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Posted: 9/3/2020 9:15:04 PM EDT
[#1]
SI Units make design obsolescence practical and calculable for manufactures. We have imperial unit farm equipment still plowing fields that were made 100 years ago, you can't make money selling one tractor, but if you can statistically forecast the life of a machine and give your customers 5 maintenance free years of operation, and 10 years of economically affordable service life then as maintenance cost reach a critical point than replacing the machine is preferable, you can now sell him another tractor.
Whereas with Imperial units it's easy to over engineer your product and your customer never returns. Singer sewing machine company found that out the hard way by making a sewing machine so dependable that no one even needed his spare parts. read about that case on design obsolescence. |
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Posted: 9/3/2020 11:13:26 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted: SI Units make design obsolescence practical and calculable for manufactures. We have imperial unit farm equipment still plowing fields that were made 100 years ago, you can't make money selling one tractor, but if you can statistically forecast the life of a machine and give your customers 5 maintenance free years of operation, and 10 years of economically affordable service life then as maintenance cost reach a critical point than replacing the machine is preferable, you can now sell him another tractor. Whereas with Imperial units it's easy to over engineer your product and your customer never returns. Singer sewing machine company found that out the hard way by making a sewing machine so dependable that no one even needed his spare parts. read about that case on design obsolescence. That's an...interesting argument. Now what about Gen 1 Glock 17s that have 100,000+ rounds through them? EDIT: I also want you to realize that you can now be convicted of thread necrophilia. |
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Posted: 9/4/2020 5:55:38 PM EDT
[#3]
When the metric system put somebody on the moon, I'll start considering it.
Nevermind, I won't consider it, it doesn't matter to those of us who can use both. |
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Posted: 9/4/2020 11:31:51 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: When the metric system put somebody on the moon, I'll start considering it. Nevermind, I won't consider it, it doesn't matter to those of us who can use both. Oh, then you won't care that MIT designed the Apollo flight computer to use metric internally. |
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Posted: 9/13/2020 5:24:40 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The Fahrenheit scale is objectively better for every day use as it gives a higher degree of precision to the range we work with most. Weather in most of the US fluctuates between 0 F and 100 F. That's 100 units with which to state the temperature. In Celsius, that ranges from -18 C to 38 C. That means they can only state average temperature with about half the precision of the our system AND need to go negative to do it. Also, for every high school physics teacher telling kids they need metric to work in STEM fields, there is a crusty Mechanical Engineering professor still giving all of his problems in slugs. 1.8 degrees F per 1 degree C. |
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Posted: 10/17/2020 7:39:36 PM EDT
[#6]
I have used both systems.
Coke in grams Pot in ounces  sorry
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Posted: 10/19/2020 6:54:14 PM EDT
[#7]
Notice that when people in metric say their weigh they use kilograms.
Wrong unit. They should be using Newtons for weight. Kilograms are a unit of mass. Newtons are a unit of weight (force caused by gravity on a mass) on a mass. Your mass in Newtons is the same on the moon as the earth. Your weight is a fraction since the moons gravity is less. F= mA. m is mass. |
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Posted: 10/20/2020 11:46:13 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Notice that when people in metric say their weigh they use kilograms. Wrong unit. They should be using Newtons for weight. Kilograms are a unit of mass. Newtons are a unit of weight (force caused by gravity on a mass) on a mass. Your mass in Newtons is the same on teh moon as the earth. Your weight is a fraction sine the moons gravity is less. F= mA. m is mass.  |
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Posted: 2/3/2021 7:51:42 AM EDT
[#9]
When I was a freshman a bunch of my friends and I derived an entire system of units based on the measurables of actor Peter Dinklage. The base unit of length was his height, the Dinklage (L). Base unit of mass was the Dinklage (M). The base unit of time was his age at the time, the Dinklage (T). From there it was trivial to derive the unit of force, the Dinklage (L) Dinklage (M) per Dinklage^2 (T) as well as every other unit we could think of.
Point is it's arbitrary. Pick a system that works, and fuck off with the rest. |
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Posted: 2/3/2021 9:11:05 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I doubt it has anything to do with liking 3, 4, 8, 12 or 16 more than 10. It just makes you chuck your experience with inches, cups, miles, etc. out the window. If we actually just changed, I doubt there would be much uproar after the first several months. This. Familiarity is the only rational argument against changing. Ironically, we are already on the metric system and we don't even know it. US customary units have been tied to the metric system for the better part of a century. We just have weird conversions to make up our own units so we can pretend we don't use it. Because it makes a lot more sense to base our temperature scale on the freezing point of some random brine solution  or to have to Google the conversion from teaspoons to cups. Despite being a much easier system to learn and understand, people simply can't handle change. In general, Americans aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are. |
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Posted: 2/3/2021 9:15:42 AM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted: This. Familiarity is the only rational argument against changing. Ironically, we are already on the metric system and we don't even know it. US customary units have been tied to the metric system for the better part of a century. We just have weird conversions to make up our own units so we can pretend we don't use it. Because it makes a lot more sense to base our temperature scale on the freezing point of some random brine solution or to have to Google the conversion from teaspoons to cups. Despite being a much easier system to learn and understand, people simply can't handle change. In general, Americans aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I doubt it has anything to do with liking 3, 4, 8, 12 or 16 more than 10. It just makes you chuck your experience with inches, cups, miles, etc. out the window. If we actually just changed, I doubt there would be much uproar after the first several months. This. Familiarity is the only rational argument against changing. Ironically, we are already on the metric system and we don't even know it. US customary units have been tied to the metric system for the better part of a century. We just have weird conversions to make up our own units so we can pretend we don't use it. Because it makes a lot more sense to base our temperature scale on the freezing point of some random brine solution or to have to Google the conversion from teaspoons to cups. Despite being a much easier system to learn and understand, people simply can't handle change. In general, Americans aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are. Our temperature scale makes as much sense as one based on the phase change conditions of dihydrogen monoxide at sea level. Why do you care that water boils at 100 of your chosen units? When you're cooking, and need to boil something, do you set your stove for 100 C? No, you set the burner on "high." And as far as Americans not being smart as we think we are? Apparently we're smart enough to effectively integrate 2 separate systems of measure into our culture, applying each one as it's most beneficial, while the rest of the world has to use the same as everyone else just to make it easier on themselves. So who's really suffering from Dunning Kruger in that scenario? |
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Posted: 2/3/2021 9:24:52 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think there's an argument to be made for the simplification of things. A month ago, I went to talk to the carpet guy at church about redoing a room in my house. I told him, "It's 112 by 112 inches." He said, "We only do feet and inches in the carpet industry." Well, 12x10 is 120, so that's too many whole feet, but 12x9 is 108, and 112 - 108 is 4, so the room is 9' 4" square. That conversation could have gone like this: Me: "The room is 284 cm square." Guy: "We use meters in the carpet industry, so that's 2.84 meters. Okay, I'll see what I have." If you can't divide 112 x 12 then feet vs meters is not your problem. |
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Posted: 2/3/2021 11:29:39 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Our temperature scale makes as much sense as one based on the phase change conditions of dihydrogen monoxide at sea level. No it doesn't. Can you even tell me what solution the Fahrenheit scale is actually based on? Sure, water is arbitrary, but a random brine solution for freezing and average body temperature for 96 degrees is effing retarded. Ironically, Fahrenheit (as currently defined) is based on the freezing and boiling point of water now. It is just scaled to closely mimic the retarded scale Fahrenheit originally created. Why do you care that water boils at 100 of your chosen units? I don't, because I'm not cooking at a specific temperature. I'm boiling water. When you're cooking, and need to boil something, do you set your stove for 100 C? No, you set the burner on "high." Which I suppose makes this a really bad example of why Fahrenheit is equal to or better than Celsius. And as far as Americans not being smart as we think we are? I'm not even going to debate this. We simply aren't. Generally speaking - I realize we have some very smart, very educated individuals. Apparently we're smart enough to effectively integrate 2 separate systems of measure into our culture lol, no, applying each one as it's most beneficial lol, no again, while the rest of the world has to use the same as everyone else just to make it easier on themselves. It's called practicality. Kind of like how most of us use the same decimal number system and international date/time format. So who's really suffering from Dunning Kruger in that scenario? I'd say you, but I'm not a psychologist. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: I doubt it has anything to do with liking 3, 4, 8, 12 or 16 more than 10. It just makes you chuck your experience with inches, cups, miles, etc. out the window. If we actually just changed, I doubt there would be much uproar after the first several months. This. Familiarity is the only rational argument against changing. Ironically, we are already on the metric system and we don't even know it. US customary units have been tied to the metric system for the better part of a century. We just have weird conversions to make up our own units so we can pretend we don't use it. Because it makes a lot more sense to base our temperature scale on the freezing point of some random brine solution or to have to Google the conversion from teaspoons to cups. Despite being a much easier system to learn and understand, people simply can't handle change. In general, Americans aren't nearly as smart as we like to think we are. Our temperature scale makes as much sense as one based on the phase change conditions of dihydrogen monoxide at sea level. No it doesn't. Can you even tell me what solution the Fahrenheit scale is actually based on? Sure, water is arbitrary, but a random brine solution for freezing and average body temperature for 96 degrees is effing retarded. Ironically, Fahrenheit (as currently defined) is based on the freezing and boiling point of water now. It is just scaled to closely mimic the retarded scale Fahrenheit originally created. Why do you care that water boils at 100 of your chosen units? I don't, because I'm not cooking at a specific temperature. I'm boiling water. When you're cooking, and need to boil something, do you set your stove for 100 C? No, you set the burner on "high." Which I suppose makes this a really bad example of why Fahrenheit is equal to or better than Celsius. And as far as Americans not being smart as we think we are? I'm not even going to debate this. We simply aren't. Generally speaking - I realize we have some very smart, very educated individuals. Apparently we're smart enough to effectively integrate 2 separate systems of measure into our culture lol, no, applying each one as it's most beneficial lol, no again, while the rest of the world has to use the same as everyone else just to make it easier on themselves. It's called practicality. Kind of like how most of us use the same decimal number system and international date/time format. So who's really suffering from Dunning Kruger in that scenario? I'd say you, but I'm not a psychologist. Aside from a subset of us that have to use the metric system for work or educational purposes, Americans have very little understanding of the metric system. I'd be surprised if 5/10 random people on the street could convert meters to kilometers. Less than 1 in 10 could convert dimensions to volume. To be fair, I'd be surprised if 3/10 random people on the street could convert yards to miles and the number of people that can convert dimensions to volume would be similarly disappointing. |
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Posted: 2/7/2021 1:46:52 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Aside from a subset of us that have to use the metric system for work or educational purposes, Americans have very little understanding of the metric system. I'd be surprised if 5/10 random people on the street could convert meters to kilometers. Less than 1 in 10 could convert dimensions to volume. To be fair, I'd be surprised if 3/10 random people on the street could convert yards to miles and the number of people that can convert dimensions to volume would be similarly disappointing. The average person just does not encounter these things all that often. Maybe liters to cubic inches on their cars engine. And then you see all sorts of rounding creeping in. The meter was originally based on a fraction of the meridian length passing through Paris France from the North pole to the equator. Now it is based on the wavelength of a specific color and a number of cycles. Neither of these are especially profound base derivations. They are just arbitrary. |
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Posted: 4/2/2021 1:31:22 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Our temperature scale makes as much sense as one based on the phase change conditions of dihydrogen monoxide at sea level. Why do you care that water boils at 100 of your chosen units? When you're cooking, and need to boil something, do you set your stove for 100 C? No, you set the burner on "high." And as far as Americans not being smart as we think we are? Apparently we're smart enough to effectively integrate 2 separate systems of measure into our culture, applying each one as it's most beneficial, while the rest of the world has to use the same as everyone else just to make it easier on themselves. So who's really suffering from Dunning Kruger in that scenario? The errors in the Fahrenheit scale came from the use of alcohol thermometers. 0F was set as the forced thawing of ice in saturated salt water. At the time the coldest temperature that could easily be created. The boiling point was supposed to be 200 F, but the alcohol thermometers had significant vapor pressure above the liquid column. Now you know why mercury thermometers are more accurate. The vapor pressure of mercury above the liquid column is very low. There are even schemes to make alcohol thermometers more accurate by adjusting the graduations to account for the vapor pressure. I would ask why the favoritism to a fraction of the meridian through Paris, France? |
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Posted: 4/2/2021 2:52:41 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I would ask why the favoritism to a fraction of the meridian through Paris, France? The French came up with it, didn't they? |
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Posted: 6/23/2021 4:40:51 PM EDT
[#17]
Yes.
For the most part it is still somewhat arbitrary. It does help calculations by making use of 'scientific notation.' |
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Posted: 9/24/2021 11:20:39 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I doubt it has anything to do with liking 3, 4, 8, 12 or 16 more than 10. It just makes you chuck your experience with inches, cups, miles, etc. out the window. If we actually just changed, I doubt there would be much uproar after the first several Fixed it for you. |
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Posted: 9/24/2021 12:07:20 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Yes. For the most part it is still somewhat arbitrary. It does help calculations by making use of 'scientific notation.' The formal definitions are arbitrary. The practical definitions aren't that arbitrary. A meter is 1/10,000,000 the distance between the equator and the North Pole (through Paris). Cube one of those and you have 1,000 liters. Fill one of those with water and that's 1,000 grams. 1. A Newton is defined as 1 kg·m/s2, which is the force which gives a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second, per second. 2. A Joule is equal to the energy transferred to an object when a force of one Newton acts on that object in the direction of the force's motion through a distance of one meter. 3. A Watt (I think) is the power required to generate 1 Joule per second. A meter is modestly arbitrary, but everything else seems to be practically defined from that. |
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Posted: 9/28/2021 10:04:14 AM EDT
[#20]
Because in some cases, Customary is a more practical system of measurement. In others, there really isn't a definite advantage either way.
Centimeters and meters suck for measuring most common everyday things. One's too large, one's too small. 6' tall is easy to visualize. 183 cm, not so much. Yes, there are units like decimeters available, but who actually uses them in real life? Because cooking recipes are generally volumetric in nature. Cup of flour/sugar? Scoop it up and dump it in. 100 gm of flour/sugar? Bust out a fucking scale? Really? And the volume of each would be different, so there's no technically accurate way to produce a generic, standardized "100 gm" scoop. Distance? That one's a wash. Miles v. Km wouldn't be that hard to adjust to. The biggest hurdle there will be all the existing automobiles with MPH speedometers. That's probably what killed the initial effort in the 70's. Same with liquid volumes. Gallons v. Liters wouldn't be that hard to adjust to. 5 ml/teaspoon, 30 ml/ounce are close enough for everyday use. Temperature? Celsius units are larger than Fahrenheit, so it's a little less precise without going into decimals. Nothing that couldn't be overcome. No real practical benefit, though. Tools? That's one place where metric really does works better in a practical sense. |
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Posted: 10/6/2021 5:25:43 AM EDT
[#21]
I can tell you why in the engineering field I work in, I am not an engineer. Inertia is a lot of it. If I sent a drawing to the shop and the fitter needed 3/8" plate he's been around 3/8" steel plate all his life so he walks over and grabs/or lifs with the crane some 3/8" plate. He doesn't measure it. Now if I specified 10mm plate he would have to grab a tape measure at least till he learned it all over again and it sank in. Now multiply that by 50 guys in the shop hundreds of times a day and out in the field. The field gets even trickier. They instantly know when something "isn't right". If they changed units they would have to work it all backward and overcome a lifetime of thinking.
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Posted: 10/6/2021 9:03:11 AM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Because in some cases, Customary is a more practical system of measurement. In others, there really isn't a definite advantage either way. Centimeters and meters suck for measuring most common everyday things. One's too large, one's too small. 6' tall is easy to visualize. 183 cm, not so much. Yes, there are units like decimeters available, but who actually uses them in real life? Because cooking recipes are generally volumetric in nature. Cup of flour/sugar? Scoop it up and dump it in. 100 gm of flour/sugar? Bust out a fucking scale? Really? And the volume of each would be different, so there's no technically accurate way to produce a generic, standardized "100 gm" scoop. Distance? That one's a wash. Miles v. Km wouldn't be that hard to adjust to. The biggest hurdle there will be all the existing automobiles with MPH speedometers. That's probably what killed the initial effort in the 70's. Same with liquid volumes. Gallons v. Liters wouldn't be that hard to adjust to. 5 ml/teaspoon, 30 ml/ounce are close enough for everyday use. Temperature? Celsius units are larger than Fahrenheit, so it's a little less precise without going into decimals. Nothing that couldn't be overcome. No real practical benefit, though. Tools? That's one place where metric really does works better in a practical sense. There is nothing inherently "easier to visualize" about feet and yards vice metric cm and meters. It's just what you're used to. And measuring people in feet and inches then criticizing the celsius scale for not being precise enough is a classic example of the odd rationalizations common in these discussions. It's telling you used a 6 ft person for your example. What about a guy who's 180 cm? Now, you'd have to go, uhh, 5 ft, 10 7/8 inches. Close enough to 5'11 (even though it's closer to 10 3/4 inches). More precise than needed usually? Sure. But I've had to break feet into inches, and inches into fractions, orders of magnitude more times in my life than the difference of one degree Fahrenheit has ever been relevant to me. Work in meters long enough, you quickly learn to visualize it, same with smaller units. There's good reason the years became a common measure historically for lengths of rope, cloth, etc. - it's painfully easy to coil things up one yard at a time. You quickly learn where near one shoulder to hold one end as you stretch out your other arm. The meter is the same deal. Smaller distance units? My thumb is about 2 cm and my fist is about 10cm. I've measured out numerous things pretty darned accurately that way. Accurate enough. One traditional unit of measure, still common in referencing horse height, is the "hand." It's defined as 4 inches. Well, the hand is also almost exactly 10cm - where I use my fist. |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 3:09:02 AM EDT
[#23]
This thread is so old I’m not going back to check any leftist, humorous, or mocking comments I made.
Basically, Most people grow up fluent in a language. The majority do not grow up native speaker fluent in two or more languages. Some end up fluent in a second language after puberty. To the point of a 3/3 on the DPLT or some social, professional, etc, use. Maybe even dreaming in it on occasion or having original exclamations and thought in it. But… It is still a foreign language they generally do not think, dream, etc. In. Much fewer people learn a second language in adulthood/post adolescence with absolute complete fluency and pronunciation. They may know the word for tree, bush, branch, log, leaf, flower, etc. but not the nuances of vine, sapling, front, needle, or know the professional word cotyledon or sequined but not common words sprout or twisted or pulled. Conversion of imperial and si and metric for common use is similar. |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 5:10:34 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think there's an argument to be made for the simplification of things. A month ago, I went to talk to the carpet guy at church about redoing a room in my house. I told him, "It's 112 by 112 inches." He said, "We only do feet and inches in the carpet industry." Well, 12x10 is 120, so that's too many whole feet, but 12x9 is 108, and 112 - 108 is 4, so the room is 9' 4" square. That conversation could have gone like this: Me: "The room is 284 cm square." Guy: "We use meters in the carpet industry, so that's 2.84 meters. Okay, I'll see what I have." |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 8:03:36 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted: We're Americans. Don't need no stinking reason ;) Quote HistoryQuoted: We're Americans. Don't need no stinking reason ;) American Exceptionalism and foot-pounds put a man on the moon. Quoted: I doubt it has anything to do with liking 3, 4, 8, 12 or 16 more than 10. It just makes you chuck your experience with inches, cups, miles, etc. out the window. If we actually just changed, I doubt there would be much uproar after the first several months. Months? LOL |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 9:01:07 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Or you could have just told him the room is 9'4" x 9'4" instead of converting to inches to begin with. Because why use one unit of measure for something when we can use two. |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 9:05:02 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: American Exceptionalism and foot-pounds put a man on the moon The MIT flight computer used metric internally. Werner von Braun also admitted in an interview before he died that the designed the Saturn V in metric. |
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Posted: 10/7/2021 4:17:02 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The MIT flight computer used metric internally. Werner von Braun also admitted in an interview before he died that the designed the Saturn V in metric. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: American Exceptionalism and foot-pounds put a man on the moon The MIT flight computer used metric internally. Werner von Braun also admitted in an interview before he died that the designed the Saturn V in metric. For the most part what system you use rarely makes any actual difference as long as you apply it consistently and understand the 'edges' of the system. The prefix system in metric makes use of scientific (or engineering) notation easier. Just about every prefix has a defined multiplier value or divisor value if negative powers). And when we wander astray adding a new prefix is not all that complicated. It is easily 'dropped into' the existing system. Failing to convert correctly between systems has always been a hazard. |
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Posted: 10/24/2021 11:03:27 PM EDT
[#29]
My British grad school advisor always said one useful rule of thumb about is light goes about one foot in a nanosecond. We did femtosecond pulsed lasers so we’re always fiddling with path lengths to control pulse timing.
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Posted: 10/25/2021 12:07:15 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My British grad school advisor always said one useful rule of thumb about is light goes about one foot in a nanosecond. We did femtosecond pulsed lasers so we’re always fiddling with path lengths to control pulse timing. Light travels about: 300,000,000 m/s 300,000 km/s 300 Gm/s 3×108 m/s It's exact value is defined by SI as 299,792,458 meters per second. |
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Posted: 10/25/2021 6:16:22 AM EDT
[#31]
I found myself eye-balling distance on a large map last week and realized another area where using miles appears to be slightly more intuitive for us Earth-based hitchhikers - rough estimating distance on a globe. With the Earth being ~24,000 miles in circumference (yeah, probably closer to 25k at the equator, nut I said eye-balling), each time zone averages out to be about 1,000 miles. It's not precise, but I caught myself thinking in miles than converting when spitballing a large distance as a result, as there is no standard frame of reference for dividing the Earth into 40 segments. I suppose this method could get pretty problematic going too far from the equator.
This also then reminded me that nautical miles are based on lines of latitude, making them very useful for nautical navigation. And, I still love the history of the 1000 pace Roman mile. |
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Posted: 10/25/2021 6:38:28 AM EDT
[#32]
I have no love for it, but things aren't nearly as standardize globally as people think.
Take piping. Oil, gas, chemical, plumbing, foods...etc. When building these facilities, the global community uses inches. No matter where it's made. That wall thickness, diameter, the equipment that mounts to it, and all of the engineering and design is planned in inches. The length can be done in meters or inches, but all the key manufacturing details are in inches. Knots for sailing and flying speed. The world speaks sailing and flying speeds in knots. Fathoms for water depth is still the overwhelming global standard outside of Asia for any maritime activity Scientific measurements of temperature rarely use Celsius so that move offers no advantage, and the smaller increments of fahrenheit make things like heating and cooling a home more controllable. |
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Posted: 10/25/2021 6:48:13 AM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I have no love for it, but things aren't nearly as standardize globally as people think. Take piping. Oil, gas, chemical, plumbing, foods...etc. When building these facilities, the global community uses inches. No matter where it's made. That wall thickness, diameter, the equipment that mounts to it, and all of the engineering and design is planned in inches. The length can be done in meters or inches, but all the key manufacturing details are in inches. Knots for sailing and flying speed. The world speaks sailing and flying speeds in knots. Fathoms for water depth is still the overwhelming global standard outside of Asia for any maritime activity Scientific measurements of temperature rarely use Celsius so that move offers no advantage, and the smaller increments of fahrenheit make things like beating and cooling a home more controllable. That last bit is nonsensical. The difference is negligible. And, if you think otherwise, every Celsius thermostat I've ever used in the U.S. went to half degrees, actually offering more precision that the Fahrenheit ones. |
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Posted: 10/25/2021 7:15:40 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That last bit is nonsensical. The difference is negligible. And, if you think otherwise, every Celsius thermostat I've ever used in the U.S. went to half degrees, actually offering more precision that the Fahrenheit ones. Mine in Bahrain and mine in Korea were both rounded whole units. Just a personal preference but I liked having the higher degree of control. If they normally have .5 units then it's basically a wash in living temperatures |
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Posted: 10/25/2021 7:31:00 AM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Mine in Bahrain and mine in Korea were both rounded whole units. Just a personal preference but I liked having the higher degree of control. If they normally have .5 units then it's basically a wash in living temperatures Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: That last bit is nonsensical. The difference is negligible. And, if you think otherwise, every Celsius thermostat I've ever used in the U.S. went to half degrees, actually offering more precision that the Fahrenheit ones. Mine in Bahrain and mine in Korea were both rounded whole units. Just a personal preference but I liked having the higher degree of control. If they normally have .5 units then it's basically a wash in living temperatures I don't think I've seen the half degree thing outside of the U.S. My point was, it is - and has been - readily addressed for those who think it necessary in existing American thermostats (I would never claim to know 73 degrees F from 74 degrees F). |
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Posted: 12/23/2021 11:17:11 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Light travels about: 300,000,000 m/s 300,000 km/s 300 Gm/s 3×108 m/s It's exact value is defined by SI as 299,792,458 meters per second. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: My British grad school advisor always said one useful rule of thumb about is light goes about one foot in a nanosecond. We did femtosecond pulsed lasers so we’re always fiddling with path lengths to control pulse timing. Light travels about: 300,000,000 m/s 300,000 km/s 300 Gm/s 3×108 m/s It's exact value is defined by SI as 299,792,458 meters per second. Oops, you used the wrong prefix. 300 Mm/s. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, your satellite just crashed into Titan at 1,000 times its intended speed. |
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Posted: 12/23/2021 11:22:14 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: While you're at it, can anyone present a rational, sane argument for having 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day, as opposed to, say, 100 and 100 and 100? Or why there are 360 degrees in a circle? Radians FTW... That goes back to how sumerians counted using their knuckles lol. |
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Posted: 12/23/2021 11:27:42 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Same reason we sit on the left and drive on the right side of the road. Because we Live here, that's why! |
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Posted: 12/24/2021 2:05:50 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Oops, you used the wrong prefix. 300 Mm/s. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, your satellite just crashed into Titan at 1,000 times its intended speed. It's true that I messed up there. What's also true is that a piece of hardware programmed with prefix-dependent scalar values deserves to crash into Titan at 1,000 times the intended velocity. |
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Posted: 4/15/2023 4:34:03 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I think there's an argument to be made for the simplification of things. A month ago, I went to talk to the carpet guy at church about redoing a room in my house. I told him, "It's 112 by 112 inches." He said, "We only do feet and inches in the carpet industry." Well, 12x10 is 120, so that's too many whole feet, but 12x9 is 108, and 112 - 108 is 4, so the room is 9' 4" square. That conversation could have gone like this: Me: "The room is 284 cm square." Guy: "We use meters in the carpet industry, so that's 2.84 meters. Okay, I'll see what I have." Yep. Carpentry is the absolutely best example how much standard units totally suck. |
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Posted: 4/15/2023 4:34:52 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Carpet only comes in 12’ or 15’ wide rolls. So regardless what the room measures your buying a 12x10’ piece of carpet. And you buy carpet by the square yard not sq ft. So your looking at about 13.5yds Yard, foot, inches. Overly complicated. |
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Posted: 4/24/2023 4:09:07 PM EDT
[#42]
Because it would be way too hard to get away with replacing the 'price per pound' with 'price per ounce' stickers at the groceries.
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Posted: 7/6/2023 7:36:37 PM EDT
[#43]
When I was a child, my nanna would tell me stories late at night by the dwindling cook fire about how when the America converts to metric, the States shall no longer be United, and darkness will fall over all. Then she would start talking all crazy.
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