*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Friday, June 18th, 2010 9:40am PDT - promote requested by kulpims.

Uh - the word "soccer" was invented by those Limeys across the pond and now they're whining about it? Oh well - just goes to show what happens when a bunch of tossers start whining. Soccer like Jazz? More like the intermission between acts...

I never thought a smart and funny guy like John Cleese would ever get involved in the dumbest debate in sports, possibly the dumbest debate in history: Soccer vs football. I know he's a comedian, but his take on the debate is completely unoriginal, and older than he is. And besides, who gives a fuck? Let them both be called football. It only takes approximately 5 milliseconds of viewing to determine which one you're watching, so what confusion is there in the first place?

And as far as which game is superior? Again, who gives a rat's ass? They're both events whose outcomes signify NOTHING. If your team wins, does that make you a winner too, or your city, college, or country a superior place in any way? No need to answer that. (EDIT: A controversial call cost America a victory over Slovenia in the World Cup. Oh noes! Now I must commit suicide!)

So if you enjoy either or both sports, that's fine. I have nothing against people having a good time at a sporting event, provided they don't turn into violent idiots because of the game's outcome. But don't try to make this debate seem significant. And it was totally exhausted of humor eons ago.

Also, we got the name football from... The brits. It was called rugby football, and some changes over the years caused the name to change to collegiate football, since it was mainly played by college teams.

Also, the "foot" in football refers to a game played on foot, as opposed to mounted on a horse, such as Polo. It has nothing to do with the ball being kicked.

Yup, disappointed in Cleese for this one.

Americans should change it, like they should change to the metric system and a 24h clock. Dammit, this is why you can't have nice things!

I play football at 13:30 by the centimeters and that's the way I likes it!!

Good points, well made. Still, its only the americans that hear football and think of a game that has neither a ball or much foot action so why worry?

"Ball" does not mean "sphere". Balls can be spherical or ovoid, solid or hollow, or even have holes in them (bowling ball, wiffle ball). You can have a ball of wax that is any shape you want.

In sports, balls are spherical when you want a consistent movement, or some other shape when you want unpredictable movement.

I'ma read comments more carefully next time. I'll just leave this here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_%28word%29

>> ^kronosposeidon:

I never thought a smart and funny guy like John Cleese would ever get involved in the dumbest debate in sports, possibly the dumbest debate in history: Soccer vs football. I know he's a comedian, but his take on the debate is completely unoriginal, and older than he is. And besides, who gives a fuck? Let them both be called football. It only takes approximately 5 milliseconds of viewing to determine which one you're watching, so what confusion is there in the first place?
And as far as which game is superior? Again, who gives a rat's ass? They're both events whose outcomes signify NOTHING. If your team wins, does that make you a winner too, or your city, college, or country a superior place in any way? No need to answer that. (EDIT: A controversial call cost America a victory over Slovenia in the World Cup. Oh noes! Now I must commit suicide!)
So if you enjoy either or both sports, that's fine. I have nothing against people having a good time at a sporting event, provided they don't turn into violent idiots because of the game's outcome. But don't try to make this debate seem significant. And it was totally exhausted of humor eons ago.


Rofl, you just got trolled by John Cleese. Hard.

So eloquent. >> ^dannym3141:

>> ^kronosposeidon:
I never thought a smart and funny guy like John Cleese would ever get involved in the dumbest debate in sports, possibly the dumbest debate in history: Soccer vs football. I know he's a comedian, but his take on the debate is completely unoriginal, and older than he is. And besides, who gives a fuck? Let them both be called football. It only takes approximately 5 milliseconds of viewing to determine which one you're watching, so what confusion is there in the first place?
And as far as which game is superior? Again, who gives a rat's ass? They're both events whose outcomes signify NOTHING. If your team wins, does that make you a winner too, or your city, college, or country a superior place in any way? No need to answer that. (EDIT: A controversial call cost America a victory over Slovenia in the World Cup. Oh noes! Now I must commit suicide!)
So if you enjoy either or both sports, that's fine. I have nothing against people having a good time at a sporting event, provided they don't turn into violent idiots because of the game's outcome. But don't try to make this debate seem significant. And it was totally exhausted of humor eons ago.

Rofl, you just got trolled by John Cleese. Hard.

[Redacted - shouldn't be drunk this early]

>> ^thumpa28:

Good points, well made. Still, its only the americans that hear football and think of a game that has neither a ball or much foot action so why worry?


Canadians would too, our football is more manly though because our balls are bigger..

Handball must be a real bitch.

>> ^MaxWilder:

Also, the "foot" in football refers to a game played on foot, as opposed to mounted on a horse, such as Polo.

>> ^gwiz665:

Americans should change it, like they should change to the metric system and a 24h clock.

No thanks.

When it's 30 degrees outside, it's cold, not hot.

It's never 13 o'clock. Never.

A woman with 36-24-36 measurements is hot, not a circus midget.

Someone who weighs 100 something is petite, not huge.

Never mind automotive stuff, mph to kph, converting horsepower to kilowatts, torque from foot-pounds to newton-meters, miles per gallon to kilometers per liter (or worse, the crazy liters per 100km thing some countries use).

Metrics are fine for engineering, but I just don't see it being adopted colloquially anytime soon.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

This an epic troll - the best trolls are the ones that have the ring of truth in them.

Totally dag. After i made my previous comment i was thinking - john cleese is probably somewhere at the roots of trolling, he had to be one of the first. Certainly the first to do it on such a massive scale. I remember seeing him troll the royal family, even advertising companies that he was making adverts for.

We've seen a couple of David Mitchell trolling sessions as well on the sift, recently.

Something completely different!!!!!

*shakes fist*
Ounce makes no sense
Pounds make no sense
Miles make no sense
AM/PM is stupid
Fahrenheit makes no sense - 32F is the freezing point, wtf?

It is colloquially adopted everywhere EXCEPT certain third world countries and the US... goddamit, get with the program!


>> ^NetRunner:

>> ^gwiz665:
Americans should change it, like they should change to the metric system and a 24h clock.
No thanks.
When it's 30 degrees outside, it's cold, not hot.
It's never 13 o'clock. Never.
A woman with 36-24-36 measurements is hot, not a circus midget.
Someone who weighs 100 something is petite, not huge.
Never mind automotive stuff, mph to kph, converting horsepower to kilowatts, torque from foot-pounds to newton-meters, miles per gallon to kilometers per liter (or worse, the crazy liters per 100km thing some countries use).
Metrics are fine for engineering, but I just don't see it being adopted colloquially anytime soon.

>> ^gwiz665:

shakes fist
Ounce makes no sense
Pounds make no sense
Miles make no sense
AM/PM is stupid
Fahrenheit makes no sense - 32F is the freezing point, wtf?
It is colloquially adopted everywhere EXCEPT certain third world countries and the US... goddamit, get with the program!


The value of a social safety net is also casually accepted everywhere except certain third world countries and the US.

We're different, and we're arrogant, and we're attached to old and outdated notions, even though we're arguably the youngest 1st world nation.

I agree, none of those measurements make sense, but they're familiar, and we're pig-headed enough as a society that we'll probably never give up on them entirely.

At best, we'll probably keep the words, and just make them equivalent to metrics (e.g. 1 mile = 1km, 1 gallon = 1 liter, etc.).

I do have to agree with the metric/imperial arguement here...

How many inches in a foot? 12
How many feet in a yard? 3
How many feet/yards in a mile? 5280/1760

How many millimeters in a centimeter? 10
How many centimeters in a meter? 100
How many meters in a kilometer? 1000

One makes perfect sense in a base-10 world, while the other seems to be an arbitrary collection of numbers based on comparison lengths of various body parts.


As for the video itself? Well played, Cleese.

Ok ok. Americans took rugby football and ran with it... and now Kevin Kline has a few words for the Brits...

gg sir

>> ^gwiz665:

shakes fist
Ounce makes no sense
Pounds make no sense
Miles make no sense
AM/PM is stupid
Fahrenheit makes no sense - 32F is the freezing point, wtf?
It is colloquially adopted everywhere EXCEPT certain third world countries and the US... goddamit, get with the program!


1. The alternative to Ounces, Pounds and Miles are equally arbitrary measurements. Just easier to deal with since they're in factors of 10. I'd personally be happy if we switched, but it would be a huge pain for everyone and cause lots of confusion at first.

2. You've seen clocks; that's where it comes from. AM/PM has never been much of a problem for me since you can always tell which one it currently is by looking outside. And if you're telling someone a time it's slightly faster to say eight-PM than sixteen-hundred-hours.

3. 0 Degrees F is the stabilization point of brine. Fahrenheit had a lot of reasons for setting it exactly where he did (partly he was building on pre-existing scales), but the one that makes the most sense in the modern day is that "The outcome was a scale that had, essentially by design, the points 0° and 100° corresponding closely to the lower and upper limits of human comfort, an approach which made the scale inherently preferable in many everyday contexts" It's easy for anyone to remember that 32 is the freezing point. Beyond that it seems a more intuitive and precise for everyday uses.

"Beyond that it seems a more intuitive and precise for everyday uses."


Exactly. It "seems" more intuitive because it's really not. Neither is metric more intuitive, it just makes more sense generally and is easier to compute with when dealing with unusually big/small (i.e. unintuitive) numbers and measurements. Once you switch to metric from imperial, the everyday "intuitive" measurements are still intuitive, they're simply expressed in different units. Anyway, imprecise measurements are imprecise, whatever the system you use.

>> ^entr0py:

>> ^gwiz665:
shakes fist
Ounce makes no sense
Pounds make no sense
Miles make no sense
AM/PM is stupid
Fahrenheit makes no sense - 32F is the freezing point, wtf?
It is colloquially adopted everywhere EXCEPT certain third world countries and the US... goddamit, get with the program!

1. The alternative to Ounces, Pounds and Miles are equally arbitrary measurements. Just easier to deal with since they're in factors of 10. I'd personally be happy if we switched, but it would be a huge pain for everyone and cause lots of confusion at first.
2. You've seen clocks; that's where it comes from. AM/PM has never been much of a problem for me since you can always tell which one it currently is by looking outside. And if you're telling someone a time it's slightly faster to say eight-PM than sixteen-hundred-hours.
3. 0 Degrees F is the stabilization point of brine. Fahrenheit had a lot of reasons for setting it exactly where he did (partly he was building on pre-existing scales), but the one that makes the most sense in the modern day is that "The outcome was a scale that had, essentially by design, the points 0° and 100° corresponding closely to the lower and upper limits of human comfort, an approach which made the scale inherently preferable in many everyday contexts" It's easy for anyone to remember that 32 is the freezing point. Beyond that it seems a more intuitive and precise for everyday uses.

We can all agree on -140 degrees. Just sayin'.

haha! you guys are all bums. john cleese is a comedian. you're just supposed to laugh, upvote, and watch the next one.

>> ^joel_eb:

haha! you guys are all bums. john cleese is a comedian. you're just supposed to laugh, upvote, and watch the next one.


You are definitely supposed to upvote

This is not Cleese trolling. If it was, he would wink at the end or something. Sorry guys, he's good, but he's not that deep. He is a silly-walker, not a meta-comedian.

@NetRunner, @gwiz665, especially @entr0py.

Everybody knows we should be using kelvins!!! You don't even need the °!
Why would you cut down trees to make tables when you have perfectly good Ks to measure temperature with?!?

No.

Balls.

Thank you university mathematics >> ^MaxWilder:

"Ball" does not mean "sphere". Balls can be spherical or ovoid, solid or hollow, or even have holes in them (bowling ball, wiffle ball). You can have a ball of wax that is any shape you want.
In sports, balls are spherical when you want a consistent movement, or some other shape when you want unpredictable movement.

I love this quote from the source you linked

"With the extensive adoption of the SI system, it is now only a relic except in the USA, where it remains the prevailing customary scale."

Heh, relics.

In no way does F seem more intuitive than C. It only exists now to cause confusion between the two. It's a turd in the punch bowl.

We've got 3 distinct discussions going on here: temperature, imperial/metric and clocks.

In the time one, I have to add that when we "speak" about the time, we usually say "at 8" when we mean "20:00", we don't say 20-hundred hours. We just type it out when writing it. AM/PM takes far more time to figure out than just saying 20, if in doubt - to me anyway (not used to AM/PM). We should just make "Metric time" and fuck people over royally

Imperial vs. metric units: I cannot see anything positive for the imperial. No valid points at all. Please present them, anyone, because I simply don't get it other than sheer stubbornness.

>> ^entr0py:

>> ^gwiz665:
shakes fist
Ounce makes no sense
Pounds make no sense
Miles make no sense
AM/PM is stupid
Fahrenheit makes no sense - 32F is the freezing point, wtf?
It is colloquially adopted everywhere EXCEPT certain third world countries and the US... goddamit, get with the program!

1. The alternative to Ounces, Pounds and Miles are equally arbitrary measurements. Just easier to deal with since they're in factors of 10. I'd personally be happy if we switched, but it would be a huge pain for everyone and cause lots of confusion at first.
2. You've seen clocks; that's where it comes from. AM/PM has never been much of a problem for me since you can always tell which one it currently is by looking outside. And if you're telling someone a time it's slightly faster to say eight-PM than sixteen-hundred-hours.
3. 0 Degrees F is the stabilization point of brine. Fahrenheit had a lot of reasons for setting it exactly where he did (partly he was building on pre-existing scales), but the one that makes the most sense in the modern day is that "The outcome was a scale that had, essentially by design, the points 0° and 100° corresponding closely to the lower and upper limits of human comfort, an approach which made the scale inherently preferable in many everyday contexts" It's easy for anyone to remember that 32 is the freezing point. Beyond that it seems a more intuitive and precise for everyday uses.

@gwiz665 - you don't get it. These folks are still fighting the fights of 30 years ago.

@NetRunner - it's almost like Americans are proud of being ignorant. Remember this?



Yeah. Have fun with your silly measurements and homo-erotic butt-slapping spandex-clad footballs players.

@gwiz665 well, explain to me why we should stick with seconds, minutes, and hours?

I mean, 1 minute = 60 seconds, 1 hour = 60 minutes, and 1 day = 24 hours. Why not come up with a metric second, so that 1 minute = 100 seconds, 1 hour = 100 minutes, and 1 day = 10 hours?

While we're at it, why not change the calendar to have 10 months, and move the leap day to the last day of the year? Religious tradition?

I'm not arguing that the Imperial units make more sense (they clearly do not), but they're no less viable as an effective unit of measure -- it's not as if the length of a foot changes from time to time based on some idiosyncratic process.

I'd be all for us switching over to metrics, but I suspect it'd face massive resistance if we ever tried to officially move to the metric system.

We're weird about these kinds of things. Which is to say a huge portion of our population is massively xenophobic and anti-european, deeply paranoid about government, and deeply attached to an odd sense of traditionalism (i.e. we're sticking to the British Imperial units the British don't use anymore because the Founding Fathers used them, and that's the American way!).

The rest of us don't really see why metrics would be worth fighting all that for.

I'm hoping we can cure our populace of those sorts of motivations, or at least marginalize those ways of thinking, but I don't expect that to happen any time soon.

>> ^doremifa:
We can all agree on -140 degrees. Just sayin'.


You're 100 degrees off.

-40C = -40F

>> ^Throbbin:

@NetRunner - it's almost like Americans are proud of being ignorant. Remember this?

Sure do. And yes, it is almost like Americans are proud of being ignorant.

It's not really pride in ignorance, so much as a segment of the population that believes "common sense" and "hard work" make you as smart or smarter than anyone who's well-educated and does white collar work (book smarts). They feel that all that learnin' just gets in the way of seeing the simple and obvious truth (i.e. what they "know" is true in their gut).

So they feel perfectly justified in saying things like "inflating your tires can't possibly help with our energy crisis" or "global warming isn't real because it snowed in winter", and feel like there's no possible retort to that, because your responses will involve some sort of book-learning term like "data" or "scientific method" or "falsifiable hypothesis".

It should surprise no one that this particular meme is especially strong within the right-wing world of politics, and the rural areas of America...

All I gotta say is, we're a big, diverse country, and we aren't all like that.

I'm just poking some fun here. I'm quite certain I have more in common with my fellow sifters from around the world than I do with 90% of my neighbours. Ain't democracy grand?

@NetRunner.. spot on (and it's frustrating as hell sometimes).

@NetRunner
The only reason we should stay with seconds, minutes and hours, days and nights, months and years, is convenience. The clock is, as far as I know, universally accepted so changing it to something arbitrarily would be silly. People have tried changing it (remember Beat? ) but people like their 12h clocks too much. I'm not in favor of changing that either, because switching from one arbitrary system to another for the sole reason of homogenizing seems silly to me.

AM/PM is not a huge deal for me either, I just don't like it.

Imperial vs. metric system is a big deal though. There are concrete disadvantages to using two different systems alongside each other (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_system#Conversion_and_calculation_errors ). Now, I would accept a compromise of a third measurement system that was based on something a little more universal (planck scale?) which would probably make everyone unhappy, but of the two existing systems Metric is far more adopted and makes quite a bit more sense internally. Yes, it's also pretty arbitrary - 1 meters is something like 1 degree-second on the earths equator or something like that, can't remember how it was made) but internally it's easy to calculate.

People are being stubborn and pig-headed for no good reason, and not just in the US. In Denmark lots of people vote against the Euro for the sole reason that it "makes it hard to figure out what something costs". Familiarity is sadly a powerful force.

For the youngest country in the world, you sure are pretty bound in traditions. You'd think as the new kid on the block, you would want to stay hip and fresh. You started out so well and, with notable exceptions, it's just gone downhill from there.

I'll support your metric revolution as soon as you get on it.

"Is metric a communist plot?
Broadcast Date: Jan. 3, 1977

Dean Krakel thinks metric is more about Marxism than measurement. As director of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma, Krakel is waging a war against metric on political grounds. In this 1977 clip from As It Happens, he says it reflects "the philosophical way communists want one of everything" — one world, one monetary system, one educational system and, now, one measurement system. "We're Americans, we're different. We're individualistic, we're strong," he says with passion."
source http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/measurement/clips/10614/

Lol. Ironically, the US is looking more and more like old-school China, isolating itself from the world, looking down its nose at everyone else, stubbornly only using its own measurement systems, avoiding globalization at all costs - this will be your ultimated economic undoing if the trend continues.

The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.

To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.

If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.

If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.

From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.

Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

>> ^gwiz665:

For the youngest country in the world, you sure are pretty bound in traditions. You'd think as the new kid on the block, you would want to stay hip and fresh.

I agree, though based on what I've read of history, the ascendancy of this backward-looking traditionalism appears to be a recent phenomenon. Most people used to believe in progress, and seemed to favor the new over the old, and there seemed to be a fairly long-lasting tradition of being opposed to traditionalist arguments.

I'm tempted to say that somewhere between 1964 and 1980 is when the country really started behaving as if the only way forward was to try to reclaim some mythical lost golden age of the past.

>> ^gwiz665:

Ironically, the US is looking more and more like old-school China, isolating itself from the world, looking down its nose at everyone else, stubbornly only using its own measurement systems, avoiding globalization at all costs - this will be your ultimate economic undoing if the trend continues.


Not just our economic undoing, but our political, social, and cultural undoing as well. There's no turning the clock back. For better or worse, the entire world is now more interconnected than it's ever been before, and getting even more connected at an ever increasing rate.

To the degree that "American exceptionalism" was ever real, it was derived from our ability to adapt and change to meet new challenges, not because we were founded in perfection and have effectively resisted change over the last couple hundred years.

>> ^Sigh:

The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer.

That's actually a good point. Perhaps the real question we should ask ourselves is whether base-10 numbers still make sense.

I vote we all change to adopt using octal or hexadecimal, to ease our communication with our computational masters servants.

Like I said before: only in America.

Miscalculations are prevalent when both systems are in place, exactly because of the way you describe - you just punch in the numbers and change the units - you just cost nasa $175 mil, because it wasn't clear which was used.

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it" Sure, but it's fucking broken!

We need the old generation that cling to this to die out, so new people can come along and bring a whole new wave of rebirth to your country - because if it continues this way, it won't exist for long!

>> ^Sigh:

The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.
If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.
If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.
From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.
Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

Well Nasa is full of egg heads. We all know smart people have no common sense, which could have been used to save all that money! And of course it isn't broken. Hey, the baby boomer generation are almost all out. The next generation is almost fully embedded in the societal ranks to help bring some changes to the country. We just need the government to get rid of the old timers and put the next generation in so it can actually happen. Change won't happen until they are gone, no matter how hard anyone tries.

Like I said, I use both and don't care which stays because I'm competent enough to use both. The metric system still won't be adopted in America for decades. I'd be willing to wager the next number system used here will be a completely new one. A change could revitalize he economy of the US with all the work it would create changing everything. Billions would need to be spent to make it happen...wait, that's how to fix the economy! I think we've just stumbled into something brilliant! >> ^gwiz665:

Like I said before: only in America.
Miscalculations are prevalent when both systems are in place, exactly because of the way you describe - you just punch in the numbers and change the units - you just cost nasa $175 mil, because it wasn't clear which was used.
"If it ain't broken, don't fix it" Sure, but it's fucking broken!
We need the old generation that cling to this to die out, so new people can come along and bring a whole new wave of rebirth to your country - because if it continues this way, it won't exist for long!
>> ^Sigh:
The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.
If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.
If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.
From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.
Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

I say hogwash. Many folks in Europe used SI, and they switched regardless of their financial investment. Americans think they're so special, when in reality they are laggards in this regard. Just because some frog says so? Really? Is the American worldview so jaded and conceited that the messenger is more important than the merits of the message itself?>> ^Sigh:

The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.
If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.
If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.
From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.
Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

Count the difference between european countries and the US in roads per country. I'd be willing to be a shit ton of money we have more. Between road signs and mile markers alone, that is literally millions and millions of signs to be changed. You think we want to pay more taxes to switch something that doesn't have to be switched? Fuck that. They already take enough of my money. It all comes down to money. There is no argument that has more impact on this than money. You can keep flapping your gums about it and keep calling us laggards, but you'll always be wrong.

Yes, frogs. I hate the french. Rank assholes. They need to come to the new age and learn to use some fucking soap. Yes I've been there. It's filthy.>> ^Throbbin:

I say hogwash. Many folks in Europe used SI, and they switched regardless of their financial investment. Americans think they're so special, when in reality they are laggards in this regard. Just because some frog says so? Really? Is the American worldview so jaded and conceited that the messenger is more important than the merits of the message itself?>> ^Sigh:
The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.
If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.
If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.
From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.
Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

Why don't you tell us how you really feel?>> ^Sigh:

Count the difference between european countries and the US in roads per country. I'd be willing to be a shit ton of money we have more. Between road signs and mile markers alone, that is literally millions and millions of signs to be changed. You think we want to pay more taxes to switch something that doesn't have to be switched? Fuck that. They already take enough of my money. It all comes down to money. There is no argument that has more impact on this than money. You can keep flapping your gums about it and keep calling us laggards, but you'll always be wrong.
Yes, frogs. I hate the french. Rank assholes. They need to come to the new age and learn to use some fucking soap. Yes I've been there. It's filthy.>> ^Throbbin:
I say hogwash. Many folks in Europe used SI, and they switched regardless of their financial investment. Americans think they're so special, when in reality they are laggards in this regard. Just because some frog says so? Really? Is the American worldview so jaded and conceited that the messenger is more important than the merits of the message itself?>> ^Sigh:
The only reason metric was adopted in Europe was so everyone could count on their fingers and toes.
To the actual topic, what's the difference with how computers are in almost every aspect of life. Calculations done by hand are a thing of the past. The only thing people are interested in is the answer. If a scientist is working in his lab and something comes out in feet and inches, he uses that. If its in meters, he uses that. You think he cares what his measurements units are? No. He cares about the results. Saying miscalculations are more prevalent in computers using non-metric systems would be as dumb as this argument.
If computers didn't run our lives metric would make sense. I'm an engineer, base 10 systems exist everywhere around us and I use it everyday. Why did feet and inches survive? Computers. If I have something measured in inches, I put the inches into the computer and change the units. Does it make it harder for me to hit enter to get my answer? Not at all.
If armageddon comes and sends us back to the stone age maybe metric will be used everywhere. It's not about stubbornness. It's about a lack of caring. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Since everyone in the US mainly uses it, they won't change it. If they did change it, aside from making new tape measures and thermometers, it wouldn't make a difference. Life would go on. You think people are going to buy new tape measures and thermometers just because some frog says so? Think again.
From another applied standpoint, buildings, roads and almost all construction is based off the Imperial system. Sheetrock is 4 feet, studs in a wall are made to fit this. Ceiling, 2x4s and roof supports are all made based on this system. That's another change of an entire industry of materials.
Practical application does not outweigh financial investment. At least not in today's world.

I'm pretty sure there are more road signs in Europe, larger parts of Asia and Africa as well as most of Oceania than there are in the United States. Don't quote me on that though, but it would seem that way.

As if on cue, one of the beltway press bobbleheads comes right out and explicitly makes the case for stupidity being superior to intelligence.

@Sigh, I don't think it's the cost of changing signs that's stopping us from going to metrics.

Tell me, if Obama announced an initiative to officially convert us to the metric system by, say, 2030, which scenario do you think is most likely?

A) Americans generally agree that we should convert, but question the costs of conversion.
B) The media and conservative politicians throw a hissy fit about how this proves that Obama hates America, and that abandoning miles and feet is essentially a surrender to Al Qaeda and the French.

Actually, what really is the big problem with using the english system?

That's what conversion tables are for, and most people who actively work with measurements know the relevant conversions by heart.

It's really a non-issue. The innovativeness and achievements of scientists and engineers have nothing to do with what measurement system they use, as a comparison of US, and European advancements over the last 20 years will show.

This won't change until America implodes under the weight of its own stubborn ignorance and blind support of corporate greed. Maybe then we'll be able to look at other countries and accept some of their ideas as valid.

And for the entire road system argument, cost is not a factor if you just add km whenever a new sign is put up, or an old sign replaced. This was actually happening back in the 70's until the morons got all scared about their units of measurement being communist. We would have converted by now if not for those looney-tunes.

It's just a dumb, dumb argument. If you used metric in every aspect of your life for a year, you'd be used to it and it would be a non-issue.

And BTW, scientists all use metric. To the engineers in this thread who think using both systems is ok, I call you crazy. Conversion causes errors. Inconsistency causes errors. Anybody who is ok with more error prone methods is crazy.

Like I said, the signs was just one element. Every aspect of life would change. You think people wouldn't complain if a first down in football isn't 10 yards? Just another simple example.

As for the A or B. A, Americans would never generally agree and B, do Americans really need another reason to hate failbama? The US missed its chance to convert when Bush was president. If he suggested it, people would say, "Hey look, the idiot is going something smart!" If Obama does it, it will just be added to his life of reasons why he won't be elected to any public office ever again. >> ^NetRunner:

As if on cue, one of the beltway press bobbleheads comes right out and explicitly makes the case for stupidity being superior to intelligence.
@<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/Sigh" title="member since July 3rd, 2009" class="profilelink">Sigh, I don't think it's the cost of changing signs that's stopping us from going to metrics.
Tell me, if Obama announced an initiative to officially convert us to the metric system by, say, 2030, which scenario do you think is most likely?
A) Americans generally agree that we should convert, but question the costs of conversion.
B) The media and conservative politicians throw a hissy fit about how this proves that Obama hates America, and that abandoning miles and feet is essentially a surrender to Al Qaeda and the French.

@Sigh, LOL, you're right, I never considered option C) Irrational right-wing morons blame Obama for failing to ram the metric system down Americans' throats.

Thanks for reminding me never to underestimate just how irrational and moronic the right is!

Except I'm not a right winger. I actually voted for the idiot. I want my vote back. He is as bad as bush. >> ^NetRunner:

@<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/Sigh" title="member since July 3rd, 2009" class="profilelink">Sigh, LOL, you're right, I never considered option C) Irrational right-wing morons blame Obama for failing to ram the metric system down Americans' throats.
Thanks for reminding me never to underestimate just how irrational and moronic the right is!

>> ^Sigh:

Except I'm not a right winger. I actually voted for the idiot. I want my vote back. He is as bad as bush.

Oh yeah? You one of these left-wingers who think they're moving the overton window left by reinforcing right wing attacks on Obama (i.e. dumb, failure, just like Bush, etc.)?

Seriously, I don't think conversion to metrics is worth fighting for. It'd be nice to see it happen some day, but the big problem is the stupidification of our political system. We can't have a rational conversation about anything anymore, least of all something like making our measurement systems compliant with the international community.

You may not be right-wing, but you totally fell into the moron trap -- I mention Obama's name, and you had to talk shit about Obama yourself, rather than simply agree that anti-Obama insanity plus our normal cultural insanity would make it completely impossible for us to do anything about trying to move to metrics (or deal with the economy, or deal with the environment, or deal with banking regulation, etc.).

Riiiight. I fell into the moron trap. You start talking politics on the internet. I remember now why I never posted on here and just laughed at the idiotic statements like yours of people who think they can change things. You are just another peon who means nothing. I'm done with you and posting on this site. There's too much agenda pushing by faggots like you who try to twist every word someone says until they believe their own bullshit. Good luck with life failure. >> ^NetRunner:

>> ^Sigh:
Except I'm not a right winger. I actually voted for the idiot. I want my vote back. He is as bad as bush.
Oh yeah? You one of these left-wingers who think they're moving the overton window left by reinforcing right wing attacks on Obama (i.e. dumb, failure, just like Bush, etc.)?
Seriously, I don't think conversion to metrics is worth fighting for. It'd be nice to see it happen some day, but the big problem is the stupidification of our political system. We can't have a rational conversation about anything anymore, least of all something like making our measurement systems compliant with the international community.
You may not be right-wing, but you totally fell into the moron trap -- I mention Obama's name, and you had to talk shit about Obama yourself, rather than simply agree that anti-Obama insanity plus our normal cultural insanity would make it completely impossible for us to do anything about trying to move to metrics (or deal with the economy, or deal with the environment, or deal with banking regulation, etc.).

@Sigh, like I said, can't have a rational conversation about anything anymore...

>> ^Sigh:

I'm done with you and posting on this site. There's too much agenda pushing by faggots like you who try to twist every word someone says until they believe their own bullshit. Good luck with life failure.


I think you'll fit in alot better posting comments on youtube ...

Yes, please stop posting here. This site is for grown ups.

yeah, shut the fuck up already. go find a forum. these comments are for the video. which was hilarious, if you remember it.