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Fahrenheit has finer divisions at the human scale, yes. A scale calibrated to the boiling point of water, at the top end, can tell me nothing useful about my en

Fahrenheit has finer divisions at the human scale, yes. A scale calibrated to the boiling point of water, at the top end, can tell me nothing useful about my environment beyond the manner in which it has probably killed me.

henrikschroder 1y ago
If Fahrenheit is better than Celsius because the units are smaller, doesn't that mean that the kilometre is better than the mile because it has smaller units? It is all subjective. You like what you grew up with because it is familiar, not because it is better. You know by rote memorisation how much 100 feet is and what 75F feels like, the same way I know by rote memorisation how much 50 meters is and what 25C feels like.
- throwanem 1y ago
  Show me where I have at any time argued one system is better than the other, as opposed to precisely that no system is strictly preferable, and I'll answer this point. Until then I can't and thus also won't. In the meantime your grasp of nuance or lack thereof is no pressing concern of mine. And my entire thesis has been flagrantly subjective throughout, save where the minor matter of relevant history is involved. To attempt to answer this with the charge of subjectivity, as though to do so accomplished other than to recapitulate what has been obvious all day, seems not only pointless but risible.
lrasinen 1y ago
It's the other end of the scale that's very relevant in northern latitudes (Celsius was Swedish, after all). Negative temperatures => it's freezing. A very common morning coffee table discussion (translated from Finnish): "What's the weather like?" "Plus all day" "Kids, wear your Gore-Tex shoes to school"
- throwanem 1y ago
  So as a child of the subtropics I should tolerate the same measures which serve those for whom fimbulwinter is Tuesday? I thrive and revel and tan beautifully in noonday sun even whose reflection poses you a real hazard - what bakes you like a turkey, I feel as a loving embrace - and I should put myself on your level why?
jeltz 1y ago
Celsius is the clearly more human scale. Zero is when water freezes which is very useful of you live where it is cold. Lakes freeze, snow does not melt and the ground gets icy so you have to be careful when you walk and drive. It is also useful when storing food. And 100 degrees is useful when cooking. For other measueres you may have a point but Celsius is defined around very useful points. Water is very important to us humans.
- throwanem 1y ago
  I know when there's likely to be snow or ice on the ground by the advanced and admittedly sometimes hazardous techniques of looking, and in some cases actually also going, outside. I know how to tell when water is boiling or frozen, likewise, by the primary evidence of sense impressions. What were you saying about humans needing a number on some specific scale for that?

henrikschroder 1y ago

If Fahrenheit is better than Celsius because the units are smaller, doesn't that mean that the kilometre is better than the mile because it has smaller units? It is all subjective. You like what you grew up with because it is familiar, not because it is better. You know by rote memorisation how much 100 feet is and what 75F feels like, the same way I know by rote memorisation how much 50 meters is and what 25C feels like.

throwanem 1y ago
Show me where I have at any time argued one system is better than the other, as opposed to precisely that no system is strictly preferable, and I'll answer this point. Until then I can't and thus also won't. In the meantime your grasp of nuance or lack thereof is no pressing concern of mine. And my entire thesis has been flagrantly subjective throughout, save where the minor matter of relevant history is involved. To attempt to answer this with the charge of subjectivity, as though to do so accomplished other than to recapitulate what has been obvious all day, seems not only pointless but risible.

lrasinen 1y ago

It's the other end of the scale that's very relevant in northern latitudes (Celsius was Swedish, after all). Negative temperatures => it's freezing. A very common morning coffee table discussion (translated from Finnish): "What's the weather like?" "Plus all day" "Kids, wear your Gore-Tex shoes to school"

throwanem 1y ago
So as a child of the subtropics I should tolerate the same measures which serve those for whom fimbulwinter is Tuesday? I thrive and revel and tan beautifully in noonday sun even whose reflection poses you a real hazard - what bakes you like a turkey, I feel as a loving embrace - and I should put myself on your level why?

jeltz 1y ago

Celsius is the clearly more human scale. Zero is when water freezes which is very useful of you live where it is cold. Lakes freeze, snow does not melt and the ground gets icy so you have to be careful when you walk and drive. It is also useful when storing food. And 100 degrees is useful when cooking. For other measueres you may have a point but Celsius is defined around very useful points. Water is very important to us humans.

throwanem 1y ago
I know when there's likely to be snow or ice on the ground by the advanced and admittedly sometimes hazardous techniques of looking, and in some cases actually also going, outside. I know how to tell when water is boiling or frozen, likewise, by the primary evidence of sense impressions. What were you saying about humans needing a number on some specific scale for that?