If only there was a system of measurement that was easier....
Edit:people are saying it's not hard to use customary units and I dont think it is either. But in a world where we make up arbitrary systems of measurements to convey information wouldnt it make sense to have it in base 10 which is how our number system works? 1.5 miles is 2640 yards or 7920 feet. 1.5 kilometers is.....1500 meters. In addition since the prefixes are generally standard throughout different measurements the same prefixes apply to time, volume, weight etc. For the people who say that 12 and 16 can divide into quarters and thirds easier that is true to an extent. But I think that is more a problem with how we are accustomed to measuring things and how they are prepackaged. For example I looked up sanded plywood on homedepot.com and I see thicknesses 23/32in, 15/32in, 11/32in, 19/32in. These are ridiculous numbers going into 4th and 5th digits of decimals which for most people are well beyond the margin of error. 3/8 isnt a magical number that'll make the material more perfectly designed, .3 would probably suffice but if it needs to be stronger go to .4. 1/8 is .125 and if something has centimeter markings it most likely has millimeter markings. In the case of needing to accurately measure 1/8 of a centimeter you'd have to guess for the last .25 millimeters which is a small enough measurement where your human error is likely larger and probably smaller then the width of your pencil makring. In the event that you need that you need that level of precision in your life your probably a professional and theres a good chance you already use metric.
My ex was "helping" me measure for a book shelf. I was going to give the measurements to a Co worker to grab next time he went to home depot or lowes.
He read the measurement "123.35 but the.35 is metric so coworker won't understand it" (ex is from London and we all live in the US, CO worker is very southern American).
Me: "what are you talking about? How is only part of it metric? Isn't it just all in metric?"
Ex: no the 123 is in imperial and the.35 is metric.
Me:.... But it's all in inches right? Or is it cm? I'm so confused. What tape measure do you have?
Ex: I've got this just write the numbers down and I'll explain it to coworker.
We've also gotten into a fight because he told me he measurement of 3 and 3/4 which I wrote down in a text as 3.75 because it's easier to read than 3 3/4 to me. He once again said the 3/4 was metric and couldn't understand how I mixed imperial and metric into a decimal.
bowmans1993 on July 24th, 2020 at 02:13 UTC »
If only there was a system of measurement that was easier....
Edit:people are saying it's not hard to use customary units and I dont think it is either. But in a world where we make up arbitrary systems of measurements to convey information wouldnt it make sense to have it in base 10 which is how our number system works? 1.5 miles is 2640 yards or 7920 feet. 1.5 kilometers is.....1500 meters. In addition since the prefixes are generally standard throughout different measurements the same prefixes apply to time, volume, weight etc. For the people who say that 12 and 16 can divide into quarters and thirds easier that is true to an extent. But I think that is more a problem with how we are accustomed to measuring things and how they are prepackaged. For example I looked up sanded plywood on homedepot.com and I see thicknesses 23/32in, 15/32in, 11/32in, 19/32in. These are ridiculous numbers going into 4th and 5th digits of decimals which for most people are well beyond the margin of error. 3/8 isnt a magical number that'll make the material more perfectly designed, .3 would probably suffice but if it needs to be stronger go to .4. 1/8 is .125 and if something has centimeter markings it most likely has millimeter markings. In the case of needing to accurately measure 1/8 of a centimeter you'd have to guess for the last .25 millimeters which is a small enough measurement where your human error is likely larger and probably smaller then the width of your pencil makring. In the event that you need that you need that level of precision in your life your probably a professional and theres a good chance you already use metric.
comethobnob on July 24th, 2020 at 02:52 UTC »
My ex was "helping" me measure for a book shelf. I was going to give the measurements to a Co worker to grab next time he went to home depot or lowes.
He read the measurement "123.35 but the.35 is metric so coworker won't understand it" (ex is from London and we all live in the US, CO worker is very southern American).
Me: "what are you talking about? How is only part of it metric? Isn't it just all in metric?"
Ex: no the 123 is in imperial and the.35 is metric.
Me:.... But it's all in inches right? Or is it cm? I'm so confused. What tape measure do you have?
Ex: I've got this just write the numbers down and I'll explain it to coworker.
We've also gotten into a fight because he told me he measurement of 3 and 3/4 which I wrote down in a text as 3.75 because it's easier to read than 3 3/4 to me. He once again said the 3/4 was metric and couldn't understand how I mixed imperial and metric into a decimal.
xKYLx on July 24th, 2020 at 03:58 UTC »
I'm Canadian. We use the metric system. However when I measure anything I use feet and inches. Everybody does. Canada is a very confusing country.