[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;46440851]1776 x 5280 = 9377280 feet x 12 = 112527360 inches.
Imperial measurements aren't that hard to learn. It's just like memorizing any other formula or value in maths.
Maybe we should also change the value of pi to 3 because 3.14159265... is obviously too hard to remember.[/QUOTE]
The value of pi isn't arbitrary, unlike imperial measurement system.
There's a reason why pi has the value it has. But there's no reason to measure things in inches.
[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;46440193]"It's easier because its the same number"
Well duh, that's why its easier. It makes conversion easier and with a higher precision, two numbers can mean different things.
100 000 millimeters and 1000 meters is very different in terms of precision. It's the same as 1,000 and 1,0
Also I'd like you to convert 1776 miles into inches and you cant use a calculator.[/QUOTE]
112,527,360"
9,377,280'
3,125,760 yds
142,080 ch
14,208 furlongs
Now tell me, why would I ever need to do that? You might as well ask how many seconds are in a year.
What does it matter to me if water - distilled water, that is, not water I might ever come across - boils at 100 or 212? I don't input a temperature into my hob. But when I need to check if I have a fever, I know I've got one if my temperature is above 100 degrees, and I need to call a doctor if I go above 103.
[QUOTE=credesniper;46439834]As an American, I haven't heard of much less use over half the units he's used in this video, but it should be clear the imperial system is easier to work with is because of its conversion factor.[/QUOTE]
Regardless of the other units used to make fun of Imperial: Yes, the simple 12 inches to a foot, 3 feet to a yard and 1760 yards to a mile. Those are used on a daily basis and you with a straight face say that it's easier than 10 mm is a cm, 10 cm is a dm, 10 dm (though rarely used so 100cm) = 1m, 1000 m = 1 km.
Yeah it's different and requires a bit of a head reset to get used to them but at least it makes sense and it becomes a lot easier to use with measures of area, volume, speed, everything. Not to even mention the temperatures which have even more ludicrous origins.
[QUOTE=Alice3173;46440571]I'm fairly sure that imperial has actually caused issues before when US scientists or engineers were working with people from other countries too. (And I believe it was the cause of one of Nasa's accidents as well. I don't remember which one but if I recall correctly someone used imperial where they shouldn't have. Which could be solved by everyone just using freaking metric.)[/QUOTE]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure[/url]
[QUOTE=lazyguy;46440937]112,527,360"
9,377,280'
3,125,760 yds
142,080 ch
14,208 furlongs
Now tell me, why would I ever need to do that? You might as well ask how many seconds are in a year.
What does it matter to me if water - distilled water, that is, not water I might ever come across - boils at 100 or 212? I don't input a temperature into my hob. But when I need to check if I have a fever, I know I've got one if my temperature is above 100 degrees, and I need to call a doctor if I go above 103.[/QUOTE]
I have a fever if I have 37 degrees and I am in deep shit if I am at 40 and more. So fucking hard.
[QUOTE=Murkrow;46440953][url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure[/url][/QUOTE]
I'd imagine NASA has taken precautions to avoid that from happening again.
[QUOTE=lazyguy;46440937]But when I need to check if I have a fever, I know I've got one if my temperature is above 100 degrees, and I need to call a doctor if I go above 103.[/QUOTE]
You do realize that body temperature is even more stupid in Fahrenheit right? You're supposed to have a temperature of 98.6ºF. (Which coincidentally is 37ºC even.)
[editline]8th November 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=SoaringScout;46440972]I'd imagine NASA has taken precautions to avoid that from happening again.[/QUOTE]
It never would have happened in the first place if everyone just used the same units rather than being stubborn. It's not even like everyone is saying the US has to immediately quit using imperial and start using metric and only metric. Just wean the US off imperial over the span of a generation. Switch things to show both imperial and metric and start teaching future generations less and less about imperial and focus on metric. Then like 2-3 generations down the line we can switch to only metric. The only real concern is costs and that can be offset by doing things over time.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;46440962]I have a fever if I have 37 degrees and I am in deep shit if I am at 40 and more. So fucking hard.[/QUOTE]
[url=http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body_temperature]37 is normal lol[/url]
[QUOTE=Satane;46441004]I was taught you're supposed to have 36,6C[/QUOTE]
Well then how is that any better or mentally easier to process than a fahrenheit temp of 98.6?
i prefer imperial over metric. it's what i was taught to begin with and it's what i'm more accustomed to
[QUOTE=Alice3173;46440988]It never would have happened in the first place if everyone just used the same units rather than being stubborn. It's not even like everyone is saying the US has to immediately quit using imperial and start using metric and only metric. Just wean the US off imperial over the span of a generation. Switch things to show both imperial and metric and start teaching future generations less and less about imperial and focus on metric. Then like 2-3 generations down the line we can switch to only metric. The only real concern is costs and that can be offset by doing things over time.[/QUOTE]
Except the problem wasn't simply caused by stubbornness, it was caused by disorganization and poor planning. NASA should have made sure that they were using the same system of measurement across all their software, but they didn't decide to make one piece of software use US Customary Units simply out of stubbornness, don't insult their intelligence like that. And besides, they use the metric system now, so problem solved. Pretty much any big science or engineering field is going to require metric, and the people in that field are going to know it and use it. Adding it to education is a good idea, but that's already happening. I've been taught the metric system multiple times in school. However, wasting the already poor funding for infrastructure on changing from imperial to metric is a horrid idea, even if it's happening over a long period of time. We already have relatively low funding for infrastructure, and our bridges are falling apart because of it. I think the safety of our people is far more important than trying to please the rest of the world.
[QUOTE=lazyguy;46441001][url=http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body_temperature]37 is normal lol[/url][/QUOTE]
Depends on the person. My normal measured at armpit is 35-36.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;46440962]I have a fever if I have 37 degrees and I am in deep shit if I am at 40 and more. So fucking hard.[/QUOTE]
Lel. Or with cars. My engine is in danger danger will robinson mode around 105 degrees C or so and 'You done killed it' mode at 115ºC. And my oil pressure? Should be sitting around 310kPa or 3.1 BAR(Idunno which metric unit is typically found on European dashboards for that :P).
[QUOTE=confinedUser;46440071] 0 degrees Fahrenheit is cold, but -18 degrees celsius doesn't really look right to me[/QUOTE]
the fuck are you gonna use -18 celsius for
Is it sad that I finally started actually thinking at least somewhat in metric units when Red Orchestra started measuring the distance of my kills by meters?
I still absolutely fucking suck at metric units though, this is what happens when you don't pay attention in school.
[QUOTE=SoaringScout;46440972]I'd imagine NASA has taken precautions to avoid that from happening again.[/QUOTE]
Yes, its called dumping the imperial system. I belive they did it some time afterwards. After all, it is the only safe way to deal with other agencies / companies (ESA, JAXA, Roscosmos etc) as they all use the metric system.
[QUOTE=TestECull;46440892]What that comic, and indeed everyone crying on the internet for America to switch over, doesn't understand is the logistical clusterfuck that would entail. It's one thing to get the next generation using metric, it's another thing to find the money and time to replace every road sign, to replace every speedometer in people's driveways(Most of them show MPH only, the ones that do have KPH have it in tiny numbers nobody even sees), retrain the older generations, etc etc. It's a massive logistical shitstorm that makes it infeasible to convert the general American populace.[/QUOTE]
Literally every other country in the world save for Burma and the USA converted. Why can't the USA?
It can also be done over time, there's nothing you stopping from replacing signs with dual measurements slowly and only teaching metric to schoolchildren and removing imperial measurements from official government usage. After that, it's simply a matter of waiting.
[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;46440851]Imperial measurements aren't that hard to learn. It's just like memorizing any other formula or value in maths.[/QUOTE]
i said this in the other thread and i'm saying it here: the thing with the metric system is that, unlike with the imperial one, there is NO memorizing. with imperial, you always have to remember how much each unit is worth. is that really so hard? no, not really, but is there any reason to do that instead of using a system where you don't actually have to remember anything, save for where to put the commas?
[QUOTE=SoaringScout;46441072]Except the problem wasn't simply caused by stubbornness, it was caused by disorganization and poor planning. NASA should have made sure that they were using the same system of measurement across all their software, but they didn't decide to make one piece of software use US Customary Units simply out of stubbornness, don't insult their intelligence like that. And besides, they use the metric system now, so problem solved. Pretty much any big science or engineering field is going to require metric, and the people in that field are going to know it and use it. Adding it to education is a good idea, but that's already happening. I've been taught the metric system multiple times in school. However, wasting the already poor funding for infrastructure on changing from imperial to metric is a horrid idea, even if it's happening over a long period of time. We already have relatively low funding for infrastructure, and our bridges are falling apart because of it. I think the safety of our people is far more important than trying to please the rest of the world.[/QUOTE]
There's nothing saying (that I saw at least) that Nasa was even responsible for creating the software they used. And the point still stands that the issue wouldn't have ever even arose if we had just used metric.
Yes, we do get taught metric. When I was in school they spent like a week in the second or third grade teaching us about it and we learned a little more in high school chemistry since milliliters is a common measurement there. A week that early then never really making use of it doesn't really count as being taught metric. If people were more thoroughly taught metric and forced to actually use it more then they wouldn't be so resistant to the switch.
Low infrastructure funding doesn't mean it's not a change that should happen. We already put too much funding towards other things anyways such as our military (I don't have the link off hand but there was an article posted a few months or so ago here on FP about how the US military's budget is fucked up due to how inflexible it is in addition to the sheer size of the budget) and if we actually went over the budget and looked more closely at some of these things we could easily scrape up enough money to fund it.
[QUOTE=credesniper;46439834]As an American, I haven't heard of much less use over half the units he's used in this video, but it should be clear the imperial system is easier to work with is because of its conversion factor. Unfortunately, I've used imperial all my life and that's all I can think in. I can't imagine how long a meter is, or how much a kg feels. Miles for distances just feels a ton easier.[/QUOTE]
Ever heard of the yard? The meter is a bit longer. A mile is about 1.6 times longer than a km. An inch is about, well, 3cm - and a foot about 10 times that. A kg is about 2 pounds. I've never had to use imperial units (thankfully), but it would seem that I have less problems imagining imperial units, than you have with metric units. It's not hard at all.
[QUOTE=lazyguy;46439317]Last time there was an argument about metric vs Imperial it went on for half a dozen pages and everyone got very upset, so it would be best if you all just accepted that Imperial is superior.
[sp]"BUT 1254 METRES IS 1.254 KM! THAT'S EASIER EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE EXACT SAME NUMBERS!"[/sp][/QUOTE]
[video=youtube;cCmAaQgXc9M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCmAaQgXc9M&index=113&list=PLEl4TsWotX6ErilrNhOXCKoKU0MFKWpr8[/video]
if you actually think imperial is better, you're being delusional and living in the 1700's.
[QUOTE=Alice3173;46441283]There's nothing saying (that I saw at least) that Nasa was even responsible for creating the software they used. And the point still stands that the issue wouldn't have ever even arose if we had just used metric.
Yes, we do get taught metric. When I was in school they spent like a week in the second or third grade teaching us about it and we learned a little more in high school chemistry since milliliters is a common measurement there. A week that early then never really making use of it doesn't really count as being taught metric. If people were more thoroughly taught metric and forced to actually use it more then they wouldn't be so resistant to the switch.
Low infrastructure funding doesn't mean it's not a change that should happen. We already put too much funding towards other things anyways such as our military (I don't have the link off hand but there was an article posted a few months or so ago here on FP about how the US military's budget is fucked up due to how inflexible it is in addition to the sheer size of the budget) and if we actually went over the budget and looked more closely at some of these things we could easily scrape up enough money to fund it.[/QUOTE]
Yes, and that's a good point, and NASA realized that, and now they've switched to metric and the problem is solved. But it's not at all relevant to going through the effort of switching our enormous country to metric. Maybe, just maybe, if the US somehow stopped pumping an asston of money into our military we'd have the funding to maintain our roads while switching them to metric at the same time, but frankly, I don't see that happening, and trying to do it now is a godawful idea because, like I said, we already do not have enough money to maintain the roads at a minimum sufficient level. We have absolutely no wiggle room and switching to metric is not a priority by any means. Measurement system differences aren't causing frequent issues such as the NASA one, so why should we invest any bit our ham sandwich infrastructure budget into switching to metric? Also, this isn't a problem of people resisting change, it's a problem of us not being able to afford it.
By the way, if I calculated correctly, the total road length of the UK is 6% of that of the US, so I'd imagine this switch is much smaller for the UK than it is the US, but I'm not an expert in this and I don't know what else to factor into comparing how significant of a change this is for each country, so take this with a grain of salt
Source: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_road_network_size[/url] (wikipedia, i know)
Also, we get it, imperial is an illogical system, you aren't special for pointing it out. Ignore lazyguy.
Just a question, but if the US were to, say, switch to metric and make all speed limits on km/h, what happens to all of the cars that have their speedos in mph?
I mean I am entirely in favor of the standardization of the metric system, especially in the U.S, but it feels like the damage is already done
I get cancer every time i see imperial units. Even if measuring diagonal of the screen which is ∞% bullshit too because diagonals are worst
Because we use grain, hundredweights, drams, stick, barleycorns, short tons, all those fucking survey measures that no one uses, etc,etc. in everyday life.
That video has the sole purpose of making fun of the archaic measurements of the imperial system. Sure they exist, but no one uses them. They dont teach you them in school.
ounces, pounds, tons.
teaspoons, tablespoons, cups.
pints, quarts, gallons.
inches, feet, yards, miles.
You can live your entire imperial measurement life using only the above measurements.
Things such as an acre or bushel are crucial to farming and are the only thing that really is still used that is mentioned in that video outside of the ferinheight and Fl oz,
I still find it's best to keep learning both systems and use both systems.
Metric is great for smaller more accurate measurement but for long distance? It starts to get a bit silly and odd sounding whereas the imperial system makes more sense for longer distance and speed.
If you want more accurate measurements you go metric, if you want rough amounts for big numbers you go imperial.
Never bothered me.
[QUOTE=Duck M.;46441395]Just a question, but if the US were to, say, switch to metric and make all speed limits on km/h, what happens to all of the cars that have their speedos in mph?
I mean I am entirely in favor of the standardization of the metric system, especially in the U.S, but it feels like the damage is already done[/QUOTE]
Your vehicle (probably) already has the Km/hr readings. Its the smaller numbers on the speedometer.
[QUOTE=confinedUser;46440071]because 90% of us don't use it? It's easier to use imperial instead. I can get a good sense of an inch, to a foot, and temperatures are more or less on point, 0 degrees Fahrenheit is cold, but -18 degrees celsius doesn't really look right to me. also construction uses imperial here aswell, If you forced a switch to metric everyone would run around like a chicken with it's head cut off[/QUOTE]
Uhm, so instead of 0 degrees being something as precise as "cold", it's actually the point at which water freezes in the metric system. Pretty useful.
The good thing about the metric system is that it [I]isn't[/I] arbitrary. Or well, to a certain point it is, but it's defined from less arbitrary things that the size of a barley corn.
[QUOTE=Code3Response;46441434]Your vehicle (probably) already has the Km/hr readings. Its the smaller numbers on the speedometer.[/QUOTE]
Ah yeah, I totally forgot about that. Still though, I feel as if people would use it as an excuse for speeding, though I don't think it's an acceptable reason to not change systems.
[QUOTE=GiGaBiTe;46440851]1776 x 5280 = 9377280 feet x 12 = 112527360 inches.
Imperial measurements aren't that hard to learn. It's just like memorizing any other formula or value in maths.
Maybe we should also change the value of pi to 3 because 3.14159265... is obviously too hard to remember.[/QUOTE]
Are you going to argue that 1776 * 5280 * 12 is just as easy as 1776 * 1000 * 100?
And Pi is the very definition of a circle's proportions, we can't change it. But if we could of course we would.
[QUOTE=Alice3173;46440571]
I'm fairly sure that imperial has actually caused issues before when US scientists or engineers were working with people from other countries too. (And I believe it was the cause of one of Nasa's accidents as well. I don't remember which one but if I recall correctly someone used imperial where they shouldn't have. Which could be solved by everyone just using freaking metric.)[/QUOTE]
There was also an incident where Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel halfway through its trip because the wrong unit of measurement was used. Although in this case the fuel gauge was also broken but still.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTRAQAzey4[/url]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.