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Metric system

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:36 pm
by Stephen
What do you fine folks think of the metric system? I for one think the United States should change its primary system of measurement to the nicer one that is metric.

http://tlld.net/~stephen/metric.html


-Concerned citizen.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:43 pm
by Jen
i agree about the metric system, but if we switched over i would be fucked.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:26 pm
by paul in vegas
the us tried this once. i remember gas being sold in liters, as a small child. if a switch over was attempted again, i too would be fucked.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:14 pm
by Stephen

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:39 am
by Perry
I don't know how you guys handle the imperial system. Especially when talking about tiny fractions of an inch, seems crazy to do that. Anyway yes, you should change, I highly recommend it, lol.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:52 pm
by Jen
Perry wrote:I don't know how you guys handle the imperial system. Especially when talking about tiny fractions of an inch, seems crazy to do that. Anyway yes, you should change, I highly recommend it, lol.
You just don't. Anything smaller than a half and inch I just refer to in mm.
But I don't think that this would be a smooth transition. I imagine pockets of holdouts all over the country (but especially in the mountains, swamps, and Montana) guarding their yard sticks with double barrel shotguns. No offense to mountains, swamps, Montanans, shotgun owners, separatists, or yard sticks. Remember, I'm from Texas.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:39 pm
by Perry
Jen wrote:You just don't. Anything smaller than a half and inch I just refer to in mm.
Lol. That seems very strange to change systems. I watch American Chopper and I've heard them refer to things in 32nds, and perhaps even 64ths, of an inch before, which seems crazy to me.

Do American schools teach the metric system at all?
In Australia, they make students aware of the imperial system and teach simple conversions however no problems are ever done in imperial units.
In University, in engineering, we look at imperial units a tiny bit more knowing that we'll probably have to communicate with you guys. Again no serious calculations involving them since most scientific formulae require SI units to work.
In University (College) Science in America do they use metric? I would think that they would. Claude and Justin may know this if I recall they have both done physics, though this may have been high school physics.
Any in Mathematics, I'm sure you would use metric. Though university maths probably wouldn't involve doing too much work with units since most things would be algebraical. Justin probably knows this. Is it Pure Mathematics that he does?

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:51 pm
by David3
They teach us basic metric system stuff, such as converting between the two.

I used the metric system in both high school and college physics.

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:31 pm
by Jen
Perry wrote: Do American schools teach the metric system at all?
In University (College) Science in America do they use metric? I would think that they would. Claude and Justin may know this if I recall they have both done physics, though this may have been high school physics.
Is it Pure Mathematics that he does?
yes, we learn it in science classes in high school and in college.
pure math is what he does; no units of measure, and not even that many numbers.

im sure that there are many people who will just divide up an inch as much as they need to, but i find it confusing and i have a much clearer notion of hope long a centimeter is than an inch. volume is even worse (as a photographer, this comes up a lot when i am using a particular lab and i have to mix in ratios that tend toward a ridiculous hodgepodge of liters here, oz there, quart measures, and so forth)

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:37 pm
by Stephen
I had the following encounter today:

ME: How much does the dog weigh?
PERSON 1: 21 pounds, 16 ounces
ME: Aren't there 16 ounces in a pound? Wouldn't that make it 22 pounds?
PERSON 2: No I think there are 18 ounces in a pound
ME: I don't think so... let me get out Pocket Ref [among the most useful books ever published by human beings]
ME: Yes, here it is. 16 US ounces per US pound
PERSON 1: Well here's the card from the vet. It says "21.16" pounds
ME: I THINK THAT MEANS SIXTEEN HUNDRETHS OF A POUND
PERSON 1: oh, i just thought it meant ounces.
[ME goes into rant about our system of measurement]

Re: Metric system

Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:06 pm
by David3
21 lbs and 2.56 ounces

Re: Metric system

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:57 am
by paul in vegas
Stephen wrote:I had the following encounter today:

ME: How much does the dog weigh?
PERSON 1: 21 pounds, 16 ounces
ME: Aren't there 16 ounces in a pound? Wouldn't that make it 22 pounds?
PERSON 2: No I think there are 18 ounces in a pound
ME: I don't think so... let me get out Pocket Ref [among the most useful books ever published by human beings]
ME: Yes, here it is. 16 US ounces per US pound
PERSON 1: Well here's the card from the vet. It says "21.16" pounds
ME: I THINK THAT MEANS SIXTEEN HUNDRETHS OF A POUND
PERSON 1: oh, i just thought it meant ounces.
[ME goes into rant about our system of measurement]
your post reminds me of a verizon customer service call i saw on youtube recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJ3Oz5JVKs

Re: Metric system

Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:25 pm
by Jen
That's funny Paul, bc it reminde=s me of this recent conversation I had after taking my cat to the vet:

Me: "So, Max apparently weighs 16.6 lbs, or 16 and a half lbs for those of you keeping score at home"
Unspecified Man Who Have Been Justin: *silence*
Me: "Oh, hah, nevermind, .6 doesn't mean 6 oz (still thinking are were 12 oz in a lb, and that 6 oz would therefore be half a lb)"
Unspecified Man Who Have Been Justin: *silence*
Me: "Well, anyway, my back is killing me from carrying him around. He's fucking heavy."
Unspecified Man Who Have Been Justin: "Oh, yea. He is fucking heavy."

Re: Metric system

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:14 am
by Claude
Yes, the US needs to change. it will be hard at first for most people, but better in the long run. As you all's anecdotes point out, conversions are the worst part about the imperial system. Why didn't we throw that in the harbor with the tea?