4 ms·

I grew up in the US. I only learned the metric system. There was never any point at which we used the customary units.

by sidewndr46 4y ago

whimsicalism 4y ago
You use celsius? You must have gone to a specialized school then.
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  Public school in Alabama. Never once used Fahrenheit for anything. Most stuff actually done in Kelvin, although as I am sure you know there is little difference.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    What happens when you check the weather or ask anyone else the temperature or check your thermostat? Are you saying that you never used Fahrenheit for schoolwork? Or for anything?
    - sidewndr46 4y ago
      Never used Fahrenheit in school for anything. I mean you could in theory if you wanted when asked on an exam "what is the boiling point of water?" write something other than "100 C". I'm not aware of anyone that did. We certainly never adjusted the thermostat in school, if that is what you are asking. If someone asked me to read the thermostat at home for example, I just told them the numbers on it. It's not like "72 F" is radically different from "72 years old".
      - whimsicalism 4y ago
        What I fail to believe is that you don't have an intuition for 72 F or 30 F, etc. What I can believe, but would be nonetheless very surprised by, is that you have better intuition for 28 C, 25 C than you do for the equivalent Fahrenheit units if you were raised in the US.
        sidewndr46 4y ago
        You're still missing the point. I know 82 F is hotter than 72 F. I know 108 F can give you heat stroke or dehydration depending other conditions. I was never taught that, but I did pick it up. I have no idea how to apply customary units for any real purpose other than "100 F is really hot". If you tell me you need to raise the temperature of a vessel that is 10 foot tall and 4 foot in diameter containing a solution of sodium hydroxide by 40 F I have no idea where to start. How many cubic feet are in a gallon? How many tonnes (of energy...) does it take to raise one gallon of water by 1 F?
        whimsicalism 4y ago
        Yes, obviously, to your second bit -- nobody would try to do those calculations in imperial/customary units. But most of my usage of units is more of the form "Oh it's 60 degrees out today? Better put on a sweater!" than how "to raise the temperature of a vessel that is 10 foot tall and 4 foot in diameter containing a solution of sodium hydroxide by 40 F." I, along with most replies, took you to be meaning that for the former usage you would use celsius, which surprised me. Nothing is surprising about the fact that for calculation of this sort you use metric.
pmarreck 4y ago
wait, what? Where??
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  Alabama. I had one instructor in a school who informed that while he would accept US units on an exam he said that "he always graded those last, was very tired by that point and not at all forgiving"
nwsm 4y ago
To be honest it sounds like your schooling set you up for failure for living in the US. Are your speed limit signs not in MPH? Do you not buy your milk in gallons and commonly weigh things in pounds? What volume measuring spoons do you have? This is not an argument against the metric system; I just cannot imagine foregoing imperial unit education and not having constant conversion pains in adulthood.
- sidewndr46 4y ago
  You're confusing learning the system and using the unit. Anyone can use MPH on the road. If it's 60, you go 60. That is using the unit. It's not like the vehicles here sometimes display fathoms per fortnight. I still have no idea how much distance a mile is. Anyone can go buy a gallon of milk. It's one gallon. There are no stores randomly offering to sell you a cubic yard of milk. On the other hand, I know how many meters are in a kilometer, how many mm in a meter, etc. How to convert from cubic meters into liters, etc. That is a result of having learned the system.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    > I still have no idea how much distance a mile is. By "know how much distance", you mean "able to decompose it into smaller subunit"? This is different from what I mean when I say knowing a distance. You seriously were raised in the US and use celsius?
    - sidewndr46 4y ago
      I don't have a perception for how long a mile is nor any knowledge that would decompose it into a smaller subunit. It was not taught or discussed at any point in public school. There was exactly one question I recall on a class exam about converting to Fahrenheit from Celsius. It's some formula with a constant & an offset to account for the differing scale and the freezing point. I've long since forgotten it.
      - aendruk 4y ago
mrgoldenbrown 4y ago
I can imagine a family not using imperial, but I can't picture anywhere in the 50 states that uses metric for day to day stuff like drivers licenses and road signs. Are you in one of the territories maybe? What do the road signs look like there? What is printed on your driver's license for your height and weight?

I grew up in the US. I only learned the metric system. There was never any point at which we used the customary units.

whimsicalism 4y ago

You use celsius? You must have gone to a specialized school then.

sidewndr46 4y ago
Public school in Alabama. Never once used Fahrenheit for anything. Most stuff actually done in Kelvin, although as I am sure you know there is little difference.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  What happens when you check the weather or ask anyone else the temperature or check your thermostat? Are you saying that you never used Fahrenheit for schoolwork? Or for anything?
  - sidewndr46 4y ago
    Never used Fahrenheit in school for anything. I mean you could in theory if you wanted when asked on an exam "what is the boiling point of water?" write something other than "100 C". I'm not aware of anyone that did. We certainly never adjusted the thermostat in school, if that is what you are asking. If someone asked me to read the thermostat at home for example, I just told them the numbers on it. It's not like "72 F" is radically different from "72 years old".
    - whimsicalism 4y ago
      What I fail to believe is that you don't have an intuition for 72 F or 30 F, etc. What I can believe, but would be nonetheless very surprised by, is that you have better intuition for 28 C, 25 C than you do for the equivalent Fahrenheit units if you were raised in the US.
      - sidewndr46 4y ago
        You're still missing the point. I know 82 F is hotter than 72 F. I know 108 F can give you heat stroke or dehydration depending other conditions. I was never taught that, but I did pick it up. I have no idea how to apply customary units for any real purpose other than "100 F is really hot". If you tell me you need to raise the temperature of a vessel that is 10 foot tall and 4 foot in diameter containing a solution of sodium hydroxide by 40 F I have no idea where to start. How many cubic feet are in a gallon? How many tonnes (of energy...) does it take to raise one gallon of water by 1 F?
        whimsicalism 4y ago
        Yes, obviously, to your second bit -- nobody would try to do those calculations in imperial/customary units. But most of my usage of units is more of the form "Oh it's 60 degrees out today? Better put on a sweater!" than how "to raise the temperature of a vessel that is 10 foot tall and 4 foot in diameter containing a solution of sodium hydroxide by 40 F." I, along with most replies, took you to be meaning that for the former usage you would use celsius, which surprised me. Nothing is surprising about the fact that for calculation of this sort you use metric.

pmarreck 4y ago

wait, what? Where??

sidewndr46 4y ago
Alabama. I had one instructor in a school who informed that while he would accept US units on an exam he said that "he always graded those last, was very tired by that point and not at all forgiving"

nwsm 4y ago

To be honest it sounds like your schooling set you up for failure for living in the US. Are your speed limit signs not in MPH? Do you not buy your milk in gallons and commonly weigh things in pounds? What volume measuring spoons do you have? This is not an argument against the metric system; I just cannot imagine foregoing imperial unit education and not having constant conversion pains in adulthood.

sidewndr46 4y ago
You're confusing learning the system and using the unit. Anyone can use MPH on the road. If it's 60, you go 60. That is using the unit. It's not like the vehicles here sometimes display fathoms per fortnight. I still have no idea how much distance a mile is. Anyone can go buy a gallon of milk. It's one gallon. There are no stores randomly offering to sell you a cubic yard of milk. On the other hand, I know how many meters are in a kilometer, how many mm in a meter, etc. How to convert from cubic meters into liters, etc. That is a result of having learned the system.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  > I still have no idea how much distance a mile is. By "know how much distance", you mean "able to decompose it into smaller subunit"? This is different from what I mean when I say knowing a distance. You seriously were raised in the US and use celsius?
  - sidewndr46 4y ago
    I don't have a perception for how long a mile is nor any knowledge that would decompose it into a smaller subunit. It was not taught or discussed at any point in public school. There was exactly one question I recall on a class exam about converting to Fahrenheit from Celsius. It's some formula with a constant & an offset to account for the differing scale and the freezing point. I've long since forgotten it.
    - aendruk 4y ago

mrgoldenbrown 4y ago

I can imagine a family not using imperial, but I can't picture anywhere in the 50 states that uses metric for day to day stuff like drivers licenses and road signs. Are you in one of the territories maybe? What do the road signs look like there? What is printed on your driver's license for your height and weight?