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It's time for the US to use the metric system

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21–30 of 36 posts

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#21
"1) New federal laws" Never going to happen in the US with the political climate. I can see the re-election adds now.

"2) A gradual slide" Somewhat possibility. I think these days the US Military Complex is pretty much metric now. I have seen some of the terms bleed into civilian live and in movies (ie: "klick").

"3) State-by-state mandates" never going to happen, see 1 above.

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#22
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They're intuitive in a way that metric somehow is not. Can't explain it but it is true. Oh yes, like one millimile is about five feet long. Very intuitive indeed. http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Metric_system The quote at the very top of the article explains how US system is intuitive compared to metric, even if it was meant as satire.

I have yard stick that I divided into groups of 10 it works pretty well. for example my foot is 25 centiyards.

It's fine if you're jumping from one unit to another (ie. inches to feet, feet to yards). But conversion from smaller to larger units require much more (unnecessary) effort.

Eg. For a 1-acre square plot of land, what is the length of its sides in feet?

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#23

The length and weight units we use every day in the US are defined in terms of their metric counterparts anyway. I work in furniture manufacturing in the US. All the hardware we use is metric, many tools are metric and all CNC machines are programmed in metric. Really the only time I ever have an issue is when I get European hardware that has "helpfully" Americanized the units. Which means arbitrarily rounding the di…

Well, I suspect the construction industry isn't going to start calling an 8'-2x4 board a "2.4384 meter 50.8x100.16cm board" anytime soon.

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#24

We do use it. Many common products are sold in hard metric quantities. It is difficult to buy plywood in non-metric thickness. Non-legacy electronic components are metric. The US military pushes for metrication. This is all done as a result of globalization or the need for commonality.

Um, I disagree with this. Plywood still comes in 5/8" and 3/4" thicknesses. Boards are still 2x4's and 2x6's, in even feet lengths. I own a wood shed manufacturing business.

These sizes aren't going to change, nor are people going to start calling an "8'-2x4" a "2.4384m-50x100cm board".

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#25

Never give up your feet and inches. They're intuitive in a way that metric somehow is not. Can't explain it but it is true.

The only one that's intuitive is Fahrenheit for casual discussion of weather.

Yeah, and 2x4 boards aren't as intuitive as 50x100cm boards.

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have yard stick that I divided into groups of 10 it works pretty well. for example my foot is 25 centiyards.

It's fine if you're jumping from one unit to another (ie. inches to feet, feet to yards). But conversion from smaller to larger units require much more (unnecessary) effort. Eg. For a 1-acre square plot of land, what is the length of its sides in feet?

208.7 by 208.7 feet. Its not hard. Found it on Google:

https://www.infoplease.com/askeds/dimensions-acre

"The acre, by the way, was originally an English unit of measurement that described the area that a yoke of oxen could plow in a day."

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine if you're jumping from one unit to another (ie. inches to feet, feet to yards). But conversion from smaller to larger units require much more (unnecessary) effort. Eg. For a 1-acre square plot of land, what is the length of its sides in feet?

208.7 by 208.7 feet. Its not hard. Found it on Google: https://www.infoplease.com/askeds/dimensions-acre "The acre, by the way, was originally an English unit of measurement that described the area that a yoke of oxen could plow in a day."

That's exactly my point. You shouldn't need Google to help you answer that.

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#29

The length and weight units we use every day in the US are defined in terms of their metric counterparts anyway. I work in furniture manufacturing in the US. All the hardware we use is metric, many tools are metric and all CNC machines are programmed in metric. Really the only time I ever have an issue is when I get European hardware that has "helpfully" Americanized the units. Which means arbitrarily rounding the di…

Well, I suspect the construction industry isn't going to start calling an 8'-2x4 board a "2.4384 meter 50.8x100.16cm board" anytime soon.

no, you'd call it a 5 by 10 by 200 piece of wood. Having '2 by four' as a common term is an american thing. Over here you just talk about the size of the wood. in any case you'd call it a 5-by-10. Wood from the store isn't properly dimensioned anyway, and the metric system has this neat thing where it goes in steps of 10 (mostly) so you can pick a unit that's scaled usefully.

Re: It's time for the US to use the metric system

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only one that's intuitive is Fahrenheit for casual discussion of weather.

Yeah, and 2x4 boards aren't as intuitive as 50x100cm boards.

a 2 by 4 would be a 5 by 10 in metric wouldn't it? you're not calling it a "2 by four inches" just the same as you wouldn't call it a "5 by 10 centimeters".

In fact I find in practice I hardly ever mention units. Being off by a factor 10 is usually obvious enough that people know what unit you're using.

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