30 replies to this topic

[Alias]

The US, Burma and Liberia are the only countries to not officially adopt the Metric system. I really cannot see why.

Everything is in powers of ten for easy conversion. No twelve inches to a foot or 5280 feet to a mile. 100 centimetres in a metre. 1000 metres in a kilometre. 0 Celsius water freezes, 100 Celsius water boils, etc.

Discuss.

[Dauth]

The UK have adopted it, however we did so recently, and if you talk to anyone over about 30, its much easier to use Imperial measurements, for my first few years of Schooling I used the Imperial system so I'm happy in both. I have to say using the Imperial system is fun, it's a bit more a of a challenge to understand all the bases used and would probably help with arithmetic more so than everything in base 10.

[Chyros]

I don't see why either - why is having seven different units of length (not counting metre) considered a virtue? You can't even express your length in one - e.g. I have to describe myself as 6' AND 2'' which is unnecessarily complicated in my eyes. Worse, the units are not all interconvertible by a constant factor.

Edited by Chyros, 11 November 2008 - 10:16.

[Dauth]

12In = 1ft
3ft = 1Yd
220yd = 1 Furlong
8 furlongs = 1 mile (1760 yd or 5280ft)
3 mile = 1 League

It's not hard Chyros and if you want one measure you are 74 Inches.

[Alias]

10 millimetres = 1 centimetre.
100 centimetres = 1 metre.
1000 metres = a kilometre.

Just a little easier, don't you think?

[CommanderJB]

To someone who never had to learn the system, it's hard enough. Certainly harder than it needs to be. I say just hurry up and get it over with already, it'll happen sooner or later and the sooner that is the less annoyed everyone will be, and the less space probes will miss their intended targets.

[Chyros]

Dauth, on 11 Nov 2008, 14:07, said:

12In = 1ft
3ft = 1Yd
220yd = 1 Furlong
8 furlongs = 1 mile (1760 yd or 5280ft)
3 mile = 1 League

It's not hard Chyros and if you want one measure you are 74 Inches.

It may not be hard, but it's unnecessarily cumbersome IMO. Not to mention it doesn't fit with what the rest of the world do. You don't see other nations adopting a different periodic table, right? (Well I believe the French have A for aluminium instead of Al but otherwise it's standardised internationally I think.)

[Sharpnessism]

Metric should be the standard for all countries, simply makes it easier, not that the imperial system is horrible but for the sake of convenience and its easier to learn.

[Dauth]

No, we should use units which happen to give fortunate results in the equations used. You'll never get a physicist to hand in his MeV to have to deal in Joules.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I would use metric more often, but the problem is nobody knows the mile/kilometer conversion rates. Plus, I have two problems with it:

1: The actual temperature at which water freezes or boils depends on air pressure.

2: "Hectometer" doesn't sound nearly as funny as "Furlong".

[BeefJeRKy]

Dauth, on 11 Nov 2008, 16:12, said:

No, we should use units which happen to give fortunate results in the equations used. You'll never get a physicist to hand in his MeV to have to deal in Joules.

The metric system is not strictly the SI I believe. I agree working with MeV instead of Joules and AMU (in nuclear Chemistry) instead of g etc... is easier on the calculations.

[General Kirkov]

Dauth, on 11 Nov 2008, 4:38, said:

The UK have adopted it, however we did so recently, and if you talk to anyone over about 30, its much easier to use Imperial measurements, for my first few years of Schooling I used the Imperial system so I'm happy in both. I have to say using the Imperial system is fun, it's a bit more a of a challenge to understand all the bases used and would probably help with arithmetic more so than everything in base 10.

I still use imperial when talking about height and weight and on ocasion short distances I supose it's just because my parent's refused to adopt metric and measured everything in Imperial.

i.e. I'm 5'11, 175 lbs etc...

[retry_1]

the meter is infact, easy to learn from scratch, but many Americans are stuborn, and don't want to bother with the conversions when we've known imperial all our lives.

In school, i have learned, and used both, yet still strugle with conversions, and tend to get pissed when a teacher gives a formula on how much to feed fish weighing 56 grams, then tells me my fish weigh a pound and a half and i have to convert.

Also, sports in the US are based on imperial measures; football feild being 120yds(100 if you ask a casual fan), 90 feet between the bases, ect.

[Sharpnessism]

General Kirkov, on 11 Nov 2008, 18:55, said:

Dauth, on 11 Nov 2008, 4:38, said:

The UK have adopted it, however we did so recently, and if you talk to anyone over about 30, its much easier to use Imperial measurements, for my first few years of Schooling I used the Imperial system so I'm happy in both. I have to say using the Imperial system is fun, it's a bit more a of a challenge to understand all the bases used and would probably help with arithmetic more so than everything in base 10.

I still use imperial when talking about height and weight and on ocasion short distances I supose it's just because my parent's refused to adopt metric and measured everything in Imperial.

i.e. I'm 5'11, 175 lbs etc...

It's pretty normal. Most people in my area of Toronto use the Imperial system for a person's height and weight of person/object. Short distances not so much with younger people but many people above age of 30 I notice will tend to use Imperial.

Quote

No, we should use units which happen to give fortunate results in the equations used. You'll never get a physicist to hand in his MeV to have to deal in Joules.

Good point, wasn't really thinking in terms of science as much as every day measurements.

Edited by Sharpnessism, 12 November 2008 - 00:58.

[Zero]

I have to agree with Dauth in ALL aspects here. First of all, they are more fun to use because they are a lot more random in appearance and make a bigger challenge. However, when it comes to science I enjoy the SI system a LOT more because its easier when dealing with complex problems that need to be done quickly to move on to another part.

CommanderJB, on 11 Nov 2008, 12:10, said:

To someone who never had to learn the system, it's hard enough. Certainly harder than it needs to be. I say just hurry up and get it over with already, it'll happen sooner or later and the sooner that is the less annoyed everyone will be, and the less space probes will miss their intended targets.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that ALL scientist world-wide now use the SI system pretty much, the Imperial system is only used basically in arithematics and everyday life. This means that the ones at NASA who program the probes also use it more likely than not. Although I doubt that that matters because in the end, all measurements are man-made and what doesn't matter is WHAT system is used buy how they come together and are used. For example I could make two inches a foot, and as long as I kept adding it up the right way I would end up with the EXACT same measurements as the metric people, IF I do the math right that is.

Although getting back to the probes, that is usually caused by a miscalculation or a small, almost impossible to find mistake somewhere in all the complicated math. Although I'm pretty sure that the SI system is pretty much standard to scientists world wide, it doesn't really matter. The only reason we have a system is because its easier to say its two-thousand kilometers than to say one million meters, or five feet than sixty inches.

[CommanderJB]

I was referring to this incident. I'll agree it was a one-off though. I think they learned their lesson. Shame it took $125 million to do it, though.

[Whitey]

It would be an astronomically expensive and cumbersome switch for the US in its current state. The reasons for this are simple and I'm too lazy to point them out. But they definitely exist.

-Rorschach

[Alias]

Yes it may be expensive to convert, but you are going to do it eventually so why wait?

[Whitey]

"but you are going to do it eventually"

Nobody told me of this! I doth protest! D=

-Rorschach

[BeefJeRKy]

Rorschach, on 11 Nov 2008, 23:56, said:

It would be an astronomically expensive and cumbersome switch for the US in its current state. The reasons for this are simple and I'm too lazy to point them out. But they definitely exist.

-Rorschach

Place both English and Metric on Roadsigns etc...
After a decade or more possibly, you can completely switch over to the metric system.

In Lebanon, we were able to switch over from 110V to 220V about 18 years ago. Scale it up and it might be possible in the states to switch to the current international standard in a few years.

[Shirou]

Dr. Strangelove, on 11 Nov 2008, 22:16, said:

I would use metric more often, but the problem is nobody knows the mile/kilometer conversion rates. Plus, I have two problems with it:

1: The actual temperature at which water freezes or boils depends on air pressure.

2: "Hectometer" doesn't sound nearly as funny as "Furlong".

1: So? Does that make your Fahrenheit any more credible than the Kelvin, or Celsius so you want it?

2: Nobody uses the damn hectometer. It's either kilometer or hundreds of meters.

[Chyros]

Aftershock, on 12 Nov 2008, 21:58, said:

2: Nobody uses the damn hectometer. It's either kilometer or hundreds of meters.

I was gonna say that, but then I realised that "furlong" isn't used particularly often either .

Still, for units of temperature, I still think Celsius is easily the most convenient for everyday use. For scientific use Kelvin will prevail, but this is relatively easily interconvertible with Celsius and not with Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius equals one Kelvin, but not one Fahrenheit (rather 5/9th or something which is messy).

[BeefJeRKy]

Aftershock, on 12 Nov 2008, 14:58, said:

Dr. Strangelove, on 11 Nov 2008, 22:16, said:

I would use metric more often, but the problem is nobody knows the mile/kilometer conversion rates. Plus, I have two problems with it:

1: The actual temperature at which water freezes or boils depends on air pressure.

2: "Hectometer" doesn't sound nearly as funny as "Furlong".

2: Nobody uses the damn hectometer. It's either kilometer or hundreds of meters.

To be fair, a hectare is a square hectometer and this unit is used often in Geography as I discovered this year at Uni

[NergiZed]

Metric is the obvious choice, hands down.

The reason we haven't adopted is because we're lazy and it costs money. (think of all the speed limit signs that would need to be replaced!)

But I think it's eventual, especially when we see more of the internet generation going into politics.

Although for temp, I think that F is better than C, as the increments are smaller and the temps differences are easier to identify with.

Edited by NergiZed, 15 November 2008 - 09:04.

[Alias]

NergiZed, on 15 Nov 2008, 20:02, said:

Although for temp, I think that F is better than C, as the increments are smaller and the temps differences are easier to identify with.

That is hardly a reason. It is easy to tell the difference with Celsius too.