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The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

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Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#131

Post by 9rx »

bluebarbet wrote: post #94
MarkusWandel wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly enough as a person born in a metric country, now living in Canada which is metric, and always educated in metric, I agree with you on the feet and inches. "A couple of inches" doesn't imply nearly the precision that "5 centimeters" (using the US spelling on purpose) implies. Similarly my own height of 5'10 is much more "human scale" than the 178cm that it says on my passport. Not for engineering though!!! Being…

And I would come the opposite conclusion to you. On Fahrenheit, the Americans are surely right. For describing the weather, a system where the usual range is 30-100 is clearly more useful than one where it's 0-37, because you can say "high 70s" instead of the weirdly specific "about 27", and "low 40s" instead of the awkward "around 5 to 7". I say this as a European who has never used Fahrenheit.

Around here, temperatures range from -40ºC to +40ºC. The most important information temperature offers is whether it is going to snow or rain. 0ºC being roughly the temperature where that transition happens makes thinking about it seem more natural than picking a random number out of the 30-100 scale (well, -40-+104).

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#132

Post by candiddevmike »

jlongman wrote: post #79
threemux wrote: post #62

I'd part with cups and teaspoons/tablespoons and the like, but you'll pry inches/feet/yards and fahrenheit from my cold, dead hands. They're both more convenient for daily use. I think I'd prefer to keep miles as well but I don't have a good reason for that one. Fahrenheit has more precision without using decimals for the thing 99% of people are using temperature measurements for: air temp. Where I live, we generally…

That’s funny because when I work with Fahrenheit I just work with 5°F ranges to compensate for the approximate mental math required. Eg very quick mentally, 100°F = 37.778 °C (thanks autocorrect) = (100-32)/2 = 34. But if it was closer to freezing say 42°F =5.556 °C (again) so 5°C. So arbitrarily we could say 57°F was 12°C =53.6 °F actually. But a true Canuck knows knowing the temp is barely half the battle, what’s t…

(F - 30) / 2 = ~C

C * 2 + 30 = ~F

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#133

Post by d--b »

threemux wrote: post #62

I'd part with cups and teaspoons/tablespoons and the like, but you'll pry inches/feet/yards and fahrenheit from my cold, dead hands. They're both more convenient for daily use. I think I'd prefer to keep miles as well but I don't have a good reason for that one. Fahrenheit has more precision without using decimals for the thing 99% of people are using temperature measurements for: air temp. Where I live, we generally…

Can you at least switch to 1/10th of inches? The 1/4th, 1/8th, 1/16th is very annoying

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#135

Post by graemep »

bluGill wrote: post #117
graemep wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

0 lines up with freezing point is very intuitive.

Perhaps, but useless for most purposes. You need to know how think of a coat to wear and you need a mental map from some number to some coat. It doesn't matter what the scale is, just that you have that map.

I agree its having the mental map that matters but my intention was to disagree with the parent comment's claim that Fahrenheit is more appropriate to the "human scale of things".

its a small advantage, but I think zero indicating when things might freeze is a more useful than "0 degrees lines up with really darned cold"

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#136

Post by walthamstow »

yurishimo wrote: post #21
cupofjoakim wrote: post #9

The US being stuck in imperial is such a meme nowadays with "freedum units" and the like. It's yet another odd thing that makes it easy for the rest of the world to laugh at the US. In these isolationist times I doubt this will change soon though, but it'd definitely help international collaboration.

Everyone who wants to collaborate internationally is already doing it. Science in the US is entirely metric. Construction and domestic measurements are the two biggest holdouts and honestly they’re both negligible. Given the proliferation of global manufacturing, most businesses are converting at the end before retail for US customers. If the government was competent, they could rip off the bandaid and everyone would…

re construction, we use 8x4ft sheets of timber in Britain still, same as before, we just call them twelve-twenty-by-two-four-forty now.

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#137

Post by amanaplanacanal »

ericmay wrote: post #125
relaxing wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think Frank Lloyd Wright designed big picture windows and open floor plans because he was afraid of humanity? He was afraid so he tried to induce fear? Through asymmetry? What then of William Blake’s “fearful symmetry”? Amazing that FLW is still traumatizing conservatives 100 years later. Ayn Rand was a fan, didn’t you know? Picasso was trying to convey the feeling of being bombed from the sky in a civil war, so…

> You think Frank Lloyd Wright designed big picture windows and open floor plans because he was afraid of humanity? He was afraid so he tried to induce fear? No, I was speaking about the exterior. The blending in of the surroundings, and hiding of things like the entrance are the hallmark of post-war architectural trends. Not that I'm claiming Lloyd suffered from the same PTSD that returning American veterans did, bu…

Yes please, for the sources on assymetrical architecture and stress. That's totally new to me, and I'd love to read about it.

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#138

Post by kakacik »

t-3 wrote: post #59
yurishimo wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone who wants to collaborate internationally is already doing it. Science in the US is entirely metric. Construction and domestic measurements are the two biggest holdouts and honestly they’re both negligible. Given the proliferation of global manufacturing, most businesses are converting at the end before retail for US customers. If the government was competent, they could rip off the bandaid and everyone would…

Honestly, I don't think anyone would raise much of a fuss over changing distance measurements to metric. Both centimeters and inches are easy enough to eyeball or rule-of-thumb, meters and yards are basically the same, and larger units are only relevant for speed limits and travel planning. Metric lacks a good "foot", but I guess people would get used to eyeballing things in ~50cm increments instead. Weights are even…

Now sure what sucks on Celsius, water freezing and boiling have been some of the most important scientific and just plain existence facts of mankind since we evolved. We humans have 10 fingers so its split by decimal system.

Since we humans operate 99% of our existence in a narrow band between 0 and 100 degrees celzius, I'd say its more important than starting from absolute 0 and dealing constantly with big offsets.

0 or 100 or -100 or 10 Fahrenheit is what? From Gemini: "0°F was the lowest temperature achievable with a mixture of ice, water, and salt (brine), while 96°F was set as the approximate temperature of the human body (blood heat), chosen because 96 is easily divisible by many numbers, allowing for finer divisions" - rather insignificant things.

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#139

Post by Ekaros »

sfn42 wrote: post #121
Tor3 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the problem with decimals? They're all numbers. -4.5 degrees C is fine, isn't it? (The actual temperature right here right now). Where's the problem?

You don't even need decimals. Nobody who uses celsius gives a shit about the decimals. It's -4 or it's -5 and even that distinction is irrelevant. Unless you're doing some kind of scientific calculaton there's no need to think about decimals of celsius at all. Just like Fahrenheit users surely don't care whether it's 50 or 53 or whatever. It's around 50, that's all you need to know.

Only place I could imagine something is cooking and even there I probably would not be able to differentiate steak at 56C, 57C and 58C...

Re: The super-slow conversion of the U.S. to metric (2025)

#140

Post by hencq »

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #116
jeppester wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like this! I wonder if there's a place on the internet where I can find more of this sort of seemingly strong and well-thought out arguments for something that is so clearly subjective (if not just inferior).

>seemingly strong and well-thought out arguments for something that is so clearly subjective Any platform where snooty articulate people congregate will have such arguments by the bushel.

> by the bushel

Well played

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