"J. McLaughlin" wrote:
When certain kinds of engineers provide me with specifications
involving pounds I shudder. Each use is converted into its equivalent
in SI. The context helps. An assumption of the strength of the
gravitational field needs to be used. Then I evaluate their work using
SI (and the same assumption about the gravitational field). In SI,
force and mass are quite distinct.
I continue to be amazed by the awesome ability of some engineers to
use a single term for two entirely different things. Use SI and the
answers are SI.

This captures the essence of the issue. The question is not so much
'are pounds mass or force?', but, rather, 'what did the author
mean when writing pounds?'

An engineer who believes that pounds are always mass will make
just as many errors as one who believes pounds are always force.

....Keith