I wonât argue that, its a flawed measurement system. My goal isnât to show you why imperial is so much better than metric, because its obviously not. That doesnât mean imperial is never useful though.
Thereâs nothing âmore usefulâ about either a foot or a meter.
They can both do the same job, but its more convenient to have smaller units depending on what youâre measuring. I find the size of a foot to be convenient for measuring things in casual situations where accuracy and precision arenât priorities.
Your foot btw most likely is not as long as a âfootâ, and a small womanâs size is easily 20% off. And no, thatâs not âin the ballparkâ.
We donât literally measure it with our feet, thatâs just what its called.
but its more convenient to have smaller units depending on what youâre measuring.
See, thatâs what apparently many people donât understand: with metric you donât have âlarger or smaller unitsâ. You have one unit and you scale it to your needs. Itâs not like we have âthe meterâ and âthe centimeterâ and have no clue whatâs in between. Thereâs absolutely nothing more convenient about having multiple units for the same physical property.
I find the size of a foot to be convenient for measuring things in casual situations where accuracy and precision arenât priorities.
Again: Thereâs nothing more or less precise about metric or imperial. You have a mental image of a âfootâ the same way I have a mental image of a ruler or a sheet of paper, i.e. 30 cm.
I donât really know what a litre is. I know what a beer bottle looks like, or a milk carton, the same way you know what a quart of milk looks like. Pour a quart on the floor and ask someone how much that is, they probably donât know.
We donât literally measure it with our feet, thatâs just what its called.
Oh, I definitely had other people tell me imperial is âmore humanâ because a foot is the size of your foot and an inch is the size of the tip of your thumb.
with metric you donât have âlarger or smaller unitsâ. You have one unit and you scale it to your needs.
Thatâs the same thing, the units are just proportional.
Itâs not like we have âthe meterâ and âthe centimeterâ and have no clue whatâs in between.
I know, its just easier to say a foot than 30 centimeters. Thatâs why I use it in casual conversation, and not in anything important.
Thereâs absolutely nothing more convenient about having multiple units for the same physical property.
Thatâs not the part Iâm saying is convenient.
Again: Thereâs nothing more or less precise about metric or imperial.
They can both be used to measure things precisely, but metric is more convenient in those situations usually. If I need to accurately measure something, I would use metric because the advantages of imperial are probably not applicable. If Iâm just estimating and it doesnât matter much, Iâll probably use imperial because I wonât have to do any conversions with that number, or anything else imperial struggles with.
Oh, I definitely had other people tell me imperial is âmore humanâ because a foot is the size of your foot and an inch is the size of the tip of your thumb.
Thatâs the same thing, the units are just proportional
Sure, if you put it like that. But I do have the feeling many US people treat imperial units like completely different things and have absolutely no mental concept of a relation between them, especially between length and volume.
I know, its just easier to say a foot than 30 centimeters.
Thatâs just a completely arbitrary thing. Itâs easier to answer âhow tall are youâ with âone eightyâ instead of âfive foot elevenâ đ€·ââïž
It doesnât seem to be an issue for âmetric peopleâ at all, nobody is missing the foot in Europe.
Because if it were convenient we would have that, the same way we have a ton, or a pound (500 g), which are in common use. You have the decimeter (10 cm), but nobody uses it. There used to be a unit called âElleâ, which is 50 cm, and itâs just the name for the stick, nobody says âgive me 3 Ellen of canvasâ.
I would use metric because the advantages of imperial are probably not applicable.
I still fail to see those advantages.
If Iâm just estimating and it doesnât matter much, Iâll probably use imperial
Yes, because youâre used doing so, not because itâs more practical or convenient. Metric people do estimate things as well.
But I do have the feeling many US people treat imperial units like completely different things and have absolutely no mental concept of a relation between them, especially between length and volume.
There is certainly no shortage of Americans that donât understand the metric system, or hate it for nonsensical reasons. I was once asked to measure a piece of wood and I said it in centimeters because it was exactly x cm long, and they said something to the effect of ânot that commie shitâ. They seriously wanted to work with fractions of an inch instead of touching that evil foreign system.
Thatâs just a completely arbitrary thing. Itâs easier to answer âhow tall are youâ with âone eightyâ instead of âfive foot elevenâ đ€·ââïž
Its arbitrary if its not something you care about. Also thatâs not a great example for height. Usually its just two syllables. 5â 4", 5â 5" etc. You only have to say foot if you are an exact number of feet tall. That way you donât tell anyone âIâm 6â. Most peopleâs height in cm will not be a multiple of ten, so it will be longer than 180âs three syllables.
It doesnât seem to be an issue for âmetric peopleâ at all, nobody is missing the foot in Europe.
Itâs just an inconvenience, itâs not worth learning imperial to save a little time. Especially when no one around you would understand what youâre talking about.
I still fail to see those advantages.
The units are usually sized intuitively for everyday use. Just look at Fahrenheit vs Celsius. The only thing I use Fahrenheit for is the weather. 0 is too cold, 100 is too hot. Thatâs subjective of course, but it seems more intuitive to me than Celsius. The boiling point of water doesnât matter to me when Iâm deciding what clothes to wear for the weather. Celsius works fine but it makes less sense for that application in my opinion.
Yes, because youâre used doing so, not because itâs more practical or convenient.
Or, Europeans only use metric for those things because they donât know imperial. Iâm not saying thatâs a bad thing either, if you donât know imperial then its not worth learning. The advantages are small enough that its not worth the effort, but that doesnât mean they donât exist.
I have no issues understanding what 20 °C or 30 °C outside means.
Of course you donât, Iâm not saying Celsius is incomprehensible.
100 °F is hot when I go outside, itâs cold when I need to cook, which is also an âeveryday activityâ.
Iâm not arguing Fahrenheit is better for that, use Celsius.
It doesnât make âmore senseâ, every point of reference is arbitrary,
I disagree, reference points are extremely important. Thatâs one of the reasons Celsius is so useful. Maybe its a weird example but one thing I use it for is brewing temperatures for coffee. I know the closer it is to 100, the closer it is to boiling. Thatâs very useful information to me. I could do the same thing with Fahrenheit but the number is so weird that I donât even remember what it is.
It also affects how small the units are which is pretty important. Farenheit has smaller units, so it can be more precise without having to use decimals. If I tell someone what temperature it is outside, I will be more exact than you most of the time.
Fahrenheit is not âmore intuitiveâ, youâre just used to it.
Me just being used to it isnât a good argument. I barely remember many aspects of the imperial system because Iâve replaced it with metric. The aspects of imperial I still use were chosen intentionally.
I could also say that youâre âjust used to itâ. I could say the reason youâre so resistant to any advantages of imperial is just because you learned how to do things with metric even when it wasnât optimal. The reason Iâm not saying that, is because Iâm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are here to have a real conversation. Do me the same favor.
I have said multiple times at this point that its not worth learning imperial for whatever advantages it may have. Its obviously not good to create new units for every application. But thatâs not what I said is it? I said there are aspects of imperial I would miss if I switched entirely.
Or, hereâs a wild idea, you could use some indicator that shifts the unitâs scale, some kind of âprefixâ you slap in front of it.
Show me the indicator for Celsius that makes it a proper size for that application.
I would if you were able to have a real conversation, but all you deliver is a 47/53 grasping for straws per freedom eagle.
I guess thatâs how you would see it if you just ignore all of my arguments and assume metric is better at everything all the time. Do you think Iâm doing this because Iâm patriotic? You think I started this argument where I openly admit imperialâs faults, just to defend Americaâs pride? You have ignored nearly all of my arguments because you are unable to accept the fact that metric isnât better at literally everything. Nothing is perfect, and Iâm not sucking americaâs dick by telling you that. The one thing I got wrong was assuming you wanted a real conversation.
I wonât argue that, its a flawed measurement system. My goal isnât to show you why imperial is so much better than metric, because its obviously not. That doesnât mean imperial is never useful though.
They can both do the same job, but its more convenient to have smaller units depending on what youâre measuring. I find the size of a foot to be convenient for measuring things in casual situations where accuracy and precision arenât priorities.
We donât literally measure it with our feet, thatâs just what its called.
See, thatâs what apparently many people donât understand: with metric you donât have âlarger or smaller unitsâ. You have one unit and you scale it to your needs. Itâs not like we have âthe meterâ and âthe centimeterâ and have no clue whatâs in between. Thereâs absolutely nothing more convenient about having multiple units for the same physical property.
Again: Thereâs nothing more or less precise about metric or imperial. You have a mental image of a âfootâ the same way I have a mental image of a ruler or a sheet of paper, i.e. 30 cm.
I donât really know what a litre is. I know what a beer bottle looks like, or a milk carton, the same way you know what a quart of milk looks like. Pour a quart on the floor and ask someone how much that is, they probably donât know.
Oh, I definitely had other people tell me imperial is âmore humanâ because a foot is the size of your foot and an inch is the size of the tip of your thumb.
Thatâs the same thing, the units are just proportional.
I know, its just easier to say a foot than 30 centimeters. Thatâs why I use it in casual conversation, and not in anything important.
Thatâs not the part Iâm saying is convenient.
They can both be used to measure things precisely, but metric is more convenient in those situations usually. If I need to accurately measure something, I would use metric because the advantages of imperial are probably not applicable. If Iâm just estimating and it doesnât matter much, Iâll probably use imperial because I wonât have to do any conversions with that number, or anything else imperial struggles with.
Those people are wrong.
Sure, if you put it like that. But I do have the feeling many US people treat imperial units like completely different things and have absolutely no mental concept of a relation between them, especially between length and volume.
Thatâs just a completely arbitrary thing. Itâs easier to answer âhow tall are youâ with âone eightyâ instead of âfive foot elevenâ đ€·ââïž
It doesnât seem to be an issue for âmetric peopleâ at all, nobody is missing the foot in Europe.
Because if it were convenient we would have that, the same way we have a ton, or a pound (500 g), which are in common use. You have the decimeter (10 cm), but nobody uses it. There used to be a unit called âElleâ, which is 50 cm, and itâs just the name for the stick, nobody says âgive me 3 Ellen of canvasâ.
I still fail to see those advantages.
Yes, because youâre used doing so, not because itâs more practical or convenient. Metric people do estimate things as well.
There is certainly no shortage of Americans that donât understand the metric system, or hate it for nonsensical reasons. I was once asked to measure a piece of wood and I said it in centimeters because it was exactly x cm long, and they said something to the effect of ânot that commie shitâ. They seriously wanted to work with fractions of an inch instead of touching that evil foreign system.
Its arbitrary if its not something you care about. Also thatâs not a great example for height. Usually its just two syllables. 5â 4", 5â 5" etc. You only have to say foot if you are an exact number of feet tall. That way you donât tell anyone âIâm 6â. Most peopleâs height in cm will not be a multiple of ten, so it will be longer than 180âs three syllables.
Itâs just an inconvenience, itâs not worth learning imperial to save a little time. Especially when no one around you would understand what youâre talking about.
The units are usually sized intuitively for everyday use. Just look at Fahrenheit vs Celsius. The only thing I use Fahrenheit for is the weather. 0 is too cold, 100 is too hot. Thatâs subjective of course, but it seems more intuitive to me than Celsius. The boiling point of water doesnât matter to me when Iâm deciding what clothes to wear for the weather. Celsius works fine but it makes less sense for that application in my opinion.
Or, Europeans only use metric for those things because they donât know imperial. Iâm not saying thatâs a bad thing either, if you donât know imperial then its not worth learning. The advantages are small enough that its not worth the effort, but that doesnât mean they donât exist.
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Of course you donât, Iâm not saying Celsius is incomprehensible.
Iâm not arguing Fahrenheit is better for that, use Celsius.
I disagree, reference points are extremely important. Thatâs one of the reasons Celsius is so useful. Maybe its a weird example but one thing I use it for is brewing temperatures for coffee. I know the closer it is to 100, the closer it is to boiling. Thatâs very useful information to me. I could do the same thing with Fahrenheit but the number is so weird that I donât even remember what it is.
It also affects how small the units are which is pretty important. Farenheit has smaller units, so it can be more precise without having to use decimals. If I tell someone what temperature it is outside, I will be more exact than you most of the time.
Me just being used to it isnât a good argument. I barely remember many aspects of the imperial system because Iâve replaced it with metric. The aspects of imperial I still use were chosen intentionally.
I could also say that youâre âjust used to itâ. I could say the reason youâre so resistant to any advantages of imperial is just because you learned how to do things with metric even when it wasnât optimal. The reason Iâm not saying that, is because Iâm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are here to have a real conversation. Do me the same favor.
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I have said multiple times at this point that its not worth learning imperial for whatever advantages it may have. Its obviously not good to create new units for every application. But thatâs not what I said is it? I said there are aspects of imperial I would miss if I switched entirely.
Show me the indicator for Celsius that makes it a proper size for that application.
I guess thatâs how you would see it if you just ignore all of my arguments and assume metric is better at everything all the time. Do you think Iâm doing this because Iâm patriotic? You think I started this argument where I openly admit imperialâs faults, just to defend Americaâs pride? You have ignored nearly all of my arguments because you are unable to accept the fact that metric isnât better at literally everything. Nothing is perfect, and Iâm not sucking americaâs dick by telling you that. The one thing I got wrong was assuming you wanted a real conversation.