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But... all these gallons are much more easy to relate to than a standard metric liter, thus making all of them superior. If you do not believe me, ask Nassim Ni

But... all these gallons are much more easy to relate to than a standard metric liter, thus making all of them superior. If you do not believe me, ask Nassim Nicholas Taleb[1]. [1] https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=metric%20system%20taleb https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=metric%20system%20tale...

josho 8y ago
It is a skill. And a rather easy one to learn. E.g. I’ve completed some basic carpentry projects. At the start I couldn’t have told you how much ⅛ of an inch was. Now I’ve got a good feel for that length. There is no reason why I couldn’t have learned what ½cm looks like instead as both are equally arbitrary.
- rleigh 8y ago
  I wouldn't describe an inch as arbitary, but it is customary. And variable before standardisation with different sizes of thumb! The basis of the metre in comparison is definitely arbitrary!
- FullyFunctional 8y ago
  I grew up in Denmark and have a fine-tuned sense for metric measurements (1 mm, 1 cm, and 1 meter). In my small town is more common for craft people (~ "contractors") to compete on who had the more accurate eye measurements. It's truly a sight to behold. TL;DR: any measurement unit can be learned; Metric strength in the simplicity of conversions.
CydeWeys 8y ago
A liter is the largest typically available pour of beer. How hard is that to relate to?? Contrast with a gallon, which is too much liquid for most people to ever drink in one sitting. I feel I have way less handle on a gallon than on a liter. Also, this guy's arguments come off as really shallow. To quote from what you're citing: > A meter does not match anything; a foot does. I can imagine the meaning of “thirty feet” with minimal effort. A mile, from the Latin milia passum, is a thousand paces. Likewise a stone (14 pounds) corresponds to . . . well, a stone. An inch (or pouce) corresponds to a thumb. A furlong is the distance one can sprint before running out of breath. A pound, from libra, is what you can imagine holding in your hands. These are lame ass examples. A stone is "a stone"? Goddamn, there's stones of all sizes. You can rationalize any unit of mass that way. A furlong is how long you can sprint before running out of breath?? That surely varies a lot by athletic ability (and many people don't run at all, and certainly couldn't make a whole furlong at a fast pace). A pound is what you can "hold in your hands"? Huh? Surely that depends on the density of the material in question and the size of your hands. None of these are helping me out at all. You can make better arguments by flipping the tables. 0 degrees is where the weather turns from rain to snow. 1 Liter of water weighs 1 Kilogram (compared to a gallon of water weighing 8.336 pounds). 1 Kilometer is simply 1,000 meters. I could continue but I think I've made my point. The author hasn't demonstrated that legacy metric systems are innately superior. All he's demonstrated is that it can be hard for people to switch, which is true of many people. He hasn't a lick of evidence pointing to people in SI-using countries being less able to visualize what a kilogram or liter or kilometer are. And he won't be able to, because all units are arbitrary, and SI's convenient allowance for powers of ten always allows you to pick a right-sized unit to work with that doesn't yield a number that's either too big or too far off into the decimals.
- beefield 8y ago
  Sorry, should have made it clear that my comment was sarcastic.
  - CydeWeys 8y ago
    Oooof ... well, my comment still stands as a rebuttal to the author then, who was not being sarcastic.
    - ithkuil 8y ago
      That’s insane! We should really come up with some kind of sarcasm marker /s
      - dorfsmay 8y ago
        Yes, had we done that, everybody would be using it⸮ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation
- Retric 8y ago
  After a significant sun burn I downed a full gallon of water and continued to drink a little more. Granted a rather extreme situation, but you really can need that much fluid. However, I suspect that was a rather sarcastic response.
- DonHopkins 8y ago
  Then there's the way of measuring the weight of weed with your fingers: One finger in height is an 1/8th of an ounce, two is a 1/4, and 4 fingers high is 1/2. But I've never been quite sure how much a "lid" is. But if it takes a stone of weed to get you stoned, it's very bad weed, or you have a very high tolerance.
- saltcured 8y ago
  > ...I feel I have way less handle on a gallon than on a liter. What's so difficult? A handle is 1.75L or about half a gallon...

josho 8y ago

It is a skill. And a rather easy one to learn. E.g. I’ve completed some basic carpentry projects. At the start I couldn’t have told you how much ⅛ of an inch was. Now I’ve got a good feel for that length. There is no reason why I couldn’t have learned what ½cm looks like instead as both are equally arbitrary.

rleigh 8y ago
I wouldn't describe an inch as arbitary, but it is customary. And variable before standardisation with different sizes of thumb! The basis of the metre in comparison is definitely arbitrary!
FullyFunctional 8y ago
I grew up in Denmark and have a fine-tuned sense for metric measurements (1 mm, 1 cm, and 1 meter). In my small town is more common for craft people (~ "contractors") to compete on who had the more accurate eye measurements. It's truly a sight to behold. TL;DR: any measurement unit can be learned; Metric strength in the simplicity of conversions.

CydeWeys 8y ago

A liter is the largest typically available pour of beer. How hard is that to relate to?? Contrast with a gallon, which is too much liquid for most people to ever drink in one sitting. I feel I have way less handle on a gallon than on a liter. Also, this guy's arguments come off as really shallow. To quote from what you're citing: > A meter does not match anything; a foot does. I can imagine the meaning of “thirty feet” with minimal effort. A mile, from the Latin milia passum, is a thousand paces. Likewise a stone (14 pounds) corresponds to . . . well, a stone. An inch (or pouce) corresponds to a thumb. A furlong is the distance one can sprint before running out of breath. A pound, from libra, is what you can imagine holding in your hands. These are lame ass examples. A stone is "a stone"? Goddamn, there's stones of all sizes. You can rationalize any unit of mass that way. A furlong is how long you can sprint before running out of breath?? That surely varies a lot by athletic ability (and many people don't run at all, and certainly couldn't make a whole furlong at a fast pace). A pound is what you can "hold in your hands"? Huh? Surely that depends on the density of the material in question and the size of your hands. None of these are helping me out at all. You can make better arguments by flipping the tables. 0 degrees is where the weather turns from rain to snow. 1 Liter of water weighs 1 Kilogram (compared to a gallon of water weighing 8.336 pounds). 1 Kilometer is simply 1,000 meters. I could continue but I think I've made my point. The author hasn't demonstrated that legacy metric systems are innately superior. All he's demonstrated is that it can be hard for people to switch, which is true of many people. He hasn't a lick of evidence pointing to people in SI-using countries being less able to visualize what a kilogram or liter or kilometer are. And he won't be able to, because all units are arbitrary, and SI's convenient allowance for powers of ten always allows you to pick a right-sized unit to work with that doesn't yield a number that's either too big or too far off into the decimals.

beefield 8y ago
Sorry, should have made it clear that my comment was sarcastic.
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  Oooof ... well, my comment still stands as a rebuttal to the author then, who was not being sarcastic.
  - ithkuil 8y ago
    That’s insane! We should really come up with some kind of sarcasm marker /s
    - dorfsmay 8y ago
      Yes, had we done that, everybody would be using it⸮ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation
Retric 8y ago
After a significant sun burn I downed a full gallon of water and continued to drink a little more. Granted a rather extreme situation, but you really can need that much fluid. However, I suspect that was a rather sarcastic response.
DonHopkins 8y ago
Then there's the way of measuring the weight of weed with your fingers: One finger in height is an 1/8th of an ounce, two is a 1/4, and 4 fingers high is 1/2. But I've never been quite sure how much a "lid" is. But if it takes a stone of weed to get you stoned, it's very bad weed, or you have a very high tolerance.
saltcured 8y ago
> ...I feel I have way less handle on a gallon than on a liter. What's so difficult? A handle is 1.75L or about half a gallon...