'Pokémon Go' Is Forcing Americans to Learn the Metric System
288 replies, posted
[QUOTE=space1;50710678]Why are you all so oblivious to the fact that imperial is easier to visually understand? Is it so you can feel superior to these "dumb americans" who "won't get with the times"? If you were so concerned with efficiency over being smug, you'd use kelvin instead of celsius. We're taught metric in school, but imperial is used by pretty much everything else. There's a reason why non scientific things are like this, it's because it's just helluva lot easier to visualize. I just can't picture someone telling me they're 60 cm tall, it doesn't compute. If you tell me you're 5 feet and 9 inches tall, I can instantly understand you. There's no real point to metric unless you're doing math with it.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=space1;50710678]60 cm tall[/QUOTE]
That's because you don't know the metric system.
[QUOTE=space1;50710678]Why are you all so oblivious to the fact that imperial is easier to visually understand? Is it so you can feel superior to these "dumb americans" who "won't get with the times"? If you were so concerned with efficiency over being smug, you'd use kelvin instead of celsius. We're taught metric in school, but imperial is used by pretty much everything else. There's a reason why non scientific things are like this, it's because it's just helluva lot easier to visualize. I just can't picture someone telling me they're 60 cm tall, it doesn't compute. If you tell me you're 5 feet and 9 inches tall, I can instantly understand you. There's no real point to metric unless you're doing math with it.[/QUOTE]
I can't picture someone telling me they're 5 feet and 9 inches tall, it doesn't compute. If you tell me you're 60 cm tall, I can instantly understand you. That works both ways, just because you're used to it and so you can understand it faster doesn't it make the easier to understand system.
[QUOTE=Mr. Manistan;50709206]Surprised this wasn't here yet.
[t]http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/handy-guide-temperatures.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
I've been in a 120 celsius sauna for some minutes and I'm not dead, immediately discredited
While metric is better for any sort of computing, calculating, or logic, Imperial just has better sound measurements. Metric measurements just don't have that ring to them.
"Don't give them a centimeter" just doesn't have that sound effect as "Don't give them an inch."
Therefor, I propose we convert some imperial measurements over to metric ones. An inch is a centimeter, a foot is half a meter, a yard is a meter, and so on. Now everything sounds nice and works interchangeably.
Metric also isn't hard to convert to. just a little bit of math involved. It's still an over all easier system, but according to a British 'historian' metric only exists so the French could spite the English.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50710713]Is it? You grew up with it so of course you feel that way but [B]is it actually?[/B] I grew up with metric, so it's VERY easy for me to visualize it, am I a freak or something? No, I'm just acclimatized to a different system. It's an easier system to learn and it's easier to understand as it's just as arbitrary as imperial, but more consistent within that arbitration.
There's plenty of point to metric, and you're complaining everyone else is just oblivious? That's some pretty blatant hypocrisy IMO.[/QUOTE]
So then how is celsius not completely retarded when compared to kelvin? How is having the day first going to be easier when you're looking for things in a file /w dates ranging over several different years and several different months? How does the 24 hour system work out when trying to gauge the time from the position of the sun(Hint: IT DOESN'T).
[QUOTE=Gunner th;50710771]While metric is better for any sort of computing, calculating, or logic, Imperial just has better sound measurements. Metric measurements just don't have that ring to them.
"Don't give them a centimeter" just doesn't have that sound effect as "Don't give them an inch."
Therefor, I propose we convert some imperial measurements over to metric ones. An inch is a centimeter, a foot is half a meter, a yard is a meter, and so on. Now everything sounds nice and works interchangeably.
Metric also isn't hard to convert to. just a little bit of math involved. It's still an over all easier system, but according to a British 'historian' metric only exists so the French could spite the English.[/QUOTE]
You realize that has nothing to do with the measurements, and everything to do with linguistics and culture?
And no, that's not how math works. If you changed a centimeter to an inch, that inch is now either 1 centimeter, or that centimeter is 2.5 centimeters to make it that inch unless you're saying just rename a centimeter to an inch but keep it the same measurement
[editline]14th July 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=space1;50710793]So then how is celsius not completely retarded when compared to kelvin? How is having the day first going to be easier when you're looking for things in a file /w dates ranging over several different years and several different months?[/QUOTE]
Kelvin is based upon absolute zero, and is [B]the exact same scale used by celsius, shifted down to accommodate for this[/B]
If it's retarded, it's because you're not grasping why those two systems exist. It's because celsius is used for day to day lives but is done in the same scale as kelvin meaning that any measurements or calculations that need to change between the two are done so very, [B]very[/B] easily.
[editline]14th July 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=space1;50710793] How does the 24 hour system work out when trying to gauge the time from the position of the sun(Hint: IT DOESN'T).[/QUOTE]
What are you even trying to say here? Are you just throwing random words and numbers at me expecting to fault my use of the metric system?
[QUOTE=space1;50710678]Why are you all so oblivious to the fact that imperial is easier to visually understand? Is it so you can feel superior to these "dumb americans" who "won't get with the times"? If you were so concerned with efficiency over being smug, you'd use kelvin instead of celsius. We're taught metric in school, but imperial is used by pretty much everything else. There's a reason why non scientific things are like this, it's because it's just helluva lot easier to visualize. I just can't picture someone telling me they're 60 cm tall, it doesn't compute. If you tell me you're 5 feet and 9 inches tall, I can instantly understand you. There's no real point to metric unless you're doing math with it.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/XQGzEPi.png[/img]
At least put in the effort to respond to someone who isn't an American and who wasn't making a post about how the logistics of supporting imperial would complicate the program, lol.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50710797]
What are you even trying to say here? Are you just throwing random words and numbers at me expecting to fault my use of the metric system?[/QUOTE]
You're unable to think so let me spell it out for you: The European system is not perfect, particularly with temperature, time of day, and how you write dates.
[QUOTE=space1;50710844]You're unable to think so let me spell it out for you: The European system is not perfect, particularly with temperature, time of day, and how you write dates.[/QUOTE]
Oh thanks for the insult I didn't know I was defending this so voraciously you needed to insult me
And you think i'm caustic
You made a statement that was utterly illegible to me, I asked for clarification, and you've now flamed me. Have fun talking to yourself in this discussion
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50710849]Oh thanks for the insult I didn't know I was defending this so voraciously you needed to insult me
And you think i'm caustic[/QUOTE]
well i'm just giving you the same amount of respect you give other people, nobodies fault but your own
[QUOTE=space1;50710844]You're unable to think so let me spell it out for you: The European system is not perfect, particularly with temperature, time of day, and how you write dates.[/QUOTE]
no you simply arent used to it, thats it, thats all it comes down to.
[QUOTE=space1;50710852]well i'm just giving you the same amount of respect you give other people, nobodies fault but your own[/QUOTE]
In my replies to you, did I not give you respect? I didn't insult you, your inteligence, nor your ideas?
Honestly, you're projecting pretty heavily it would seem.
[QUOTE=space1;50710844]You're unable to think so let me spell it out for you: The European system is not perfect, particularly with temperature, time of day, and how you write dates.[/QUOTE]
There's nothing wrong with 24 hour time. I see no reason to arbitrarily divide days into halves. There's nothing wrong with these systems, you just haven't made an effort to learn them. I'm American and find metric easier to use for both practical and scientific purposes now that I've learned it. If someone tells me their height in centimeters, I can visualize it just fine.
[QUOTE=space1;50710844]You're unable to think so let me spell it out for you: The European system is not perfect, particularly with temperature, time of day, and how you write dates.[/QUOTE]
That wasn't even what he was asking. You didn't actually say what's wrong with the system, your argument there was just "I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT SO IT'S UNIVERSALLY BAD".
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50710797]unless you're saying just rename a centimeter to an inch but keep it the same measurement[/QUOTE]
I think that's what he meant.
Also, if the French wanted to spite the English, they would've kept their units, as French feet were longer.
[QUOTE=Eva-1337;50710516]Recently figured out 1 yard roughly equals .9 meters and that DD/MM/YYYY makes way more sense grammatically speaking: the 14th day of the 7th month in the 2016th year, where 7th month of the 14th day makes zero sense.[/QUOTE]
Also (something that usually happens over here) when you ommit the month you can refer to the next occurrence of that date. Like when you're on the 20'th of any month and you say "Well that thing happens the 1'st" you're usually talking about the 1'st of the next month
[QUOTE=rampageturke 2;50710857]no you simply arent used to it, thats it, thats all it comes down to.[/QUOTE]
Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock? Also if the people who decided the ISO standards clearly know way more about writing dates than us, why is it even up to argument for us? It's like an uneducated person trying to argue with a biologist about the complicated mechanics of our bodies. You're not gonna win. There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock?[/QUOTE]
Because it's over complicating a system that doesn't need to be complicated? With a 24 hour format, you just say a single number and it's instantly clear exactly what time of day you're talking about. That's not the case at all with a 12 hour format.
[editline]15th July 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.[/QUOTE]
Water freezes at 0 celcius. Water boils at 100 celcius. What is one of the most important elements in earth? Water. There's your argument.
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock? Also if the people who decided the ISO standards clearly know way more about writing dates than us, why is it even up to argument for us? It's like an uneducated person trying to argue with a biologist about the complicated mechanics of our bodies. You're not gonna win. There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.[/QUOTE]
That's not really the case at all. You talked about "Why don't we just use kelvin" we basically do. Celsius is kelvin shifted up from Absolute Zero because in practical terms, in real life, that's never going to be a thing anyone can encounter. So celsius is shifted up to deal with freezing and boiling points of water where as Fahrenheit is based on the human body, and measurements there of from over a hundred years ago.
I like how you're basically saying "Everyone who uses metric is fucking wrong, retarded, and there's no point in even discussing it because of how obviously right I am about this". I don't think so. Imperial is fine, there's problems with it but it it's not the end of the world, it would be better to build things in metric that's for sure, but I'm not against day to day use of imperial but you do seem to be against any and all use of the metric system because "we don't need to be exact" and "it's harder(for you) to visualize".
I don't think those are great reasons to argue that upon.
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock?[/QUOTE]
What justification is there for dividing days into halves? Furthermore, what justification is there for replacing 0 with 12 (11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM)? 12 hour time is needlessly more complicated, as is using arbitrary conversion factors for measurements and measuring distance in feet+inches instead of a single unit. If you learned the international systems you'd realize they're actually easier to use.
I like the Imperial system just because of how mad it makes Europeans. Additionally anything with the word Imperial before it is automatically cooler.
I feel like we should just make a new system. Feet and inches for measuring height of people, Fahrenheit for bodily temperatures, and then the metric system for everything else. It's [i]obviously[/i] the best way.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50711019]That's not really the case at all. You talked about "Why don't we just use kelvin" we basically do. Celsius is kelvin shifted up from Absolute Zero because in practical terms, in real life, that's never going to be a thing anyone can encounter. So celsius is shifted up to deal with freezing and boiling points of water where as Fahrenheit is based on the human body, and measurements there of from over a hundred years ago.
I like how you're basically saying "Everyone who uses metric is fucking wrong, retarded, and there's no point in even discussing it because of how obviously right I am about this". I don't think so. Imperial is fine, there's problems with it but it it's not the end of the world, it would be better to build things in metric that's for sure, but I'm not against day to day use of imperial but you do seem to be against any and all use of the metric system because "we don't need to be exact" and "it's harder(for you) to visualize".
I don't think those are great reasons to argue that upon.[/QUOTE]
when someone like you just puts words in my mouth and doesn't actually respond to any of what I've said in a reasonable manner, you make yourself look dumb. try to keep focus please, thanks.
i never said metric was bad, just a few specific units were retarded. if you wanna go argue with how people program computer clocks, go take it up with them, i'm not the expert who came up with the ISO standards.
[QUOTE=space1;50711285]when someone like you just puts words in my mouth and doesn't actually respond to any of what I've said in a reasonable manner, you make yourself look dumb. try to keep focus please, thanks.
i never said metric was bad, just a few specific units were retarded. if you wanna go argue with how people program computer clocks, go take it up with them, i'm not the expert who came up with the ISO standards.[/QUOTE]
I didn't say one word about clocks or time and you flipped at me and put words in my mouth about it. Even your argument about Celsius isn't air tight so your insistence that's a stupid measurement system is unfounded. You based part of your argument on the difficulty of visualization, but that's a problem you have not one inherit to the system.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;50711291]Europeans get mad because they cant comprehend it. Also, 2nd point funny coming from an American. Brits founded imperial system, you guys shouldve been faster than UK to adopt metric.[/QUOTE]
Fair point, but at least we don't use stones as a measurement of weight. Fucking barbarians.
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.[/QUOTE]
So you won't adopt it because you can't be arsed to use it to its full extent?
Also, you use feet which is roughly the length of an average male foot, yet using a measurement which is based around the states of the most common element known to man, made to fit perfectly with the base 10 system seems so arbitrary to you??
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock? Also if the people who decided the ISO standards clearly know way more about writing dates than us, why is it even up to argument for us? It's like an uneducated person trying to argue with a biologist about the complicated mechanics of our bodies. You're not gonna win. There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.[/QUOTE]
Where did you get the idea that solar noon corresponds to 12:00? It varies based on your lat, long, and date. Mine for example was at 12:50:30 today. That kind of blows your 12 hour clock out of the water doesn't it?
Celsius is best thought of as a reference scale within the Kelvin scale. It's pretty useful when you're working with things of a biological nature, more so than Fahrenheit. Kelvin is good for things beyond common conditions on earth.
I am a scientist. I need to be exact. I use the metric system in the lab and out.
[editline]14th July 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Petrussen;50711314]So you won't adopt it because you can't be arsed to use it to its full extent?
Also, you use feet which is roughly the length of an average male foot, yet using a measurement which is based around the states of the most common [B]element[/B] known to man, made to fit perfectly with the base 10 system seems so arbitrary to you??[/QUOTE]
You aren't the only one that did this, but water is a compound, not an element.
[QUOTE=space1;50710968]Uhhh, but 12:00 noon is when the sun is at the center of the sky. Is there any logical reason that we shouldn't use the 12 hour clock? Also if the people who decided the ISO standards clearly know way more about writing dates than us, why is it even up to argument for us? It's like an uneducated person trying to argue with a biologist about the complicated mechanics of our bodies. You're not gonna win. There is literally no argument in defending celsius whatsoever, it is basically a much worse farenheit. None of this really matters anyway, because we're not scientists and we don't need to be exact.[/QUOTE]
Well you just had to write the word "noon" after 12:00 to signify midday, whereas in the 24h system you could have omitted that entirely because "12 noon" is still written 12:00, and is distinguished from midnight because midnight is 00:00.
So what the 12 hour system gives you is an imprecise way of telling the time which needs clarification so often that they had to invent a word for it. It's ridiculous, get with the [B][I]times[/I][/B].
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