Should America go metric?

[Ærion]

Look, the metric system (as pertaining to distance) is all in basic multiples of 10. From 10^-24 to 10^24 and everything in between, it's all multiples of 10. It's simply cleaner and has an orderly logic, which makes the imperial remnant simply look foolish compared to it.

The problem is not the domain where it really matters (science, architecture, etc.), they already use it, but the general unwashed masses are a stubborn traditionalist bunch that needs to die out while a new way of thinking is introduced gradually. This isn't a change that happens in a year or two, it's something that happens over the course of decades. It's unfortunate, but true, that the people to benefit from this will be the young ones, as we'll most likely be old and grey by the time it's done.

[Snes]

On the topic of temperature - I use Kelvin; it is the better system.

You realize you are comparing a measurement of absolute temperature vs ambient temperature, right?

Of course not.

[Adam Jensen]

Did the car have the speed marked out in both mph and km/h? Because the ones here do, or at least all of the ones I have been in, well, minus my truck but I'd take that as an exception because it's 20 years old, possibly before we started integrating km/h into car speedometers here.

I wasn't driving so I couldn't see the dash. I could however see the GPS and it only had km/h.

[Skizo]

No, because it's tradition and isn't harming anything.
Scientists always deal in metric, and businesses deal in whatever is necessary to sell a product.
Tradition helps build a sense of national identity and adds an additional sense of continuity through the generations

[breadisfunny]

Reasoning?

i really dislike the celcius system for farenheit is more specific at least to me it is. when someone says 5000 farenheit i have a relative idea how hot that is but when you say 1000 degrees celcius i go okay how hot is that now? there is also way to much of a difference between 1 degree celcius and in how hot something is. these are my reasons and im sticking by them. the metric system to me is not specific enough.

[Bryntrollian]

America wouldn't be able to just magically convert to the metric system overnight; it would take years of planning.

[Pfeff]

American. No. But metric does make more sense, as does Celsius, but it's not that hard to remember conversions for either...like, at all...Besides, Fahrenheit is much much much more accurate as there is 180 degrees between freezing and boiling as opposed to 100 Celsius

[Decagon]

The same reason stubborn people vote for the same political party every year without looking at each party's pros and cons.
ie: "My daddy voted *X*, so I'm gonna vote *X* and you're not gonna change that"

I figured something like that, but I thought I should ask in case they had some valid reasons that I hadn't thought of.

---------- Post added 2012-12-12 at 08:49 PM ----------

i really dislike the celcius system for farenheit is more specific at least to me it is. when someone says 5000 farenheit i have a relative idea how hot that is but when you say 1000 degrees celcius i go okay how hot is that now? there is also way to much of a difference between 1 degree celcius and in how hot something is. these are my reasons and im sticking by them. the metric system to me is not specific enough.

You're right in that, I still prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius, but if we saved that, would you support the metric system?

[breadisfunny]

I figured something like that, but I thought I should ask in case they had some valid reasons that I hadn't thought of.

---------- Post added 2012-12-12 at 08:49 PM ----------



You're right in that, I still prefer Fahrenheit to Celsius, but if we saved that, would you support the metric system?

probably. although i would still use the imperial system. i don't see why it can't be used alongside metric. i dont hate it i just dislike it. and i really dont understand why people get mad at people who still use imperial.

[Skizo]

Didn't we actually try this once?
As far as I recall, it worked about as well as prohibition :P

[Decagon]

probably. although i would still use the imperial system. i don't see why it can't be used alongside metric. i dont hate it i just dislike it. and i really dont understand why people get mad at people who still use imperial.

Well that's entirely reasonable then.

I never would expect lots of people (probably me included) to ever convert entirely from traditional to metric in their lifetimes, hell, people in the EU still use the Imperial system.

[Eugoogolizer]

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.

I'd like to point out that NASA uses the metric system now. Have been officially for five years and unofficially for the past 20+.

That said, I prefer metric and use it whenever possible. It's not really feasible to switch at this time, though.

Also Kelvin>Celsius

[Roose]

For the love of bacon end the madness!

I was measuring some rooms today for flooring materials and cursing our asinine foot and inches system. I want meters damn it!

It also sucks hard when cooking.

Unfortunately, there will be people that fight it. They will say the SI system is socialist or the devil.

[Nadev]

Should it? Probably yes.

Will it? Certainly no.

[Skizo]

Unfortunately, there will be people that fight it. They will say the metric system is socialist or the devil.

I don't think that's a fair comment to make about people who don't support a widespread conversion to the metric system

[Decagon]

I don't think that's a fair comment to make about people who don't support a widespread conversion to the metric system

I think he was at least partially kidding.

Though I feel as though his point was "People will be against it for dumb reasons". (correct me if I'm wrong)

[Valanna]

No on the grounds that itd be pointless, people rarely have to worry about converting units between the systems. I will say that a partial switch might make some sense--- Farenheit is much more practical for daily temperatures, for example. But don't you dare take away my foot-pound (also, metric "users" ironically measure kg's by weight, when Newton is their unit of force. The newton isn't a particualrly practical unit, though.

1 Newton = 1 kg*(m/s^2), competely derived from other SI-units, it's entirely practical. Metric users don't measure weight in grams, not really. It's just a semantic error because mass makes more sense to go by in day to day life, and "mass" sounds scientificy, so it's not used much in everyday speech. And as far as I'm concerned, there's no imperial unit for force, so you can't even express it without saying "pounds per miles per hour squared" with some constant that I cannot be bothered to calculate. Do you have any other units for velocity or a unit for acceleration for that matter?

Why is Farenheit more practical? It's just relative, and the Celcius scale makes much more sense in what it is derived from. You can't really make the case that it's more accurate because they are exactly equally accurate, you just need to make use of decimals if you're that nitpicky. And quite honestly, Celcius does a damn good job in weather temperatures, considering it only uses max 2-digit numbers, and has a quicker givaway of below freezing temperature in the "-"-sign.

[Al3sinth]

On measuring I would be fine with metric since I know it already but for Temperature I still would rather use Fahrenheit. I like that 0°F is really cold and 100°F is really hot apart from 0°C I am Cold and 100°C I AM Dead.

[Klingers]

On measuring I would be fine with metric since I know it already but for Temperature I still would rather use Fahrenheit. I like that 0°F is really cold and 100°F is really hot apart from 0°C I am probably Dead and 100°C I AM Dead.

It's pretty straight forward really: At 0°C water freezes, at 100°C water goes on the boil. At -273°C atoms stop vibrating. Fun stuff.

[igualitarist]

Every american should know the metric system, and the reason is pretty obvious. It's the international system.

Everyone in the world need to learn english nowadays, at least if you want to get a good job, and/or be able to do proper use of internet, computer and stuff like that. So, it would be really nice if americans could know the metric system. Come on, all the world needs to learn english because this is the international language, why can't americans use the international metric system ? At least in an international context, like international foruns, for example.

It really annoys me when i am talking to an american an he/she says: 96 degrees fahrenheit, or 2 inches, or 10 yards, or 15 miles and so. Really, i learned english (ok, i am not that good) to talk to he/she, so he/she should learn this system when talking to someone out of his/her country.

It's like if i were using my mother language on international foruns, or during a random heroic/bg. I bet it would get americans pretty upset.