I'm not sure about physicality being the problem here, the ISO 216 standard, based on metric units (square meter), is used for dividing and multiplying the area

I'm not sure about physicality being the problem here, the ISO 216 standard, based on metric units (square meter), is used for dividing and multiplying the areas of physical things (paper) and seems to be doing rather well, each size being half of the previous one, I would say that's quite intuitive. Granted, if we look at the tiny details, the exact measurements of each size are not what one would call intuitive, round numbers, but it's much easier and reliable to use than the US, non-decimal based standard. I think it's mostly an economic problem, for the majority of people it's too much trouble for very little real gain. For engineering, on the other hand, it's almost mandatory.