ISO paper sizes, rational or irrational? And date formats as well.

The aspect ratio or height-to-width ratio of all ISO paper sizes is the square root of 2, an irrational number.

Is this rational?

The rest of the ISO paper geometry seems too clever by half, but maybe some kind of order is helpful. And then what about trim size?

This says that “Inconsistent use of SI units and international paper sizes remain today a primary cause for U.S. businesses failing to meet the expectations of the global economy.” What does that mean? Is this a reification error: how does the economy expect?