2 ms·
Fractional measures are useful when you often have to sub-divide a thing, but you are right in that they make the problem of comparing two things more difficult
by mpyne 14y ago
Fractional measures are useful when you often have to sub-divide a thing, but you are right in that they make the problem of comparing two things more difficult.
But with that in mind the answer to your question is that when the scales were first devised in the first place that it was apparently more important to be able to evenly split things up easily without grade-school arithmetic than it was to be able to compare a 3/32" socket to a 1/8".
- ComputerGuru 14y agoBut why not just use /64 or /32 for everything? 3/32" vs 4/32" is win-win compared to 3/32" vs 1/8" or .09375" vs .125"
- mpyne 14y agoThe stupid answer is that it's easier to add 1/2 and 1/4 than it is 32/64 and 16/64. Keep in mind this is the kind of measurement system that might evolve in the time before most people had a formal education.