Posted on 08/22/2013 6:49:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I’ve met a lot of people and learned a lot while traveling Europe the past several weeks. Of all the things I have had to explain to fellow travels as not only an American – but a Texan – by far the most frustrating thing is our stubborn refusal to embrace the metric system. I can confidently argue the finer points of how the use of y’all and the plural form all y’all are descriptive and have a place in the American lexicon. I take pleasure in explaining the intricacies of chicken fried foods.
But the metric system is another matter. “I don’t understand why y’all don’t use the metric system” is something I’ve heard too often. I don’t argue with them because there is no technical argument for why we haven’t adopted the Système Internationale – our refusal is based on emotion and familiarity.
Our choice of unit system is perhaps more important now than in recent years. Science is conducted using the language of SI units. If we want to have a scientifically literate populace, we should make sure that scientists and non-scientists speak the same language. In terms of national competitiveness, Americans are competing on a global market of information now more than ever. We are at a disadvantage by not speaking the international language of science at a time when we are struggling with truly global issues like climate change and resource depletion.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the government arm that sets standards and measurements to support American competitiveness, concludes that “the current effort toward national metrification is based on the conclusion that industrial and commercial productivity, mathematics and science education, and the competitiveness of American products and services in world markets, will be enhanced by completing the change to the metric system of units. Failure to complete the change will increasingly handicap the Nation’s industry and economy.”
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OMB the ignorance is just overwhelming.
If the metric system takes hold in this country, football will be called 30.5 centimeter ball.
Are you an alchemist?
Oh...so you ‘get’ it...I see. Try going back and changing a couple hundred years of titles, patents, legal descriptions, force all manufacturers to retool their plants, measurement systems, change the entire construction industry, the building industry for product sales.
No, my FRiend, you don’t get ‘it’.
My Dutch friend has lived in the US for over 30 years and she has never gotten comfortable with the American system.
Maybe to be consistent we should abandon our current currency denominations, which are basically metric, and go back to this set of denominations:
2 farthings = one half penny
2 half pennies = one penny
12 pennies = one shilling
5 shillings = one crown
4 crowns = one pound
21 shillings = one guinea
Much better than pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and on up which are only based on the numbers 1, 5, and 10.
“The Imperial System is human-based. The Metric System is mathematics-based.
The Imperial System works like the human mind works, dividing things into halves, quarters, eighths, etc. This is the natural way for humans to do things. This makes things good for the carpenter but bad for the accountant.
The Metric System works like a computer works, with decimal fractions, breaking things up into tenths. Actually, not even computers work this way, but they have a front-end built on to work in decimal units rather than binary. This makes things good for the accountant but bad for the carpenter.”
The whole subject is moot anyway. With one mouse click you can convert every measurement to any system.
You want to live in the 16th century, be my guest. Again thanks to nerds. You’re welcome.
If you read through the comments, the vehemence in which FReepers have responded to the very idea,you’ll understand why I say, it’s never gonna happen. Other than your own isolated enthusiasm for the Metric System, I haven’t found anyone that shares the same sentiment as you.
“Socialists! Give ‘em an inch...... and they’ll take a mile.”
No, it’s “Give ‘em a centimeter... and they’ll take a kilometer”. See how much better that sounds? /s
The French metric system is for people who still do arithmetic on their fingers.
There is equally no technical argument for adopting the metric system. Both systems are arbitrary. Both are a matter of preference.
Maybe we should call our system of weights & measures "The Organic System". It could be readily justified. And it would drive liberals to a new metric level of crazy!
Thank you Mr. Franklin and Mr Jefferson. Would that we’d listened to their council on all our metrics.
However, I've programmed my GPS to "feet" when it comes to elevation. For the life of me, a hill that reads "2200" meters means nothing to me. But when I see a topo line that reads "7000" feet, I understand that immediately.
Math is hard.
“Of all the things I have had to explain to fellow travels as not only an American – but a Texan...”
to fellow travels? What the heck is that? I had to re-read the sentence several times. I never heard a Texan utter a phrase like that.
But your asinine implication of my living in the 16th century is as absurd as your trying to foist a system we don't need on us just because you think it makes sense. And you can keep your fake pleasantries to yourself.
As am I, and I'll keep using mils and millimeters, kilograms and pounds, etc.
But I'm confused why this is a big deal to the average Joe. I guess using the imperial system has become a symbol of American defiance against the rest of the world.
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