Metric vs. Imperial!

[jjune4991 1]

so i was thinking about different things last night, and one of those things was metrics. i live in the united states, and we use the imperial system of measurements (that is inches, pounds, gallons). i am going to be a doctor, so i know i will have to use the metric system more often than the imperial, and i am ok with that. personally, i like the metric system more. i am used to measuring with imperial, but if i had to change to metrics, i could do so without much harm. what do you all think? do you prefer imperial measurements? or are you a metrics kind of person?

joe

[JanYpe 17]

The imperial system is stupid. Silly. Illogical. Useless.

Seriously, measuring weight in stones? Measuring length by the size of some guy's foot and that same dude's thumb? Even the imperial mile doesn't make any sense. Furlongs, chains, fathoms? Really? This is not the 16th century you know. Get with the times.

[toxicpiano 125]

Metric because mm and cm and meters and KM make me happy.

[krbe 193]

The Imperial mile? What aboute statue miles, nautical miles? And the way of measuring them—who came up with a mile being 5280 ft? Who's foot? And where?

No, give me a proper mile, the one we have in Norway and Sweden: 10 km, no more, no less. Very neat (before it used to be 36 000 ft, which meant that a mile in Norway was longer than a mile in Sweden. Just silly.).

[Haljackey 17,398]

Personally I like the Metric much better. Everything being a multiple of 10 makes it much easier to measure everything! Also, water freezes at 0, boils at 100, sounds better right?

Living in Canada, we are taught the metric system in school. Nearly everything in society uses metric, except for weight measurements, which generally use both systems. This makes it easier for the old folks who know what a pound feels like and not a kilo.

[jjune4991 1]

i can see that most of you are not from the USA (duh...since some of you said your country, and toxicpiano kinda gave it away with the pic!), but most of us here actually like using the imperial measurements. granted it is a lot harder to convert, but since we have been spoon fed this system, we understand it better. and to janype and krbe, the system was made almost as oddly are yours, we found different lengths or weights, and put a measurement to it. did you know that a meter was supposed to be about 1 millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole? its just a set distance. but yes, imperial is so so so so so so stupidly converted.

[krbe 193]

Yes, but do you know that a centimetre is a 100th of a metre, or that a kilogram is 1000 times more than a gram? And today the measurments are a bit more defined scientifically. However, imperial units are tied to SI units, so that doesn't matter much today anyway. The difference today lies within the neat conversion used for SI units. When you look at a map, with a scale 1:5000, you know that one centimetre is 50 metres, or that a scale of 1:670000 is the same as 1 cm = 6,7 kilometres. How many feet and miles would this translate into?

By the way, we used "imperial" measures here before, but the problem is that all measures differed (such as a Norwegian foot being longer than a Swedish), and that even proprtional measures differed between countris, such as the mile: In Norway and Sweden it would be 36 000 ft, in Denmark and Norther Germany it would 24 000 ft, and so on.

It all makes sense going towards more easier conversion systems: When the currency changed from daler to kroner (dollars to crowns), the conversion also changed so that 1 kr = 100 øre, in addition to the mile being 10 km instead of 10,6 km in Norway and 11 something in Sweden. Great Britain don't part their pounds in pence and shilling anymore, with that strange conversion they used to; so they really should hurry up shift to metric

However, they're getting an exception on the non-SI ban the EU are implementing next year. Though thing, dealing with 1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 1000 mm

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

I live in the U.S, and I think the Imperial system we use is really stupid. Metric is so much easier to follow since it's in multiples of ten.

[coolotter88 2]

10km per mile is just silly, a mile is a mile which is 5280 feet which is 1760 yards which is 63360 inches.

I use metric in science, but I stick with my normal units for day to day use

a kilometer is too short, and a megameter is too big, the mile is just right

and btw, has anyone read 1984? the guys at the pubs suffer from SI

[jjune4991 1]

krbe: yes i know that! did you not read my first post? i said there that i prefer metric and use it. im not oblivious about it. i was just pointing out that you said "who's foot?" and probably thought "why did they think of that length and call it a foot?" thats why i gave a little history of the meter. just sharing.

[krbe 193]

Alright, but by "who's foot" I meant that every countri had different standard, such as Germany, England, France, Scotland, etc. (though of course the English won the international battle).

I wasn't trying to mock you, just pointing to the nice proportions of the SI system (but I see that I can be interpret either way).

But "Imperial" would be a bit misleading today, as it's only the US, Liberia and Burma who continue with those old fashioned miles

But you Brits here... Is it true that trade organisations have tried to scare the Islands from converting to metrics by saying "then we would have to measure the length of the bed in mm, and sayin that it's 2230 mm is very impractical"?

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 7, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[screamingman12 30]

Definately metric, when I go to Italy this summer, I'm going to buy a metric tape measurer.

[Nerd_Guy 4]

I am Amercian, but we all know the Metric System is better.  Don't get me wrong, I was raised to use the Imperial system, and if I hear that it's going to be 30 degrees outside, I know to bundle up because it's freezing out there.  Plus it is very convienient if you don't happen tto be carrying a ruler/ meterstick with you every second of your life. Need to cut a paper at six inches?  Use your thumb! Need to mark a 3 foot by 4 foot square on the ground?  Use your feet!  Memorizing everything much too difficult, but it is good for shorthand stuff.

[patriots_1228 51]

Well, I choose the imperial, because it is so much more simpler.

I mean, 12 inches = one foot, 3 feet= one yard, 5280 feet=1 yard...it just makes so much more sense than this 100 cm=1 meter, 1000 meters=1 km nonsense.

[/sarcasm]

obviously, Metric is the way to go. Unfortuantly, we have been using imperial for so long that switching over would be hell.

[jjune4991 1]

barbarossa: that is a question that has been debated in the U.S. for ages. i have wondered how that would affect the country, and have seen many good over the bad. the only bad results would be the mass "hysteria" of the change. i really think we should start by adding km to every interstate sign, so that way the transition could be easier.

oh, and krbe: i understand. unfortunately, i interpreted it the wrong way. and did you say that we arent the only one's who use imperial? whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!.  but seriously,  did you say that other countries use the foot? i had no idea. i thought everyone but us and the other two countries used only meters, liters, and grams.

[hym 358]

When I get into the professional realm, I'll be measuring stuff in units so small metric is the only real accepted system of measure. That said, I don't really care as I'll be used to working with both.

[jjune4991 1]

i'm guessing nanotechnology? maybe?

[Bumdark 3]

I really use both in about equal measures for day-to-day use... Spent most of my childhood in the States, so I grew up with the Imperial system, yet born and spent the rest in Canada, where Imperial is fast falling out of favor (though most people still use it above Metric for their daily use). Example: for people, I'd rather say 'Wow, look at that giant, he must be near 7 feet tall!' than 'Wow, look, he's 183cm tall!'. (Yes, I'm well aware I suck at conversions, however... never got the hang of math, really.) Yet, for measuring stuff such as when building stuff like desks and sheds and junk, I'll be more likely to use the Metric simply because it's so much more precise and detailed – incidentally, what's the Imperial version of the Metric's Millimeter? (Just wondering.)

Seeing as only a handful of countries still officially use Imperial, and more and more are switching to Metrics for its simplicity, it's definately an endangered species that will go extict eventually...

Oh, and a side-question. Why the heck is Imperial called, well, "Imperial", anyway? What do Emperors have to do with it? Was it created by one or something...?

[jjune4991 1]

Bumdark: no conversion for millimeter...i think. the only thing i can think of that is that small is 1 inch=2.54 cm. thats all. and i hope that it does become extinct. and no idea of the name. why call metrics "metrics"? check wiki on that...thats what i did!

[SimRabbit 48]

The Metric is more simple to learn than the imperial.

Back in the 60' or 70's the US tried to switch to Metrics but it was a mess. So i doubt it we will switch to Metric system.

[krbe 193]

The Imperial equvivalent of the mm is 1/something inch. I remember a ruler my father had; a large steel monster (1-1.5 m), with the back filled with conversions from so and so many fractions of an inch to mm.

I'd guess it's called Imperial since it was popularised by the Empire (the British, that is). As I said earlier, many states have/had their own definitions of the same measurments; very natural that the Brits then standarised the usage of measurments in the colonies.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: jjune4991 Bumdark: no conversion for millimeter...i think. the only thing i can think of that is that small is 1 inch=2.54 cm. thats all. and i hope that it does become extinct. and no idea of the name. why call metrics "metrics"? check wiki on that...thats what i did!quote>

Or, in other words, 1 inch is 25.4 millimeters, and 1 millimeter is about 0.03937 inches.

---

Metric units are a hell of a lot easier to worth with than US customary units (not Imperial units, they're not the same thing), I'll give you that. Trouble is, our customary units are very deeply ingrained in our minds, our culture, and our infrastructure. As such, the conclusion is continually arrived at that converting would be more trouble and expense than it's worth.

For one thing, there are 46,837 miles (that's 75,376 kilometers) of Interstate Highways in this country, and many more miles of US, state, and county highways. If we converted to metric, every last sign on those roads that mentions something in miles, miles per hour, or feet would have to be changed. Our cars would all have to have their spedometers replaced, packaging companies would need to redesign most of their containers, everything that has a mention of a unit of some sort would need to be modified or replaced. The cost would be astronomical. So we stick with customary units by the fact that making a switch to any other system (metric or otherwise) would simply not be practical.

And besides the financial cost, there's also the "mental cost". Your average American had a much better conceptual understanding of what exactly a foot is than what exactly a meter is. Say something is 1.609 kilometers long and you'll confuse them. Say it's a mile long (1 mi=1.609 km) and they'll understand you instantly. After all, they grew up measuring with miles. It's what they're used to.

I myself don't mind metric. I have most of the conversion factors memorized, anyway. What really irks me, though, is that countries who proclaim to use metric all use it improperly in two cases:

Speed- should be in meters per second, not kilometers per hour. An hour is not a standard SI unit.

Temperature- should be in Kelvins, not degrees Centigrade*. Degrees Centigrade isn't an SI unit. Hell, it isn't even a unit at all since it's not an absolute scale. Having negative temperature is physically impossible, and yet you can go down to just beyond -273 °C. Also, to get twice as hot as 10 °C, you need to go to 293 °C, not 20. Stupid.

* What people commonly refer to as "Celsius" is not, in fact, Celsius. The Celsius scale is upside down. That is, water boils at 0 degrees Celsius and freezes at 100 degrees Celsius. Since this is confusing, the scale was flipped, and the modification which is now commonly used was called "Centigrade"- with water freezing at 0 and boiling at 100 (opposite of true Celsius).

[confused04 14]

I'll take the "who gives a hoot" route. I don't care what people use to measure over seas and they probably don't care what we use. This is a cultural thing. But at the same time, most of the scientific community uses metric already and conversions aren't that hard. Let people do what they want to do. If I use cups to make a cake, someone uses mL, someone uses "fistfuls" , whatever, thats their choice. I'm not a huge fun of suggesting any system is superior. If it was so naturally superior, we wouldn't be having this discussion. I readily convert into both units. But if you live in the US, work within the US, and have no contact with metric users, then why bother switching over. There's no real necessity. There are bigger problems...

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

What a useless thread. More opportunities for those outside the US to talk smack.

 I can use either and often do, but all the blueprints at work are imperial. I prefer it that way, but no one told the engineers that tape measures don't meaure down to 3 decimal places, requiring conversion from decimal to fraction. 20.406" =  20 7/16", that kind of stuff.

The only metric I really dislike is Celsius, the math to convert isn't worth the time. The Fahrenheit system just feels more comfortable when it comes to temperature. When it's hot out, 98°F just sounds better than 37°C.

Metric was a way for the French to assert their rejection of the English scientifically, it's a system that came about from spite.

[krbe 193]

Anders did indeed put the boiling point of water at 0 degrees. Linné (Systema Naturea) sat it upside down a couple of years later, however, so we've never really got used to the original installment of the scale. The scale with the 0 degree freezing point has always been know as the Celsius scale; if you spoke Swedish, no one would understand what you meant by "centigrade scale" (unless you at the time actually would speak English, or they were clearly aware of your background).

From 1744 until 1954, 0 °C on the Celsius scale was defined as the freezing point of water and 100 °C was defined as the boiling point of water under a pressure of one standard atmosphere; this close equivalency is taught in schools today. However, the unit “degree Celsius” and the Celsius scale are currently, by international agreement, defined by two different points: absolute zero, and the triple point of VSMOW (specially prepared water). This definition also precisely relates the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, which is the SI base unit of temperature (symbol: K). Absolute zero—the temperature at which no energy remains in a substance—is defined as being precisely 0 K and −273.15 °C. The triple point of water is defined as being precisely 273.16 K and 0.01 °C.quote>

So, the Celsius scale is just a more userfriendly Kelvin scale, which tells me that there might be ice on the street if the temperature is in the blue.

And if denoting speed in km/h is wrong, would so denoting the height of my computer with the lid closed in mm be wrong? I bet scientists are very happy they're allowed to use nanometres.

By the way, did you know that 1 + 1 Celsius equals 275.15 Celsius? But that a temperature which gets hotter by 1 Kelvin is just 2 Celsius?

Originally posted by: confused04 I'll take the "who gives a hoot" route. I don't care what people use to measure over seas and they probably don't care what we use. This is a cultural thing. But at the same time, most of the scientific community uses metric already and conversions aren't that hard. Let people do what they want to do. If I use cups to make a cake, someone uses mL, someone uses "fistfuls" , whatever, thats their choice. I'm not a huge fun of suggesting any system is superior. If it was so naturally superior, we wouldn't be having this discussion. I readily convert into both units. But if you live in the US, work within the US, and have no contact with metric users, then why bother switching over. There's no real necessity. There are bigger problems...quote>

Duke has already explained why changig system in the US wouldn't be feasible, and that's why the customary units are going to continue. As is explained, just the island of Eire used thirty years to change. However,

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: jjune4991 i can see that most of you are not from the USA (duh...since some of you said your country, and toxicpiano kinda gave it away with the pic!), but most of us here actually like using the imperial measurements. granted it is a lot harder to convert, but since we have been spoon fed this system, we understand it better. and to janype and krbe, the system was made almost as oddly are yours, we found different lengths or weights, and put a measurement to it. did you know that a meter was supposed to be about 1 millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole? its just a set distance. but yes, imperial is so so so so so so stupidly converted.quote>

Actually, no, to most of that.  While a lot of Americans are perfectly use to the Imperial system, the thing was designed over hundreds of years, and is quite stupid too.

Also, the meter was (if I remember correctly) supposed to be one millionth of the distance that light traveled in a vacuum.  Either way, the metric system is much more intelligent because people actually sat down and decided what would be the most logical way to measure things, and the metric system became the result.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Duke87

 Our cars would all have to have their spedometers replaced, packaging companies would need to redesign most of their containers, everything that has a mention of a unit of some sort would need to be modified or replaced. quote>

Some of that has already happened.  My car, for instance, has a button where I can change the display from miles to kilometers.  and I buy my green tea in 500 ML bottles.

Back when I was a kid, there was serious consideration given to switching to metric.   All of the issues you raised (the cost of changing road signs and so forth) were raised back then.  

and then the Chicken Littles started going "1 gallon  = 3.785411784 liter!   1 pound = 0.45359237 kilogram!!  No one can understand this stuff!  Anyone who sells anything is going to rip you off!  You won't know how much money you are spending for a gallon of gas!"

and then the old fogeys started going "Metric?  Why should I learn metric?  What does it have to do with my life?  What are you dangburn hippies trying to do to me now?"

and it didn't happen.  Even though it makes more sense.

[un1 41]

I've gotten used to metric... (I live in Canada so I learn metric) All I have to say is that very slowly people will change to the metric system. When I go to USA I get messed up a lot!! Example: So if this is 100 miles away from Dallas it should only take me an hour to go there. No it will take 1 hour and 30 minutes because I'm travelling at 70 km no 70 miles... What?? In fact one intestate is already metric I-19 in Arizona.

[coolotter88 2]

I-19 is going to be US customary soon though.

the meter used to be defined as a set fraction of the diameter of the earth, but recently, scientists made it precise and stated the meter is a distance light traveled in a fraction of a second

the kilogram is still defined by that chunk of metal in the SI bureau, but that thing is apparently losing mass or something, so the kilogram is changing as we speak. as a result, scientists are manufacturing a pure (as in one isotope) sphere of silicon to become the new standard of the kilogram.