3 ms·

> Btw, is your foot precisely 12 inches, or is your shoe? It doesn't matter because I'm not looking for a high level of precision when I do that kind of measur

> Btw, is your foot precisely 12 inches, or is your shoe? It doesn't matter because I'm not looking for a high level of precision when I do that kind of measuring, I'm looking for good enough not perfect. If physicists can handle this notion[1] even when they're the ones tasked with producing SI units I'm not sure why it's not applicable for the rest of us. > APPROXIMATIONS > Even though physicists usually try for a high degree of precision, there are times when only a close approximation is neeed. Physicists some times make rough estimates for making tentative decisions. Sounds like a decent principle to me. > then complain that things don't make as much sense as they seem to in 95% of the world It's not Brits that are complaining as we get to choose the measure that suits the aims at the time. If centimetres are appropriate then use centimetres. If feet and inches are better, use that. Do you write all your software in C? Better hope WASM takes off or your competitor using that nasty Javascript will remain ahead. No, it's the "95%" measuring their height in centimetres (why not millimetres?;) or buying litres of milk that inconvenience themselves while complaining about measures they don't understand because they blind themselves to the advantages. Good sold in Britain have both measures on everything, we're committed, just not dogmatic about it. [1] http://webphysics.iupui.edu/NH/Projects/TEAMS[2]/err6.htm http://webphysics.iupui.edu/NH/Projects/TEAMS[2]/err6.htm

Jedd 6y ago
Agree in principle with much of what you say. However: a) physicists are not 'tasked with producing SI units' b) you can have a non-high level of precision with metric as easily as with imperial c) corollary: metric is not perfect - no one is trying to assert that d) 'we get to choose the measure that suits the aims at the time' - yes, that sounds like Britain. Let's see how that plays out over the next 5 years. e) 'if feet and inches are better, use that'. Better? f) actually, this needs fully quoting: > No, it's the "95%" measuring their height in centimetres (why not millimetres?;) or buying litres of milk that inconvenience themselves while complaining about measures they don't understand because they blind themselves to the advantages. Good sold in Britain have both measures on everything, we're committed, just not dogmatic about it. Let's recalibrate: i) it's not "95%" -- it's 95%. 7.59b people on the planet and 320m in USA, 4m in Liberia, 50m in Burma -- you could throw in the recalcitrants in the UK, but we're still rounding to about 5% of the planet that isn't on metric. ii) people that use metric are allowed to use centimetres and millimetres .. and metres, decimetres, kilometres. All is good, sensible, easy to transition between by shifting the decimal point. I'm 187cm / 1.87m / 1870mm tall. With shoes on, add 2cm (but no need to adjust the length of the field I'm stepping out). iii) I don't get the inconvenience of buying a litre of milk ... ? iv) committed but not dogmatic - what a wonderfully British phrasing. We kind of get it, but we demand to reserve our right to randomly claim exceptionalism, for reasons that can't be described, defined, or defended.
- brigandish 6y ago
  > Let's see how that plays out over the next 5 years. That kind of comment is beneath all of us yet sums up the tone of your entire comment - pedantic, snarky, and not a little xenophobic. Try reminding yourself that this is Hacker News.
  - Jedd 6y ago
    This whole thread is an exercise in pedantry - and that's okay, we tend to revel in analysis of the minutia here. Whether a holder of a British passport could be called xenophobic about the British, especially when making a comment about the regrettable decision by the British to remove themselves from the EU - well, it seems a bold claim to make. I genuinely am wildly fascinated to see what happens as the Brexit catastrophe unfolds. I'll admit that I was mildly frustrated by your apparent unwillingness to engage on the much more interesting discussion to be had around the flaws in your argument.

Jedd 6y ago

Agree in principle with much of what you say. However: a) physicists are not 'tasked with producing SI units' b) you can have a non-high level of precision with metric as easily as with imperial c) corollary: metric is not perfect - no one is trying to assert that d) 'we get to choose the measure that suits the aims at the time' - yes, that sounds like Britain. Let's see how that plays out over the next 5 years. e) 'if feet and inches are better, use that'. Better? f) actually, this needs fully quoting: > No, it's the "95%" measuring their height in centimetres (why not millimetres?;) or buying litres of milk that inconvenience themselves while complaining about measures they don't understand because they blind themselves to the advantages. Good sold in Britain have both measures on everything, we're committed, just not dogmatic about it. Let's recalibrate: i) it's not "95%" -- it's 95%. 7.59b people on the planet and 320m in USA, 4m in Liberia, 50m in Burma -- you could throw in the recalcitrants in the UK, but we're still rounding to about 5% of the planet that isn't on metric. ii) people that use metric are allowed to use centimetres and millimetres .. and metres, decimetres, kilometres. All is good, sensible, easy to transition between by shifting the decimal point. I'm 187cm / 1.87m / 1870mm tall. With shoes on, add 2cm (but no need to adjust the length of the field I'm stepping out). iii) I don't get the inconvenience of buying a litre of milk ... ? iv) committed but not dogmatic - what a wonderfully British phrasing. We kind of get it, but we demand to reserve our right to randomly claim exceptionalism, for reasons that can't be described, defined, or defended.

brigandish 6y ago
> Let's see how that plays out over the next 5 years. That kind of comment is beneath all of us yet sums up the tone of your entire comment - pedantic, snarky, and not a little xenophobic. Try reminding yourself that this is Hacker News.
- Jedd 6y ago
  This whole thread is an exercise in pedantry - and that's okay, we tend to revel in analysis of the minutia here. Whether a holder of a British passport could be called xenophobic about the British, especially when making a comment about the regrettable decision by the British to remove themselves from the EU - well, it seems a bold claim to make. I genuinely am wildly fascinated to see what happens as the Brexit catastrophe unfolds. I'll admit that I was mildly frustrated by your apparent unwillingness to engage on the much more interesting discussion to be had around the flaws in your argument.