca- exception. decathelon = 10 sports. Except that not really a unit of measure. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/862 "2025-05-15T01:17:05Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And interestingly, deca- and deci- are almost unused. Iā€™ve bought wine and beer by the decilitre in bars in Europe, not pints, as God intended beer to be measured. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/863 "2025-05-15T03:00:35Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > lways wondered if ā€˜milli-ā€™ and ā€˜kilo-ā€™ are just their way of saying ā€˜thousandthā€™ and ā€˜thousandā€™. Both are adapted from classic languages, not French. > **[Kilo-](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilo-)** > > Kilo is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand (103). It is used in the International System of Units, where it has the symbol k, in lowercase. > The prefix kilo is derived from the Greek word Ļ‡ĪÆĪ»Ī¹ĪæĪ¹ (chilioi), meaning "thousand". > In 19th century English it was sometimes spelled chilio, in line with a puristic opinion by Thomas Young. As an opponent of suggestions to introduce the metric system in Britain, he qualified the nomenclature adopted in Franc... > **[Milli-](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milli-)** > > Milli (symbol m) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth (10āˆ’3). Proposed in 1793, and adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin mille, meaning one thousand (the Latin plural is milia). Since 1960, the prefix is part of the International System of Units (SI). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/864 "2025-05-15T05:09:54Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Single Wavelength Induced Narrowband Directed Light Emission I think I love you. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/865 "2025-05-15T09:41:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And interestingly, deca- and deci- are almost unused. ā€œDeci-ā€ is used in ā€œDecimateā€, although usually not literally (the original meaning of the word is ā€œkill one out of every tenā€). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/866 "2025-05-15T10:18:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Sorta. I see your point but for most engineering uses we use the powers of a thousand. So the choices are kilometers, meters, millimeters, micrometers, nanometers, or picometers. When we ran spill drills on the boat, radiation levels were always measured in micro-microcuries. (Which always made me wonder why the curie was such a lage measurement.) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/867 "2025-05-15T10:25:27Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Raman spectrography Is that always measured at three levels? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/868 "2025-05-15T11:42:48Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > (Which always made me wonder why the curie was such a lage measurement.) Because Madame Curie was such a large figure in atomic history? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/869 "2025-05-15T11:51:13Z")
Speaking of unusual units of measurement, the field of medicine has its share, including: Drop (gtt)ā€”from Latin gutta, is still used in prescriptions (especially eye or ear drops). Roughly 0.05 mL. Grain (gr)ā€”An old unit equal to 64.8 mg. Still seen in meds like aspirin (e.g., ā€œ5-grainā€ = ~325 mg). Dram (dr)ā€”A unit of mass in the avoirdupois system. Apothecariesā€™ unit: 1 dram ā‰ˆ 1.77 g (solid) or 3.55 mL (liquid). International Unit (IU)ā€”Measures biological activity of substances (like insulin, vitamin D). Not based on weight or volume, but _effect_. Varies wildly between substances. Body Surface Area (BSA) in mĀ²ā€”Used to calculate chemo doses and kidney function. Hounsfield Units (HU) (named after Sir Godfrey Hounsfield)ā€”CT scan measure of radiodensity. (Water = 0 HU, air = -1000 HU, bone = +1000 HU) Centrigray (cGy)ā€”Radiation dosage unit. 1 cGy = 1 rad = 0.01 Gray. Used in oncology. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/870 "2025-05-15T14:20:24Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > decathelon = 10 sports. Extratopically, at our family game night last sunday, we played [One Word](https://oneword.games/). Decathlon was the word to be guessed. Our youngest guessed it correctly from only two clues: Unfoley and Ten. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/871 "2025-05-19T05:20:49Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Speaking of unusual units of measurement, the field of medicine has its shareā€¦ I donā€™t think the smoot has any particular medical application, unfortunately. > **[Smoot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot)** > > The smoot /ĖˆsmuĖt/ is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha by Oliver R. Smoot, who in October 1958 lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, so that his fraternity brothers could use his height to measure the length of the bridge. > > One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot's height at the time of the pledge, 5Ā feet 7Ā inches (1.70Ā m). The bridge's length was measured to be 364.4 smoots (2,035... ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/872 "2025-05-19T06:06:40Z")
You left out the funniest part about the story: Smoot graduated from MIT in 1962, ā€¦ He served as chairman of the [American National Standards Institute](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_National_Standards_Institute) from 2001 to 2002,[[8]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot#cite_note-8) and then as president of the [International Organization for Standardization](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization) from 2003 to 2004.[[1]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot#cite_note-salute-1)[[9]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot#cite_note-9) Neither organization has provided a standard value for the smoot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138.md?page=42)