Should America go metric?

[Muzjhath]

Meh, I was talking to someone from NZ and she was saying it was 28 degrees and they were going swimming, and my reaction was 'you have a polar bear club? awesome!'. It is only odd or confusing if you haven't literally used it your whole life. I maintain there is no difference in how 'good' it is between F and C. If we want a real measurement of temp, we should all switch to Kelvin :P

The only difference between Kelvin and Celsius is where the 0's at. The magnitue of each degree is the same, everything. It's just that when dealing with common day temperatures Celsius make's more sense to us with how our mind works. Zero is a tangible number to work out from. Which scientists do when using Kelvin. It doesn't do it when you work in a kitchen, or look out side to see if the water is freezing.
So if you want Kelvin you should be just bloody fine with Celsius since it uses the same magnitude of scale, only have a different zero. They just have different practicalities.

[Ryuukon]

Maybe, OP, if you hadn't come up with the most insulting way of displaying your reasoning, I MIGHT have agreed with you. But instead... I'll just vote no as an American and tell you to piss off. Especially when it comes to the calendar. How is saying the month over the day illogical? Because you aren't used to it?

Piss off.

[Cakka]

Celsius scale is not any more logical than Fahrenheit scale is. The temperature of freezing water is just as arbitrary as the temperature of salted ice. Kelvin scale on the other hand is logical, at least from the 0 point perspective. It just so happens that the scale of it is the same as the Celsius'.

Except for the fact that pure water is what brings nature to life. Stay below 0 C and you will get snow, ground will freeze and many plants will drops their leaves and go dormant or just wither. On the other hand stay above 0 C and the opposite will happen. I'd say that is pretty logical for normal person's point of view. Alson kelvin doesn't "just happen" to follow same scale as celsius, it was deliberately built that way by Lord Kelvin.

[capitano666]

Do some research and calculate how much it would cost, then look at current economic times, and then ask yourself if that is something we really need to be doing.

It can be done gradually, let's say for example that a new hypothetical law says every new road sign has to include both measures, and in 20 years all the new road signs will only contain metric values.
This way you have no extra expense at all, you just insert the new system in the normal road sign replacement cycle.

[Deleted]

America is inching its way to the Metric system...

[Deleted]

I like the chart you showed.. Minus the blatant bias against the American system.

Doesn't seem to stop us from being the first to get to Mars or the first in quite a bit of historical mile stones is it?

Shame.

In other words: I'd better cry about something unrelated to validate the usage of something reduntant.

Relevant: I've got 2200 rating in 2v2, which means peanut butter is good nutrition.

[Tsuna]

America is inching its way to the Metric system...

I see what u did thar!

[Deleted]

It isn't as practical as fahrenheit for measuring comfort using the scope that you are suggesting. 0 degrees fahrenheit means wear thick clothes. 100 degrees fahrenheit means wear light clothes. 0 degrees celcius means wear thick clothes. 100 degrees celsius means that you're dead. It simply isn't as practical in measuring human comfort on a 0 to 100 scale.
The systems are different and neither one is wrong, they just go to show different things.

100 celsius does not mean you are dead. Ever hear of this thing called a "sauna"?

[obdigore]

The only difference between Kelvin and Celsius is where the 0's at. The magnitue of each degree is the same, everything. It's just that when dealing with common day temperatures Celsius make's more sense to us with how our mind works. Zero is a tangible number to work out from. Which scientists do when using Kelvin. It doesn't do it when you work in a kitchen, or look out side to see if the water is freezing.
So if you want Kelvin you should be just bloody fine with Celsius since it uses the same magnitude of scale, only have a different zero. They just have different practicalities.

There is no point switching to Celsius from Farhenheit. If we are switching to be 'better', then Kelvin is the best scale, no reason to go from one to another mediocre measuring system.

---------- Post added 2012-12-14 at 06:28 AM ----------

100 celsius does not mean you are dead. Ever hear of this thing called a "sauna"?

Uhm... I'm pretty sure once the water starts boiling you start getting burns.

[Kobor]

You will die in 100 C, dont try it.
Sauna usually have in the 60-90 range, only humidity causing it feel hotter.


Regarding the time we use 3 quarters 12 means 3 quaters of the hour already passed from 11 to 12 o'clock.

I know sometimes we get jokes that half 10 should be only 5 o'clock.
But everybody knows what it means, the passing of current hour, the 60 minutes.

[Cakka]

Sauna is not going over 100 C, you will die there.
They have mostly around 60-90 range, can change the humidity in order to feel hotter.

Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna "Taking a sauna begins by washing oneself up and then going to sit for some time in the hot room, typically warmed to 80–110 °C" I've been in over 100C sauna myself and I'm still alive. You obviously can't live in heat like that, but it's fine for short perioids (usually 30mins - 1h) of time.

[Kobor]

Ok you will not die at once, but since our body consist of water mainly that extra 10 C is probably durable because of the isolation of our body.

Page later tell this
"The temperature in Finnish saunas is 60–100 °C, usually 70–80 °C"

I like hot saunas, but never tried over 100.

---------- Post added 2012-12-14 at 12:49 PM ----------

Ok you will not die at once, but since our body consist of water mainly that extra 10 C is probably durable because of the isolation of our body.

Page later tell this
"The temperature in Finnish saunas is 60–100 °C, usually 70–80 °C"

I like hot saunas, but never tried over 100.

[SteakAndAlePie]

As a European I feel very comfortable with the metric system. I, however, have a fascination for imperial units and can handle them pretty well, despite them not having any practical use here.

On the contrary, I just can't get behind Fahrenheit. It's point 0 is today absolutely arbitrary and was supposed to be absolute zero, a claim that failed to be true. And for those who prefer Kelvin over Celsius... you realize Kelvin is parasitic to Celsius? The difference between 3K and 4K is the same as the difference between 3C and 4C.

[Cakka]

[QUOTE=Kobor;19441967]Ok you will not die at once, but since our body consist of water mainly that extra 10 C is probably durable because of the isolation of our body.

Page later tell this
"The temperature in Finnish saunas is 60–100 °C, usually 70–80 °C"

Yea, I don't actually enjoy saunas that hot either but you gotta try it at least once. Also related guy dies at sauna competition. Their starting temp was 110C! and they stayed in forever, well that was the last sauna championship held here. WARNING pretty gruesome imaginary even though that's from a news cast.

[Wildtree]

and i appreciate the "austrian friend"

and that, despite me being Frankonian (Northern Bavarian).....

LOL.. now we've thrown them all off... Gotta be German and Austrian to know about our "love" for one another.

[Deleted]

Ok you will not die at once, but since our body consist of water mainly that extra 10 C is probably durable because of the isolation of our body.

Page later tell this
"The temperature in Finnish saunas is 60–100 °C, usually 70–80 °C"

I like hot saunas, but never tried over 100.

---------- Post added 2012-12-14 at 12:49 PM ----------

Ok you will not die at once, but since our body consist of water mainly that extra 10 C is probably durable because of the isolation of our body.

Page later tell this
"The temperature in Finnish saunas is 60–100 °C, usually 70–80 °C"

I like hot saunas, but never tried over 100.

Actually with the proper water intake you can maintain 100 degrees for a pretty damn long time. Check out some of those finnish Sauna freaks, thay are pretty crazy. Tried 120 myself but i grew up with a sauna in the house, so guess I was a bit more used to it than regular joes

Also look at proffessional MMA fighters that go into Saunas with thermals and training suits on to cut water weight (not to healthy)

[Wildtree]

There is no point switching to Celsius from Farhenheit. If we are switching to be 'better', then Kelvin is the best scale, no reason to go from one to another mediocre measuring system.

There's a very valid point. And that is the univeral use. The whole world uses the metric system. You just get in line, for a better, universal understanding.

Like I pointed out before. I believe, and I'm actually pretty sure that the USA has been sued on international court over the usage of their non-metric system in trade.
It caused problems over and over again. The metric system is just much easier and in regards of products a lot more precise.
When it comes to extremely precise numbers then it's a lot more efficient to count in fractions of millimeters than in fractions of inches.
As an example.... A Micrometer...
in metric. it is precisely 0.001 millimeter
and approximately 0.000039 inches.
in high end/high tech precision about and approximate have no place. Precision is precision. No error allowed. It can be fatal.

[Flutterguy]

There's a very valid point. And that is the univeral use. The whole world uses the metric system. You just get in line, for a better, universal understanding.

Like I pointed out before. I believe, and I'm actually pretty sure that the USA has been sued on international court over the usage of their non-metric system in trade.
It caused problems over and over again. The metric system is just much easier and in regards of products a lot more precise.
When it comes to extremely precise numbers then it's a lot more efficient to count in fractions of millimeters than in fractions of inches.
As an example.... A Micrometer...
in metric. it is precisely 0.001 millimeter
and approximately 0.000039 inches.
in high end/high tech precision about and approximate have no place. Precision is precision. No error allowed. It can be fatal.

Because no one ever makes measuring mistakes in metric.

[Deleted]

Because no one ever makes measuring mistakes in metric.

Thats not really what he is talking about. He is talking about the difference between an exact measurement and an approximated measurement. Not about making mistakes.

[Flutterguy]

Thats not really what he is talking about. He is talking about the difference between an exact measurement and an approximated measurement. Not about making mistakes.

They're both exact measurements.