The french comment I'm assuming? I'm only asking from all the anti-american sentiment all over the site, I say one thing about french people from a factual standpoint actual confirmed by scientist and I get warned...I'm just wondering so I can avoid stating facts anymore. >> ^dag:

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In reply to this comment by 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.

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In reply to this comment by 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

>> ^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.

>> ^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.

>> ^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.

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


You're 100 degrees off.

-40C = -40F

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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.

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.

>> ^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