General Spoon Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) Congress should seriously consider this. All that can really come out of it is good stuff. Its the system that the rest of the world uses, and for good reason. It actually makes sense. Multiples of 10 is a lot easier than 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, and who cares how many feet in a mile? Don't get me started on volume... Who else thinks that the metric system is something Congress should consider? Edited March 10, 2009 by Dr. Claw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 The metric system is already used by the vast majority of industries in this country. Whether you're building a dam to form a new reservoir or fine-tuning which metals should be alloyed in a car's suspension, you're using metric. The old standard's almost solely used on the personal scale. I don't want to be deprived of my Imperial measurements, though. I've been exposed to metric units just as long as the traditional ones, but I have a lot of trouble envisioning and estimating measurements by that system. Our human-based measurements may be backwards, but I think it would be counterproductive and cruel to completely phase them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malexis Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 The Metric System is the superior system, in my humble opinion. A lot of people, outside of, and inside America use it. I use it! : O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKSB Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 It takes maybe two seconds to convert from metric to imperial for personal use. When dealing with industrial dimensions, i.e. outside of personal use, it's all in metrics. What do soda bottles come in? Liters. Plus, the U.S. has been trying to convert for decades. Why do you think we are all taught metrics in school? It's just that we aren't brought up with it at home for personal use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacken Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Fuck the Europeans and their pinky-out-tea-drinking metric system. My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Eh, it is really only useful for science (and math sometimes). I do not mean simple things either, I mean complex sciences. Other than that, our system is casual, but I do think every American should know the metric system, for obvious reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibari Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Meh. Couldn't hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragnell Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I totally agree we should use meters, cm, liters, etc. But the metric form of temperature measurement is not near as accurate as Farenheit (I can't spell it). The US way has finer increments, so it can give you more accurate results in sciences and engineering. Though it is fine for daily life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Mountain Snake Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I totally agree we should use meters, cm, liters, etc. But the metric form of temperature measurement is not near as accurate as Farenheit (I can't spell it). The US way has finer increments, so it can give you more accurate results in sciences and engineering. Though it is fine for daily life. The man who has never heard of the decimal system. But fuck metric. It's gay. You wanna say you ran a mile today, or "I ran one kilometer." Makes you sound like a pussy. I don't care how many Watts your golf cart puts out, I'm more concerned about the horsepower coming out of my truck. It seems like bitches can't moan enough about American foreign policy forcing backwards societies to adopt modern practices and standards of living, but the instant a cultural oddity pops up in America, everybody hit the fucking deck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The man who has never heard of the decimal system.But fuck metric. It's gay. You wanna say you ran a mile today, or "I ran one kilometer." Makes you sound like a pussy. I don't care how many Watts your golf cart puts out, I'm more concerned about the horsepower coming out of my truck. It seems like bitches can't moan enough about American foreign policy forcing backwards societies to adopt modern practices and standards of living, but the instant a cultural oddity pops up in America, everybody hit the fucking deck! A mile is longer than a kilometer, much longer... which would increase pussiness B) . I agree with you though, it isn't that big a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Kommissar Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The US way has finer increments, so it can give you more accurate results in sciences and engineering. The world's scientists and engineers are laughing mockingly at you right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The US way has finer increments, so it can give you more accurate results in sciences and engineering. Though it is fine for daily life They're not "finer" increments, they're "increments we had no planning to". The man who has never heard of the decimal system.But fuck metric. It's gay. You wanna say you ran a mile today, or "I ran one kilometer." Makes you sound like a pussy. I don't care how many Watts your golf cart puts out, I'm more concerned about the horsepower coming out of my truck. It seems like bitches can't moan enough about American foreign policy forcing backwards societies to adopt modern practices and standards of living, but the instant a cultural oddity pops up in America, everybody hit the fucking deck! We do say "I ran a mile today", although it's more of an expression than to be taken literally. No one says "watts" either, except in real technical differences. Then again, this is Australia, whose cultural language is heavily borrowed from American due to the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Laufeyson Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 odd i was never taught the metric system in school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esau of Isaac Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) The man who has never heard of the decimal system.But fuck metric. It's gay. You wanna say you ran a mile today, or "I ran one kilometer." Makes you sound like a pussy. I don't care how many Watts your golf cart puts out, I'm more concerned about the horsepower coming out of my truck. It seems like bitches can't moan enough about American foreign policy forcing backwards societies to adopt modern practices and standards of living, but the instant a cultural oddity pops up in America, everybody hit the fucking deck! The real problem is that most of everyone else are teaching metric first and then moving on to relate imperial, while America generally does it backwards. And honestly, it's irritating; the majority of work I have to, I have to translate the material from one system to another, because like just about every other goddamn American I think of imperial first and metric second. And it becomes tiring after awhile, those few seconds of "A mile...2.2 kilometers. A pound...0.45 kilograms. A gallon...3.8 liters" add up. I don't like having to translate centimeters to inches, I'd rather just start off with centimeters. Like, why not just transfer over to the metric system? Is there some intrinsic advantage the imperial system owns that I don't know of? Because if I could retroactively alter the way I interpret math, thinking of metric first would be pretty fucking high on my list. Edited March 11, 2009 by Esau of Isaac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_e_s Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 The real problem is that most of everyone else are teaching metric first and then moving on to relate imperial, while America generally does it backwards. And honestly, it's irritating; the majority of work I have to, I have to translate the material from one system to another, because like just about every other goddamn American I think of imperial first and metric second. And it becomes tiring after awhile, those few seconds of "A mile...2.2 kilometers. A pound...0.45 kilograms. A gallon...3.8 liters" add up. I don't like having to translate centimeters to inches, I'd rather just start off with centimeters.Like, why not just transfer over to the metric system? Is there some intrinsic advantage the imperial system owns that I don't know of? Because if I could retroactively alter the way I interpret math, thinking of metric first would be pretty fucking high on my list. 1.6, actually. *is Canadian* I was raised o metric, adn to me at least, it makes more sense for a good deal of things. Still use pounds and Feet for weight and height, but beyond that, The imperial system just seems unecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 odd i was never taught the metric system in school Did you attend some kind of monastery school in a mountain valley that can only be accessed by helicopter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Tyler Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Did you attend some kind of monastery school in a mountain valley that can only be accessed by helicopter? Hey now! Don't pick on the public school kids! I mean, shit, you know how low the standards are of public schools? Anyways, before I get in trouble and be discover as a hypocrite, I really don't care for the metric system. I see no use for Americans to use it in their household. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 The only viable reason I see for anyone to actually translate to the metric system is for the sake of calculation and for a more "accessible" system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 We do say "I ran a mile today", although it's more of an expression than to be taken literally. No one says "watts" either, except in real technical differences. Then again, this is Australia, whose cultural language is heavily borrowed from American due to the media. I think you missed it... He meant he would rather say he ran a mile than "hey, I just ran 1.6 kilometers." As for me, I only use watts when referring to light bulbs. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacken Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Like, why not just transfer over to the metric system? Is there some intrinsic advantage the imperial system owns that I don't know of? Because if I could retroactively alter the way I interpret math, thinking of metric first would be pretty fucking high on my list.Not being a pinky-out tea-drinking commie European homosexual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) For common usage saying something is a few 100 milliliters instead of just saying a few ounces is a lot easier (though no one uses deciliters). When you're doing things that need to be so precise and for stuff like math and science, it makes more sense. Though the units we use in America are just nice meaty numbers which are easy to measure out and make sense. Though mathematically, the metric system is superior. Edited March 12, 2009 by Reimi Saionji Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Glenn Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) Not being a pinky-out tea-drinking commie European homosexual. And what, exactly, does that have to do with the topic at hand? Answer? Nothing. It would be moderately helpful if you would at least make an effort to contribute to the conversation. Edited March 12, 2009 by Lord Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyosua Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 For calculation purposes, the American system sucks balls. And because Science and Math are my favorite subjects, I therefore would fully support switching to metric. I use it daily anyhow, I might as well stick with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKSB Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) For shiggles; The imperial system has its benefits for the very reason some decry it. Consider this; in the imperial system, when you are converting from greater to smaller units, or visa versa, each unit conversion is distinct to itself. However, in the metric system, there is no difference between the conversion from centimeters to decimeters, and the conversion from decimeters to meters, and so on and so on. Its all times ten. That might make mental conversion simpler, but it also posits easier room for error in what you are converting into. Who's to say if you you need to convert from centimeters to decimeters, but you absent-mindedly forget what you were converting to and think its x amount of meters? It's an easy mistake to make. You're not going to make that mistake if you were converting from inches to feet because the next conversion takes a totally different calculation and hence the unit has a different association in your head. Now, pragmatically, the usage of either system doesn't matter in any meaningful way except in mental conversion, because its just different numbers that you plug into a calculator and different degrees of decimals. Metrics might take less work to convert but its easy to conceive of slipping up in any case where there isn't some written work. Plus, whatever you grow up with is what will be easier to convert, because you are familiar with that system. Also, America, fuck yeah. How could you not want to use the imperial system? Edited March 12, 2009 by Crepe Knight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Mountain Snake Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) For common usage saying something is a few 100 milliliters instead of just saying a few ounces is a lot easier (though no one uses deciliters). When you're doing things that need to be so precise and for stuff like math and science, it makes more sense. Though the units we use in America are just nice meaty numbers which are easy to measure out and make sense. Though mathematically, the metric system is superior. "pint" or "cup" would be the unit you would use (and for smaller amounts, half a cup, quarter cup, and then one ounce). What the metric system lacks is the ability for rough aproximation. The imperial system allows you to find other units based on fractions of the original unit. IE, you have a cup, pour half of it out and you have a pint. Have a 12" piece of paper, fold it in half twice and then in three and you have an inch. Despite the fact that we use a base ten decimal system for counting, humans do not readily divide things into tenths (or fifths if you prefer), whereas we find it quite easy visually to cut things in half or by a third. The point of the imperial system is that you can extrapolate its units easily by approximation and rough hand measurement when you don't have rulers and graduated cylinders just lying around. It's quite easy to get a pint from a gallon, just pour out half of it 3 times and you have one. Pour out another half and you have a cup. Pour out half another 3 times and you have an ounce (cut that in half 3 times and you have a dram). It's possible to get any liquid measurment from a gallon in imperial measurment. Getting 10ml from a liter is much more difficult, and would involve much more precise equipment or complex fractions, which are difficult to aproximate with the human eye. Imperial is much more practical for everyday life. Metric can stay in the lab. Edited March 12, 2009 by Black Knight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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