I notice that sites such as Google Finance quote the pound to dollar conversion rates in the form GBP/USD = 1.4784. I would read this as "GBP per USD = 1.4784" or equivalently "1.4784 GBP per USD" which is obviously the wrong way round.
When we quote speeds for example we say mph (or m/h) = 50 - meaning there are 50 miles for each hour. It's the same with all other rates in the physical sciences. And to calculate the rate of a/b (i.e. a per b) you just divide the number of a's by the equivalent number of b's.
So why do economists use an illogical and misleading convention?
Thanks Thomas