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Didn't read this entire thread but has anyone mentioned paper sizes? When I moved to the UK I knew it was mostly metric but had no idea that paper was in different sizes. There is no 8 1/2 x 11" paper. It's A4 which is longer and narrower. Took me quite a while to get used to temps in celsius, but I memorized a few temps and just go from there. Funny how some said that F is more accurate than C. Ever heard of decimals?
I much prefer using grams in cooking and weighing food. A cup of diced food is not very accurate, is it? But 100 grams is indisputable.
Science and medicine is all metric. Imagine taking medicine in a fraction of an ounce instead of grams!
Science and medicine is all metric. Imagine taking medicine in a fraction of an ounce instead of grams!
Science is SI not metric although there is overlap, but temps are measured in Kelvins and angular arcs in radians they're two common differences there are others for instance liter is not an SI unit (but is a metric unit). SI is used because the commonly used constants are expressed in SI units. If SI switched its units today, "Science" would be using those units tomorrow. For example c the speed of light is roughly 3x10^8 m/s or 9.84x10^8 ft/s, you can do precisely the same thing with all other constants (which is the purpose of constants).
What difference would it make if medicine measured in a fraction of an ounce? Would people be overdosed by measuring in ounces?
1/1000 of an ounce is 28mg. If we can weigh 28mg we can weigh 1/1000 of an ounce. There's also grains which are 1/7000 of a avoirdupois pound or ~65mg, we can measure into micrograms and lower, so that would be millionths of an ounce and lower.
Which is my point... It's an irrelevancy.
Does it really matter whether something is 914mm long or 3 feet long? It's the same length...
Does it really matter whether something is 73F or 22.7C it's the same temperature...
Does it really matter whether something is 8lb or 3.6 kg it's the same mass...
Does it really matter whether something is 5 pints or 2.36 liters it's the same volume...
Back to my previous language assertion, does it matter whether someone says "mouse" or "souris" or "mus" or "raton" or "maus" or "muso" when whoever says it to a person understanding that system knows what they're talking about.
Science is SI not metric although there is overlap, but temps are measured in Kelvins and angular arcs in radians they're two common differences there are others for instance liter is not an SI unit (but is a metric unit). SI is used because the commonly used constants are expressed in SI units. If SI switched its units today, "Science" would be using those units tomorrow. For example c the speed of light is roughly 3x10^8 m/s or 9.84x10^8 ft/s, you can do precisely the same thing with all other constants (which is the purpose of constants).
What difference would it make if medicine measured in a fraction of an ounce? Would people be overdosed by measuring in ounces?
1/1000 of an ounce is 28mg. If we can weigh 28mg we can weigh 1/1000 of an ounce. There's also grains which are 1/7000 of a avoirdupois pound or ~65mg, we can measure into micrograms and lower, so that would be millionths of an ounce and lower.
Which is my point... It's an irrelevancy.
Does it really matter whether something is 914mm long or 3 feet long? It's the same length...
Does it really matter whether something is 73F or 22.7C it's the same temperature...
Does it really matter whether something is 8lb or 3.6 kg it's the same mass...
Does it really matter whether something is 5 pints or 2.36 liters it's the same volume...
Back to my previous language assertion, does it matter whether someone says "mouse" or "souris" or "mus" or "raton" or "maus" or "muso" when whoever says it to a person understanding that system knows what they're talking about.
That's all an excuse because Americans don't want to change (read all the previous posts about being too lazy to change). Only the US uses these measurements. I'm betting there's a problem with exporting/importing certain goods because of the US refusing to go metric.
That's all an excuse because Americans don't want to change (read all the previous posts about being too lazy to change). Only the US uses these measurements. I'm betting there's a problem with exporting/importing certain goods because of the US refusing to go metric.
There isn't really a problem because much of US industry already uses metric measures. Americans say that they don't want to change but, in reality, they have changed and continue to do so as the drip-feed of metrication happens.
If people are honest and look about them they will see that metric measures are already part of their daily lives. But they don't tend to notice because, surprise, they got used to it.
And it isn't as if the Imperial measures we use are standard in any meaningful way. An American pint is smaller than a British pint and American distances do not use 'standard' Imperial measures such as furlongs or lengths.
But, in the end, it doesn't really matter. If industry needs to use metric to remain competitive then they will and they won't care whether people like it or not. If fewer people are buying standard tool sets and more are buying metric then places like Home Depot will respond. Ultimately, the market will sort it out.
That's all an excuse because Americans don't want to change (read all the previous posts about being too lazy to change). Only the US uses these measurements. I'm betting there's a problem with exporting/importing certain goods because of the US refusing to go metric.
I'm born and raised British, so laziness is not my excuse, and I'm a physics post graduate, so that's not my excuse the other way either, I just see metrics for what they are, mostly irrelevant as abstract concepts. As a concrete concept it's irrelevant how it's measured as long as both parties understand the measurement.
No I'm saying don't change because there's no value add. Both systems are fundamentally flawed because they all derive from an anthropogenic measurement system (regardless of the fact that SI claims scientific accuracy, see my posts on that) metric is based on a second, which is based on periods of rotation of this geoid we exist on (although it's now measured as an arbitrary number [9,192,631,770] of periods of radiation from a Caesium 133 atom). How is that pertinent on a universal scale? If we as a planet plan on standardizing on something lets make it logical with some number that does not require the person doing a calibration to look it up in some database or notes. At the same time we can restandardize time divisions to be more in line with a metric system say 20 hours a day of 100 minutes of 100 seconds (or close approximations).
I can't see why there would be ANY issue in exporting/importing any goods, because US measures have metric equivalents and vice versa. There literally is nothing that one system can do that another cannot which is why I find it funny that people argue so hard for the metric system, it doesn't add anything, you have a bunch of numbers and a unit in both metric and imperial and they both abstractly describe some physical quantity about an object that is real, or in itself abstract. If you want to see what a mess Metric is, just go look at how oil is bought and sold in Metric states, is it cubic meters? Or Tonnes? Or Barrels of often the US (and Canada) 42 Gallons volume. Because of varying densities one Tonne of heavy oil is a different volume than one Tonne of gasoline. I can't imagine that any other commodity is any better be it agricultural produce or processed materials. That's with everyone on the same page metrically speaking.
The only thing I've heard is that being divisible by 10 is easy... well duh... if that's the big benefit, I'd say keep Imperial/Standard around because it's going to improve mathematical ability by forcing people to divide by not 10.
There isn't really a problem because much of US industry already uses metric measures. Americans say that they don't want to change but, in reality, they have changed and continue to do so as the drip-feed of metrication happens.
If people are honest and look about them they will see that metric measures are already part of their daily lives. But they don't tend to notice because, surprise, they got used to it.
And it isn't as if the Imperial measures we use are standard in any meaningful way. An American pint is smaller than a British pint and American distances do not use 'standard' Imperial measures such as furlongs or lengths.
But, in the end, it doesn't really matter. If industry needs to use metric to remain competitive then they will and they won't care whether people like it or not. If fewer people are buying standard tool sets and more are buying metric then places like Home Depot will respond. Ultimately, the market will sort it out.
The issue I see is the changeover costs being too much for the individual in two ways: upfront and taxing. As of right now most (if not close to all) American houses have used measuring cups with teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, ect. NOW with changing it they need to buy metric versions which if I am not mistaken is various litres. Unless there is a buy-back (which will tie into the second way of taxing) the customer would have to pay for it. Tax, switching to metrics will drastically changing infrastructure such as exit signs, road side markers (or mile markers as we know them), speed limits (just look at my previous post) and many other things. Instead of say the I-10/I-17 interchange being 2 miles, 1 miles, 1/2 a mile up ahead and needing signs for those, you will need to make signage saying it is 3km, 2km, 1km, 1/2km up ahead so people who never drive there KNOW it is coming up (if they aren't following a GPS.) The costs to remove all these signs and replace them with more is too much in particular to a country drowning in debt like many think it is already. Not without mentioning the headaches it will cause where people will be mis-measuring or caught speeding because they aren't use to the system.
It's not an issue of being dumb, it is an issue of drastic changes costing Americans when we are already budget strapped as it is.
The world will provide whatever you want if they want to sell it bad enough.....I just bought 10 million bucks of equipment from Germany. I speced that every guage and display and readout be US standard not metric. (wtf is a kilopascal anyhow??) You know what? they complied with out a wimper. They used a US company instead of a German one for that switchgear, control systems and dispalays they even converted the tech manuals and drawings to US.... If someone wants to sell bad enough they'll give you what you want.....
The issue I see is the changeover costs being too much for the individual in two ways: upfront and taxing. As of right now most (if not close to all) American houses have used measuring cups with teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, ect. NOW with changing it they need to buy metric versions which if I am not mistaken is various litres. Unless there is a buy-back (which will tie into the second way of taxing) the customer would have to pay for it. Tax, switching to metrics will drastically changing infrastructure such as exit signs, road side markers (or mile markers as we know them), speed limits (just look at my previous post) and many other things. Instead of say the I-10/I-17 interchange being 2 miles, 1 miles, 1/2 a mile up ahead and needing signs for those, you will need to make signage saying it is 3km, 2km, 1km, 1/2km up ahead so people who never drive there KNOW it is coming up (if they aren't following a GPS.) The costs to remove all these signs and replace them with more is too much in particular to a country drowning in debt like many think it is already. Not without mentioning the headaches it will cause where people will be mis-measuring or caught speeding because they aren't use to the system.
It's not an issue of being dumb, it is an issue of drastic changes costing Americans when we are already budget strapped as it is.
Well, there are costs and costs. I agree that the cost of switching over our highway signage would be immense.
But for other things, not so much. For example, we bought an electronic kitchen scale in Walmart. It weighs in pounds, ounces, grams and kilograms. So, when your old one bites the big one, you buy a new scale and hey-presto. Our 'Superseal' plastic measuring jug already has standard and metric measures and it is a few years old. Quite handy because different cookbooks use different standards.
American industry isn't stupid. They know consumers want both so they provide it.
Didn't read this entire thread but has anyone mentioned paper sizes? When I moved to the UK I knew it was mostly metric but had no idea that paper was in different sizes. There is no 8 1/2 x 11" paper. It's A4 which is longer and narrower. Took me quite a while to get used to temps in celsius, but I memorized a few temps and just go from there. Funny how some said that F is more accurate than C. Ever heard of decimals?
I much prefer using grams in cooking and weighing food. A cup of diced food is not very accurate, is it? But 100 grams is indisputable.
Science and medicine is all metric. Imagine taking medicine in a fraction of an ounce instead of grams!
Back in the day, there were matchboxes, lids, and bricks . . . of Acapulco Gold! (Organic)
The world will provide whatever you want if they want to sell it bad enough.....I just bought 10 million bucks of equipment from Germany. I speced that every guage and display and readout be US standard not metric. (wtf is a kilopascal anyhow??) You know what? they complied with out a wimper. They used a US company instead of a German one for that switchgear, control systems and dispalays they even converted the tech manuals and drawings to US.... If someone wants to sell bad enough they'll give you what you want.....
A kilopascal is 1,000 pascals (Pa). A pascal is a unit of force equal to one newton per square meter. One standard atmosphere is exactly equal to 101.325 kPa or 1,013.25 hPa or 101,325 Pa. In the US we use the Imperial unit, which is pounds per square inch (psi).
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Not without mentioning the headaches it will cause where people will be mis-measuring or caught speeding because they aren't use to the system.
