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The pervasiveness of computers, phones, and the internet has all but eliminated the majority of the benefit of switching to metric in America anyway. In 1978,
by nostromo 7y ago
The pervasiveness of computers, phones, and the internet has all but eliminated the majority of the benefit of switching to metric in America anyway.
In 1978, I'm sure it saved countless hours of calculation and conversion. But in 2019 calculation and unit conversion is a task for computers and not people, and for computers it makes no difference.
I think it'd actually save more resources to focus on other forms of standardization. Maybe the UK could drive on the right side of the road, for example. Or maybe they could ditch their arcane electrical plugs for the European or American standards. These changes would save a tremendous amount of localization waste.
- danw1979 7y agoI'd like to offer a friendly early warning of the ... debate you're about to encounter with your description of our vastly superior electrical outlets and plugs as "arcane".
- nostromo 7y agoArcane isn't a judgment on value. You could use the word "rare" instead if you like.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- danw1979 7y agoIt totally is and if you'd ever stood on one you'll know how magnificently sturdy they are.
- tialaramex 7y agoI could totally live with Schuko instead of BS1363. A lot of earlier standards in Europe were crap, but Schuko does more or less everything BS1363 does, and at 3.5kW instead of 3kW. I could probably be argued around to the French alternative to Schuko, I think Schuko is better, but the French way (and the plugs that accept either but not other crap systems) isn't terrible.