The Metric System

[oegly41]

 

Seriously, the whole "because it's easier and more logical" argument could be said for many things, including languages and laws. Should all nations switch to the easiest to learn and most logical language (which by the way isn't English)?

 

Why are we speaking English on these forums? Because it is more convenient if we all use the same language. When you are already speaking the "World Language", I don't think you have the right to complain when the rest of the world try to implement a new measurement system.

[Deiophobus]

Because it's just [developmentally delayed] that one country has to use imperial like that, while the rest is using metric? Or maybe because a land of 300 million people shouldn't be forcing the rest of the world to switch just so we have the same damn system of measurements. This is one of those things that have always amazed, why the f don't we just get a long when it comes to measuring?

 

 

 

Hey, Liberia and Myanmar use custom systems too. That's besides the point, I just wanted to point that out.

 

 

 

Anyway, it's not like the US is trying to make the rest of the world switch to imperial, as you imply in your post. In any science class in the US they use metric, because that's what all the formulas are made for. It's not very hard to learn a new system, you just have to "experience" it. Not just convert it to the old system, but be in a certain weather and be told what it is in the system you want to learn, then later when you heard that temperature you can think about how you felt.

 

 

 

I know metric and imperial mostly, but I still can't judge height in cm well, I think feet and inches is better for giving human height. If everyone were to know both systems, that would be very nice.

[Distracted]

I know that the US isn't forcing the world to switch or whatever, but from what I'm hearing from the Englishmen here, they're doing a switch there.

 

 

 

I never said to remove every single imperial measurement and replace it with metric, it has to be done gradually, but metric =/= to a new language. You don't need to learn a lot of grammar, a bunch of vocabulary and whatnot to be able to use it.

 

 

 

1m = 10dm = 100cm = 1000mm, is it that hard?

[Madmanpur3]

I know both systems perfectly well...and I see absolutely no reason as to why the US should even consider switching. The imperial system we have in place does it's job just as good as the metric system would, and people already know it. Honestly the only area we have reason to switch in is science, and that's already been done.

[DaN]

No.

 

 

 

To put it simply, its too much effort to re-educate everyone.

 

 

 

If learning your 10 times table is hard then wow, life is gunna be hard for you.

 

 

 

 

 

The aviation industry uses imperial (Altitude in feet, airspeeds in Knots), which follows an international standard. Boats also use knots for speed and nautical miles. (I don't know what a nautical mile is)

 

 

 

Feet for a persons hight and the altitude of aircraft are the only imperial measurements the average person here (Australia) ever encounters.

[Housepig]

The Imperial system is just plain stupid. I'm sure there was a reason for the way they set it out, but the metric system is far easier to do calculations with.

 

 

 

Imperial/Metric conversions should be printed on information boards, banners, and broadcast on TV--or anywhere they can get them--for six months; after that six months, everything is done in metric. It's not worth the effort going along every stretch of motorway correcting every sign to Killometres, but everything new should be done in Metric. If people haven't learnt the conversions by then, it's their problem. When told to sink or swim, people invariablt sink; immigrants pick up their new languages extremely fast, for example.

[Shinjula]

The Imperial system is just plain stupid. I'm sure there was a reason for the way they set it out, but the metric system is far easier to do calculations with.

 

 

 

Imperial/Metric conversions should be printed on information boards, banners, and broadcast on TV--or anywhere they can get them--for six months; after that six months, everything is done in metric. It's not worth the effort going along every stretch of motorway correcting every sign to Killometres, but everything new should be done in Metric. If people haven't learnt the conversions by then, it's their problem. When told to sink or swim, people invariablt sink; immigrants pick up their new languages extremely fast, for example.

 

Thats ignoring basic psychology, it takes much longer than six months for most people to grapple with a new scale, let alone 5 or 6 new scales, and your idea of leaving anyone behind who doesnt come up to your standards is pretty poor and uncompassionate. Just simply saying 'its their problem' also isnt accurate, when your economy crashes because people are taking 3 or 4 times longer to complete every job they do, its not gonna just be their problem

[Housepig]

The Imperial system is just plain stupid. I'm sure there was a reason for the way they set it out, but the metric system is far easier to do calculations with.

 

 

 

Imperial/Metric conversions should be printed on information boards, banners, and broadcast on TV--or anywhere they can get them--for six months; after that six months, everything is done in metric. It's not worth the effort going along every stretch of motorway correcting every sign to Killometres, but everything new should be done in Metric. If people haven't learnt the conversions by then, it's their problem. When told to sink or swim, people invariablt sink; immigrants pick up their new languages extremely fast, for example.

 

Thats ignoring basic psychology, it takes much longer than six months for most people to grapple with a new scale, let alone 5 or 6 new scales, and your idea of leaving anyone behind who doesnt come up to your standards is pretty poor and uncompassionate. Just simply saying 'its their problem' also isnt accurate, when your economy crashes because people are taking 3 or 4 times longer to complete every job they do, its not gonna just be their problem

 

 

 

That wouldn't happen--not to that extent. Perhaps the economy would suffer at first, but that's an overstatement. People who still hadn't a clue would pick it up quickly enough, and it would be worth it in the long run. You either suffer momentarily a slight blip in production levels, or you continue using an inefficient mearuement system purely out of terror over that blip. Besides, most scales show both systems (at least in the UK).

[The Runar]

I only use metric system myself, but I understand the imperial system well enough. I think the metric system is much better, because all units are 10 times as much as the next smaller one. The units' names are also much simpler.

[DaN]

 

Thats ignoring basic psychology, it takes much longer than six months for most people to grapple with a new scale, let alone 5 or 6 new scales, and your idea of leaving anyone behind who doesn't come up to your standards is pretty poor and uncompassionate. Just simply saying 'its their problem' also isnt accurate, when your economy crashes because people are taking 3 or 4 times longer to complete every job they do, its not gonna just be their problem

 

 

 

Metric uses the *meters scale for distance and Centigrade for tempriture water freezes at zero and boils at 100.

 

 

 

That's only 2 scales, and they are hardly life threatening.

[PlzPuddngPlz]

Everything should be changed to metric, since it's more compatible with new technology. I suppose it was time to switch around the time when calculating computers were invented.

 

 

 

However, the Imperial system was the more logical system once upon a time when we didn't have calculators. Numbers chosen at conventions back then were chosen only because they had a lot of divisible numbers. 12 can be divided by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. 10 can be divided by 1, 2, 5, 10. Ever wonder why days have 24 hours, or that circles have 360 degrees? Same reason.

 

 

 

So far we've changed length and degrees to a more "logical" system, meters and radians. I wonder when we'll start having 10 hour days :lol:

 

Actually, the 24 hour days are based on an ancient culture which I have forgotten the name of, and their number system was based on 12's, instead of the current 10's. There were originally 12 hour days, but the Romans made it 24 hours for convenience. (I might have a couple facts wrong because I read this a couple years ago, but the idea is the same).

 

 

 

That random enough for you? (see siggy)

 

 

 

EDIT: Also, I personally think the Imperial system is outdated, due to the fact that a mile was how far the queen could walk in a certain amount of time, and a foot was an actual king's foot.

[The Runar]

No.

 

 

 

To put it simply, its too much effort to re-educate everyone.

 

 

 

If learning your 10 times table is hard then wow, life is gunna be hard for you.

 

 

 

 

 

The aviation industry uses imperial (Altitude in feet, airspeeds in Knots), which follows an international standard. Boats also use knots for speed and nautical miles. (I don't know what a nautical mile is)

 

 

 

Feet for a persons hight and the altitude of aircraft are the only imperial measurements the average person here (Australia) ever encounters.

 

 

 

Well, when the currency of Finland was changed from markka to euro, many people didn't get used to it very quickly, though the exchange rate is very close to 6 (hard to remember, yes!). My grandparents still don't understand euros, and the currency was changed in 2002 :P

[Madmanpur3]

Technically the United States does use metric, by law. It's just the people within the United States that choose not to.

[Shinjula]

Actually, the 24 hour days are based on an ancient culture which I have forgotten the name of,

 

Sumerian