Posted on 11/05/2012 2:14:59 PM PST by null and void
Back in grade school, we were told that the Imperial System was a thing of the past, that eventually we’d be living the Metric System life, with all it’s base-10 logic built right in. We’d be just like the rest of the world. But those predictions have proven about as accurate as the flying cars and moon colonies that we all imagined we’d be enjoying in the year 2012.
Occasionally, the issue bubbles up and people argue back and forth about why we haven’t gone Metric, but I think it’s all about inertia. There would be a huge intellectual cost in moving to a new system—training ourselves to think of temperatures in Celsius when we’re leaving home and trying to decide on whether to grab a jacket. Straining to remember what kilometers per liter really comes down to, when we’re used to a lifetime of miles per gallon. Attempting to determine whether you’re losing enough weight, as you stare at the scale showing a strange number of kilograms.
While there are economic costs—heck, just think of the signage issues on our roads—they should be lower today than they would have been a generation ago. Many consumer products in this digital age already allow us to toggle between Imperial and Metric units. And the prevalence of smartphones means that no one has an excuse not to have a conversion app (or at least a calculator) on them at virtually all times.
What this issue comes down to is, as I said, inertia. It’s laziness. No one wants to be the generation that has to juggle two systems in their heads all the time. If we switched today, my kids would grow up pretty much thinking in Metric and would have no problem. But I feel like I’d forever be doing that calculation in my head. Even if I knew 28° C was a nice warm summer day, I think I’d always be converting it back to 82° F just to make sure I knew exactly how warm it was, based on my past experiences. We don’t want to be the ones straddling the two worlds, dealing with parts in both sizes or wondering how to deal with machinery that still had Imperial components that were no longer allowed to be manufactured.
Besides, who has the guts to push an idea like this forward in the country today? If Republicans championed the cause, Democrats would rail against it. And vice versa. And unfortunately, engineers, scientists and the like don’t have the kind of lobby that would be needed to get politicians interested. Even a public relations disaster like losing the Mars Climate Orbiter (due to a conversion mishap) didn’t move the needle on fully switching to Metric. So I guess I’ll just wait with you for that long-off day when we get the first flying car—and wonder what kind of miles per gallon that thing will get.
Lets us talk about calendars.
Gregorian? Julian? Jewish? Mayan? Chineese?
The Babylonians used 24 hours a day, 60 minutes per hour. WTF? That's divisible by... what? It's great if you are an idiot savant.
Humans are absolutely insane when it comes to systems of measurement.
The only good news is that there are so many standards to choose from.... /cook rant
Cook that on gas range 4.
/johnny
Volume area and distance are much simpler in metric...all are based on multiples of ten. You don't have trouble with our pennies, dimes, dollars, tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds do you? Metric money...imagine that.
Temperature...in Centigrade, water freezes at zero...boils at 100 degrees...is that complicated?
I'm good with the current system.
The whole rest of the world is metric...except maybe Bahrain.
However, I might be with you on MPH speed.
I think women would go for the switch to metric.
A 220-lb woman weighs less than 100 kg.
Because we really are Imperialists?.........
I used to watch Corner Gas. Its a Canadian sit com and the metric system always came up as a running joke on the show.
Pretty much all the engines offered in the Pinto came from Ford of Europe, and the one exception I can think of (the 2.3L four) was an adaptation of one of those.
My first car was a ‘74 Pinto with a 2.0L OHC four, which is commonly known as the “Pinto engine” although it was offered in several other Ford cars as well.
If gas station owners were smart, they would start pricing their fuels in liters. It looks cheaper.........
One practical problem for metric-system-only people is that they end up being unable to do fractions.
That’s one reason we lost manufacturing.
In space, though, she would weigh nothing but still be 100 kilograms (aka 6.85 slugs).
Around 30 years ago, I began to add metric tools to my collection. I very seldom use any of them.
There is one part of American cars which have always been metric.
Does anyone know what it is?
The British version of Top Gear talks in MPH but speaks of “petrol” in litres.
Sorry, it isn’t “Metric” money, just decimal currency.
If you’re going to work in the sciences, you have to understand metric units. I think in both systems—I relate to kilometers AND FURLONGS.
Inches, feet, yards, rods, etc. were based on lengths and measurements that were meaningful in our daily lives. Just because a length is applicable to daily life, doesn't mean that a length 10x as long has any utility.
Standard system volumes are extremely useful in everyday life, while metric volumes other than the liter are almost useless.
If you think there is a difference between 73 and 75 degrees F, then you are less than happy with temps in C.
This is why people outside of science are reluctant to move to the metric system.
The Brits still use “Stone” for weight.
How did we ever get to the Moon without the Metric system????/s
NAH, it should be written like this:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And clicks to go before I sleep, And clicks to go before I sleep.
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