3 ms·

Are the US afraid of a little challenge?

by jvzr 14y ago

davidw 14y ago
I can't speak for most people, since I'd be happy to change, but my guess is their thinking is along the lines of "it ain't broke, so why should we fix it?". For most 'everyday' use, the defects of the imperial system are most likely not that visible: if I have to guess how far something is in miles, it doesn't matter much if I say 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers, since I'm basically sticking to one unit and fractions thereof. Where the metric system starts getting a lot nicer is if you have to be more precise and mix and match units, or deal with multiples. In other words, estimating my height at 5'10" is fine for most people, but "how many davidw's would it take to cover a football field" is a problem much easier solved with the metric system. Does that make sense?
- jvzr 14y ago
  It sure does. And I understand the issue that lies therein. But, if the rest of the world is to ask of the US to switch to the metric system, there will be a time when the authorities have to enforce the system onto the citizen. Sometimes, the greater good of the community does not align with that of the citizen. We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. (Whether it has succeeded or not is another debate altogether.) It sure wasn't easy for the ol' timers, but now it's all behind and even my parents don't think back in Francs when they have to pay their baguette and wine.
  - eru 14y ago
    > We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. The behind-the-scenes motivation wasn't about the common good, it was about the French trying to gain formal influence on monetary policy. The Germans had to agree in exchange for the French consent to German reunification. (Before the Euro, the rest of Europe was more or less reduced to copying German monetary policy, or face devaluations.)
    - eru 14y ago
      > We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. The behind-the-scenes motivation wasn't about the common good, it was about the French trying to gain formal influence on monetary policy. The Germans had to agree in exchange for the French consent to German reunification. (Before the Euro, the rest of Europe was more or less reduced to copying German monetary policy, or face devaluations.)

Are the US afraid of a little challenge?

by jvzr 14y ago

Are the US afraid of a little challenge?

I can't speak for most people, since I'd be happy to change, but my guess is their thinking is along the lines of "it ain't broke, so why should we fix it?". For most 'everyday' use, the defects of the imperial system are most likely not that visible: if I have to guess how far something is in miles, it doesn't matter much if I say 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers, since I'm basically sticking to one unit and fractions thereof. Where the metric system starts getting a lot nicer is if you have to be more precise and mix and match units, or deal with multiples. In other words, estimating my height at 5'10" is fine for most people, but "how many davidw's would it take to cover a football field" is a problem much easier solved with the metric system. Does that make sense?

jvzr 14y ago
It sure does. And I understand the issue that lies therein. But, if the rest of the world is to ask of the US to switch to the metric system, there will be a time when the authorities have to enforce the system onto the citizen. Sometimes, the greater good of the community does not align with that of the citizen. We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. (Whether it has succeeded or not is another debate altogether.) It sure wasn't easy for the ol' timers, but now it's all behind and even my parents don't think back in Francs when they have to pay their baguette and wine.
- eru 14y ago
  > We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. The behind-the-scenes motivation wasn't about the common good, it was about the French trying to gain formal influence on monetary policy. The Germans had to agree in exchange for the French consent to German reunification. (Before the Euro, the rest of Europe was more or less reduced to copying German monetary policy, or face devaluations.)
  - eru 14y ago
    > We Europeans have switched from our country's respective currency to the Euro not to please us personally but for the economic good of the whole European Union. The behind-the-scenes motivation wasn't about the common good, it was about the French trying to gain formal influence on monetary policy. The Germans had to agree in exchange for the French consent to German reunification. (Before the Euro, the rest of Europe was more or less reduced to copying German monetary policy, or face devaluations.)