3 ms·

> For example, a foot is a more useful measurement than the meter. Why? 1m is about the length of one step (heel to heel) > Fahrenheit is more useful than Cel

by wolfgke 10y ago

> For example, a foot is a more useful measurement than the meter. Why? 1m is about the length of one step (heel to heel) > Fahrenheit is more useful than Celsius Why? Freezing water has 0°C, boiling water 100°C. > Pounds are more useful than kilos By a numeric coincidence (gravity of earth is nearly 10 m/s^2) 1 kg has a weight of about 10 N. This makes it really easy when going climbing to compute what mass you can put on some part of the safety chain. Generally: It is a pain in the ass to convert these non-metric units among one another. For one example 1 P̸ = 12p, 1 in = 6 P̸, 1 ft=12 in, 1 yd = 3ft, 1 mi = 1760 yd. Sounds very simple and logical to me. :-( Alone this fact is for me argument enough for metric units.

mattkrause 10y ago
Do you actually need to convert units a lot in your daily life? Or compare things to the freezing/boiling point of water? For me, the major advantage of the imperial units is that they're all approximately human-scale. My foot is about a foot, my stride is about a yard, and it's surprising if I encounter weather outside 0-100F. A pint is a big drink; a cup is small one. I'm a scientist, and all this goes out the window in the lab, of course. Even there though, a lot of the useful conversions do need some arbitrary constant (e.g. density, molarity) and the SI prefixes are not incredibly useful. I've literally never heard anyone measure something in deci/decameters. In practice, we tend to pick a unit that's approximately the right size and and stick with it--tiny things might be between 0.05µm and 2,500 µm, for example.
- mordant 10y ago
  I wholeheartedly agree. I'm an expat, and it bothers me to no end when I encounter thermostats which can only be adjusted in whole degrees Celsius - I end up being either too cold or too hot. Given its origins in Revolutionary France, the metric system is quite literally a communist plot.
  - robinhoodexe 10y ago
    So you're saying you can feel the difference between 20 and 21 degree Celsius?
  - Oletros 10y ago
    > Given its origins in Revolutionary France, the metric system is quite literally a communist plot. That must be a joke
- BrandoElFollito 10y ago
  To ease calculations scientists tend to work around 10^(3*n) kind of numbers. This is why you seldom see hecto- or deca- units, rather than kilo, mega, milli, micro, nano, etc.

by wolfgke 10y ago

mattkrause 10y ago

Do you actually need to convert units a lot in your daily life? Or compare things to the freezing/boiling point of water? For me, the major advantage of the imperial units is that they're all approximately human-scale. My foot is about a foot, my stride is about a yard, and it's surprising if I encounter weather outside 0-100F. A pint is a big drink; a cup is small one. I'm a scientist, and all this goes out the window in the lab, of course. Even there though, a lot of the useful conversions do need some arbitrary constant (e.g. density, molarity) and the SI prefixes are not incredibly useful. I've literally never heard anyone measure something in deci/decameters. In practice, we tend to pick a unit that's approximately the right size and and stick with it--tiny things might be between 0.05µm and 2,500 µm, for example.

mordant 10y ago
I wholeheartedly agree. I'm an expat, and it bothers me to no end when I encounter thermostats which can only be adjusted in whole degrees Celsius - I end up being either too cold or too hot. Given its origins in Revolutionary France, the metric system is quite literally a communist plot.
- robinhoodexe 10y ago
  So you're saying you can feel the difference between 20 and 21 degree Celsius?
- Oletros 10y ago
  > Given its origins in Revolutionary France, the metric system is quite literally a communist plot. That must be a joke
BrandoElFollito 10y ago
To ease calculations scientists tend to work around 10^(3*n) kind of numbers. This is why you seldom see hecto- or deca- units, rather than kilo, mega, milli, micro, nano, etc.