Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quick, how many inches are in a yard?
Quick, how many mm in a dm?
100 mm
230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
51–60 of 60 posts
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quick, how many inches are in a yard?
Quick, how many mm in a dm?
Trivial, but . . .
who actually seriously uses decimeter on a weekly basis and what for?
I've used metric for 50+ years and I'm in the field of sensors and measurement with application from remote sensing to minerals and energy .. and I've yet to use a decimeter unit (outside of a programming exercise).
The convential usage is pico, nano, milli, centi, and full metre (and upwards to kilo, etc).
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quick, how many mm in a dm?
Trivial, but . . . who actually seriously uses decimeter on a weekly basis and what for? I've used metric for 50+ years and I'm in the field of sensors and measurement with application from remote sensing to minerals and energy .. and I've yet to use a decimeter unit (outside of a programming exercise). The convential usage is pico, nano, milli, centi, and full metre (and upwards to kilo, etc).
I know. But it's also a little weird because a foot is a very human size but metric in common usage just skips over that size range.
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#54Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Trivial, but . . . who actually seriously uses decimeter on a weekly basis and what for? I've used metric for 50+ years and I'm in the field of sensors and measurement with application from remote sensing to minerals and energy .. and I've yet to use a decimeter unit (outside of a programming exercise). The convential usage is pico, nano, milli, centi, and full metre (and upwards to kilo, etc).
I know. But it's also a little weird because a foot is a very human size but metric in common usage just skips over that size range.
A metre is very human sized also .. you can easily hold your hands a metre apart (it's ~3.3 feet (~3.28 if being picky)), about the same as a yard.
I mean, who uses feet anymore anyway?
I've just measured up a whole bunch of stuff making a parrot proof covering for a pear tree .. everything is jotted on the back side of a bit of board in mm (millimeters).
3230 mm is 3.2 metres and a bit .. a bit under 10 & a half feet (but, again, who even uses feet or thinks in them anyway? *)
* We do use yards for conveying to USAians what distance we shoot targets at on the farm; (eg from the next door neighbours youtube channel [1] 5023 yards 24" x 24" target ULR shooting)
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
It does not bother me, it turns out that having an inconsistent measuring system is not actually that bad. and metric, it turns out has no more purity in it's base units than any other system. Take the meter, the group setting up the metric system was searching hard for something that was close in size to a yard so they choose 1/10_000_000 the distance from the pole to the equator. nothing wrong with that, but it is…
Step 1: get humans to evolve an extra thumb on each hand Step 2: ??? Step 3: profit
if you have to count on your fingers just use your thumb to mark each finger bone.
4 fingers 3 bones each, there is twelve right there. now use your other hand the same way as the 10's(12 in base 10) digit. now you can count to 100(144 in base 10) on your fingers. see, much better than base a
Babylonian sheepherders did something similar but 12 on one hand and 5 on the other to end up with 60, which is why you see twelve and 60 show up in time measurement.
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quick, how many mm in a dm?
Trivial, but . . . who actually seriously uses decimeter on a weekly basis and what for? I've used metric for 50+ years and I'm in the field of sensors and measurement with application from remote sensing to minerals and energy .. and I've yet to use a decimeter unit (outside of a programming exercise). The convential usage is pico, nano, milli, centi, and full metre (and upwards to kilo, etc).
I have never thought about it but you are right it is not used.
Now I am curious as to why not. is it just in that spot where no one really needs a measurement? in the US we went the other way, the yard(the long human scale measurement) is almost never used and the foot(the short human scale measurement is much more common.while in metric land the meter(the yard equivalent) is much more common and the decimeter(the foot equivalent) is never used.
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know. But it's also a little weird because a foot is a very human size but metric in common usage just skips over that size range.
A metre is very human sized also .. you can easily hold your hands a metre apart (it's ~3.3 feet (~3.28 if being picky)), about the same as a yard. I mean, who uses feet anymore anyway? I've just measured up a whole bunch of stuff making a parrot proof covering for a pear tree .. everything is jotted on the back side of a bit of board in mm (millimeters). 3230 mm is 3.2 metres and a bit .. a bit under 10 & a half fee…
Look, I'm pro doing things in metric. I think the US should get in line with the rest of the planet.
But doing things at yard scale in mm is not helping the cause. Who wants to be throwing around 4 digit numbers in their head?
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
A metre is very human sized also .. you can easily hold your hands a metre apart (it's ~3.3 feet (~3.28 if being picky)), about the same as a yard. I mean, who uses feet anymore anyway? I've just measured up a whole bunch of stuff making a parrot proof covering for a pear tree .. everything is jotted on the back side of a bit of board in mm (millimeters). 3230 mm is 3.2 metres and a bit .. a bit under 10 & a half fee…
Look, I'm pro doing things in metric. I think the US should get in line with the rest of the planet. But doing things at yard scale in mm is not helping the cause. Who wants to be throwing around 4 digit numbers in their head?
Carpenters, woodworkers, metalworkers, electricians, etc. who work at a 10 to 50 foot (for the central north americans that like that kind of retrograde unit) scale AND who want a good fit ...
Millimeter fit on cabinets is the fit you want, whether you work in metric, British Imperial, or US Common.
When you have a long kitchen counter you're looking at 3 metres or more ( ~10 ft ) with framing and doors that join with barely the width a fingernail between.
The measurements are 10 foot (two digits), 6 inches, (another digit) and then a bit (tenths or hundredths of an inch, or a fraction - depending which you prefer).
That's ~ 4 digits for each measurement on a common household task.
It's pretty simple doing this as 3245mm on paper .. tradies have been doing this here since the 1970s and nothing's fallen down yet.
Dunno about you, I'm primarily a mathematican doing applied work - but I've worked as a TA (trades assistent) in electrical, gas fitting, plumbing, heavy mechanical, rigging (multi sling heavy lifting), welding, etc. (too much exposure to minesites and cattle stations I guess) and there's an entire class of people that are comfortable working with measurements that span the length of a truck and are accurate to the millimetre (or tenth of an inch) - so, four digits? No worries.
Why do you struggle with that?
Re: 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Look, I'm pro doing things in metric. I think the US should get in line with the rest of the planet. But doing things at yard scale in mm is not helping the cause. Who wants to be throwing around 4 digit numbers in their head?
Carpenters, woodworkers, metalworkers, electricians, etc. who work at a 10 to 50 foot (for the central north americans that like that kind of retrograde unit) scale AND who want a good fit ... Millimeter fit on cabinets is the fit you want, whether you work in metric, British Imperial, or US Common. When you have a long kitchen counter you're looking at 3 metres or more ( ~10 ft ) with framing and doors that join wit…
I think we're solving different problems here.
You are doing precision work while I'm picturing loosy goosy mental estimations.