Once again proving the inadequacy of the metric system!

[quade 4]

Ok, the good professor, billvon and myself and others have, over the years had a couple discussions on the (according to them) benefits and superior nature of the metric system.

I say it's all hogwash and arbitrary. It's just a unit of measurement and one not actually based in anything "special" anyway. John and bill keep bringing up things like it's based on the universality of water and whatnot for weights and I keep saying things like . . . uh . . . what's so special about water?

So, anyway, today I read a facinating little news bit on CNN;
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/15/australia.spheres.reut/index.html

A silicon sphere? What?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[willard 0]

I like the metric system. It is so much easier coverting units, just move the decimal.

How many grams in 7536 kilograms? Easy. 7536*1000=7536000.
How many ounces in 7526 pounds? Uh...let me get my calculator..... 7536*16=120576.

How many millimeters in 7536 kilometers? Again, easy. 7536*1000*1000=7536000000.
How many inches in 7536 miles? Uh....where'd that calculator go? ok...7536*5280*12=477480960.

Sure, there's a little memorization to get started but after a bit it's all second nature.

[ryoder 1,590]

Finally! A source of quality bowling balls!

But seriously, you don't understand what is superior about the metric system???

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[NCclimber 0]

I've always been impressed with the 1 to 1 to 1 relationship of distance to volume to weight... and it's all decimal.

[Remster 30]

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But seriously, you don't understand what is superior about the metric system???

Because there is consistancy accross units withing the measumenet of the same dimmension AND accoss dimmensions.

Remster

[idrankwhat 0]

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I've always been impressed with the 1 to 1 to 1 relationship of distance to volume to weight... and it's all decimal.

Weight? That's so.....so......so terrestrial
You realize that with all this talk I'm going to have this stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Dek, El, Do......
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2423625720002540823&q=little+twelve+toes&total=42&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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I've always been impressed with the 1 to 1 to 1 relationship of distance to volume to weight... and it's all decimal.

Weight? That's so.....so......so terrestrial
You realize that with all this talk I'm going to have this stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Dek, El, Do......
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2423625720002540823&q=little+twelve+toes&total=42&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Yep. The gram is not a measure of weight; it is a measure of mass.

[quade 4]

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I like the metric system. It is so much easier coverting units, just move the decimal.

Hehe . . . you only think this because most people have 10 fingers.

There's nothing particularly "special" about base 10. The Sumerians knew this.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[rehmwa 2]

My car gets 14 cubit-hectares to the decadram

and that's the way I likes it

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[skydyvr 0]

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A silicon sphere?

A one kilogram fruit cake would be the more stable choice.

. . =(_8^(1)

[kelpdiver 2]

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Yep. The gram is not a measure of weight; it is a measure of mass.

billions of earthlings (outside the US) mutter 'whatever.'

If we had started out with the metric system, it would clearly be superior for the ease of some conversions and yes, the convenient qualities with water.

But to convert from English - the benefits are pretty marginal. For the sorts of measurements people do in daily life, it's barely better, and now people have to think bilingual. For serious computational work, we have Crays who don't care about conversions either.

The lamest metric metric ever - fuel economy measured in liters/100km. mpg or km/l still offer comparisons, and can be used for the simple daily calculations like how much gas did I just burn to get to the DZ.

[georgerussia 0]

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But to convert from English - the benefits are pretty marginal. For the sorts of measurements people do in daily life, it's barely better, and now people have to think bilingual.

As a person who used the metric system during the whole life before moving to US, I agree with that statement. Nobody is buying tomatoes by weight - we buy them by quantity/size by grabbing enough. Nobody is buying milk by gallons - you go and grab the "big enough" milk pack looking on its size. And you only care about the feet/meters difference when the breakoff is set to 4,500 and you have a metric altimeter.

* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. *

[rhys 0]

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Nobody is buying tomatoes by weight - we buy them by quantity/size by grabbing enough. Nobody is buying milk by gallons - you go and grab the "big enough" milk pack looking on its size. And you only care about the feet/meters difference when the breakoff is set to 4,500 and you have a metric altimeter.

But building a house, measuring something and breaking it evenly to smaller units.....................

the Imperial system is old and stupid, what is the point of keeping it?............................It costs too much money to change.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[quade 4]

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But building a house, measuring something and breaking it evenly to smaller units.....................

Yikes! Another reason I find the metric system inadequate!

Quick, can somebody measure out exactly 1/3 of a meter for me?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[rehmwa 2]

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Quick, can somebody measure out exactly 1/3 of a meter for me?

While they are at it, somebody measure out exactly 1/5th of a foot for me.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rhys 0]

yep 333.3mm recurring.

Once you get down to thirds of thirds of a milimetre then you would have to be pretty sharp with the drop saw to be giving a shit.

Now if my stick of 4x2 is 4.5 feet long how many inches are there?

No calculator please.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[mnealtx 0]

54 inches... what would you need a calculator for, for that?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[sundevil777 102]

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yep 333.3mm recurring.

Once you get down to thirds of thirds of a milimetre then you would have to be pretty sharp with the drop saw to be giving a shit.

Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, and cut it with a torch.

In Canada, pizza sizes are still inches, TV sizes are still inches. This is evidence of the metric system's inferiority.

I cannot understand why they measure a car's gas mileage as the inverse ratio of what we do in the US (liters/km instead of kilometers/liter as we do miles/gallon). Does Europe do that also?

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[Gawain 0]

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A silicon sphere?

A one kilogram fruit cake would be the more stable choice.

That, or a case of Twinkies...

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[rhys 0]

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I cannot understand why they measure a car's gas mileage as the inverse ratio of what we do in the US (liters/km instead of kilometers/liter as we do miles/gallon). Does Europe do that also?

Dunno about Europe except that in Germany it is fun to drive fast.

as for New Zealand we have a saying;

"6 of one and half a dozen of the other"

You still end up with a distance and a price/volume.

Why do you ask?

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[quade 4]

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Quick, can somebody measure out exactly 1/3 of a meter for me?

While they are at it, somebody measure out exactly 1/5th of a foot for me.

Well, yeah, actually I can. 2.4 inches. Done.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[airkid 0]

well first of all... this article is flawed.... mass cannot depends on number of atoms.... there is already a unit of measure for that.... its called a mole....abbreviated mol. and since different atoms of different elements have different weights.... there would be no constant....... secondly the conventional unit of measure is inferior to metric.... especially in a 3 dimensional environment.... when you are dealing with mils and meters converting angles into lengths... arcs.... radii... circles.... complex shapes... it's hard to explain but metric makes many things much easier

[skydiver30960 0]

Well, if they were looking for two perfect balls all they had to do was look in my....

Oops. Wrong forum. Sorry folks.



Elvisio "back to the bonfire" Rodriguez

[nathaniel 0]

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There's nothing particularly "special" about base 10. The Sumerians knew this.

Indeed. If we cared anything about efficiency we'd be using base three.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[billvon 3,107]

>If we cared anything about efficiency we'd be using base three.

Too many digits. For efficiency you need base 16. Not too many symbols, VERY easy to store on computers, significant decrease in number sizes.

Consider this:

Right now the war in Iraq is costing $177,000,000 dollars a day. In hex, that's only $A,8CD,000 a day. Doesn't that look better?