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Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

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Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#121

Post by ubernostrum »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #14

Before we start with the standard junk about "imperial measures are better because they are easier to understand / better suited to human scale / etc." can I say nope . The only advantage that imperial measures have (for some) is that they are familiar. That's the sum total of it. People where were raised metric find these apologies for imperial measures to be pure gibberish.

Before we start in... let's remember that in most contexts, the units don't matter. What matters is picking a system and sticking to it.

(and that there still is no such thing as a "one size fits all" system of units)

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#122

Post by davidw »

jvzr wrote: post #93
davidw wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's just one unit. Try doing it with 4, and it gives people an idea of the difficulty involved. I'm not saying it's impossible, just hard.

Are the US afraid of a little challenge?

I can't speak for most people, since I'd be happy to change, but my guess is their thinking is along the lines of "it ain't broke, so why should we fix it?". For most 'everyday' use, the defects of the imperial system are most likely not that visible: if I have to guess how far something is in miles, it doesn't matter much if I say 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers, since I'm basically sticking to one unit and fractions thereof. Where the metric system starts getting a lot nicer is if you have to be more precise and mix and match units, or deal with multiples. In other words, estimating my height at 5'10" is fine for most people, but "how many davidw's would it take to cover a football field" is a problem much easier solved with the metric system.

Does that make sense?

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#123

Post by RyanMcGreal »

goodcanadian wrote: post #103

Only vaguely relevant, but I grew up in a rural area in Canada which caused me to learn a strange set of units. For me, highway distances are measured in kilometres, but country roads are measured in miles. Groceries are priced per kilogram, but my weight is in pounds. I readily swap inches and centimetres for measuring small sizes and distances (sometimes on the same project). I am more comfortable with Celsius, but…

Canada also has so-called weak metric measurements: 454g of butter (1 lb), 354 ml of pop (12 oz) and so on.

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#124

Post by noselasd »

Might as well start now - these things take time. In Norway, we introduced the metric system in 1889, but there's still a lot of non-metric measurements still around, at least in common speak.

* Length of a boat are measured in feet.

* Lumber is measured in inches, two-by-four and so on.

* Most engines are measured in horsepower(though nowadays the kw/h is usually given as well).

* Firewood have different measures, most of them derived from the pre-metric system.

* distances at sea are measured in nautic miles

* Boat speed is measured in knots. (not sure what the status of these last 2 is regarding SI these days).

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#125

Post by abrahamsen »

randomdata wrote: post #77
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #14

Before we start with the standard junk about "imperial measures are better because they are easier to understand / better suited to human scale / etc." can I say nope . The only advantage that imperial measures have (for some) is that they are familiar. That's the sum total of it. People where were raised metric find these apologies for imperial measures to be pure gibberish.

I was raised metric, but still find utility in the imperial system under some circumstances. I use my anatomy to measure things all the time while out on the farm, for instance. You could say step off 914cms, but I think 30 feet makes more sense in the context since you are literally counting your steps. If you have precise measuring tools at your disposal, then I'm inclined to agree though.

One meter is approximately one large step for a grown man.

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#127

Post by aidos »

xefer wrote: post #51
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #14

Before we start with the standard junk about "imperial measures are better because they are easier to understand / better suited to human scale / etc." can I say nope . The only advantage that imperial measures have (for some) is that they are familiar. That's the sum total of it. People where were raised metric find these apologies for imperial measures to be pure gibberish.

To be honest, although I know the obvious benefits of metric, I still prefer imperial simply because of its messiness. I realize the system is archaic, etc., but I still like that connection, as attenuated as it may be, to our ancient past. Use metric for all scientific purposes, etc., but keep that connection to the natural world. I suppose I like it in the same way I prefer natural languages to some artificial lang…

In the year MMXIII is sentiment really a good reason to continue using an inefficient system :)

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#128

Post by jacquesm »

brudgers wrote: post #115
lmm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Already houses in the US have the longest history attached to them, sometimes all the way from the homesteading days if the plot is old. That's young by European standards. Somehow we managed the conversion.

How many European countries are there? How many of them have had the same government for 230 years? The US surveyed and then subdivided much of a continent into townships. Land was sold and granted by the section, halfs and quarters thereof. Flying over the Midwest, the manifold rectangles on the ground show how problematic even the slightest of conversion errors would be. Maybe it's technical debt. But it exists bec…

How many of them even have the same borders over the last 230 years? I'd wager very few.

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#129

Post by goodcanadian »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #123
goodcanadian wrote: post #103

Only vaguely relevant, but I grew up in a rural area in Canada which caused me to learn a strange set of units. For me, highway distances are measured in kilometres, but country roads are measured in miles. Groceries are priced per kilogram, but my weight is in pounds. I readily swap inches and centimetres for measuring small sizes and distances (sometimes on the same project). I am more comfortable with Celsius, but…

Canada also has so-called weak metric measurements: 454g of butter (1 lb), 354 ml of pop (12 oz) and so on.

Yes, though I think this is largely due to trade with the U.S.. It probably helps keep some standard units alive in Canada.

Re: Make the Metric system the standard in the United States

#130

Post by nathell »

mootothemax wrote: post #108
ErrantX wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also in the UK. Apart from lengths (feet vs. metres) I don't really find myself needing to calculate between the different units. I couldn't tell you how many litres in a 4 pint bottle of milk (or a pint of beer :)) but all other milk (or beer) is sold with those units, so I can easily compare. I mean, we are supposed to be metric - but there are plenty of imperial measures in use (height, is another obvious example)…

height, is another obvious example Strangely enough, whilst I'm fine with lengths and distances in metres, the minute someone tries to tell me how tall they are in metres and centimetres, I'm completely thrown. It's the one conversion I pathetically still really struggle with (UK -> Poland in this case).

I had the very same problem, only in the opposite direction, living in Poland for the first 27 years of my life and moving to the UK just over a year ago.

Just bear in mind that 6ft is approximately 180 cm, anything above is above, and anything lower is lower. This gives you a first approximation with only remembering one number. Also, 4in is about 10cm and is easy to add/subtract both ways. This might not be very exact, but it will give you a quick idea.

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