Once again proving the inadequacy of the metric system!

[quade 4]

Awesome.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kelpdiver 2]

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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?

It takes two calculations to use l/km to answer the question, how much gas does my car need to get to Hollister and back.

With mpg or km/l, you do the simpler - 180/25 = 7.2gal (wow - no calculator!)

With 5.5l/100km, it becomes 300km/(100/5.5) - the ability to do that in the head becomes quickly compromised if the numbers aren't round.

[strop45 0]

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300km/(100/5.5)

whats so difficult about 3 * 5.5 = 16.5L. For me, its easier to multiply by 3 than divide by 25.

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

[Guest]

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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.

Why do Vulcans have pointed ears?

...

...

...wait for it...

...

...So they can count to twelve.

mh
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Gawain 0]

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

Okay, I have a question for the metric-system-using-countries. Aside from how "wonderful" it is...

Do your products get sold in a metric way too? Do you buy a six-pack of beer or soda or a ten-pack?

What about a pack of gum?

Does a box of cereal weigh 1kg?

What about a big bottle of milk at the store, in the US, a gallon of milk is a good volume. Do you buy 4L bottles of milk? Kind of an odd number...

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!

[jakee 1,594]

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Do your products get sold in a metric way too? Do you buy a six-pack of beer or soda or a ten-pack?

Eight

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Gawain 0]

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Do your products get sold in a metric way too? Do you buy a six-pack of beer or soda or a ten-pack?

Eight

See that??!!! You're enlightened lifestyle is a sham!!

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!

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Yes, milk is sold in 1,2 & 4 litre containers.
Water is sold in 500ml and 1l bottles.
Gasoline is sold by the litre.
Meat and cheese are sold by the gram.

[crwtom 0]

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Meat and cheese are sold by the gram.

when I first moved to the US many years ago I really made an effort
to learn the local system. My favorite was to go to the meat section of
the supermarket and ask for 7 ounces of some cold cuts.

Most of the time the sales person would involve the supervisor and
sometimes even more collegues in the calculation.

On another occasion the sales person took a long effort to measure
exactly 0.07 Pounds on his digital scale. (which was about half a
slice) I was so flabbergasted I didn't even protest

Cheers, T

*******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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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.

Although unless you're trying to calculate the street value of a drug seizure it's not relevant.

What's the midpoint of a 7 and 3/16" wide board? 3 1/2 plus 3/8" on your tape measure.

What's the midpoint of a 15.125 cm wide board? You have to think to come up with 7.5625 cm.

[mnealtx 0]

>>What's the midpoint of a 7 and 3/16" wide board? 3 1/2 plus 3/8" on your tape measure.


Shouldn't that be "plus 3/32 on your tape measure." ?

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

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Yeah, my brain isn't what it used to be....

[mnealtx 0]

No worries!

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

[kallend 2,146]

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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?

There's nothing special about water except it is a requisite for life as we know it.

The superiority of the SI system is due to the fact that it's RATIONAL.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[wmw999 2,584]

I learned the metric system and the other system in school as a school child. I recommend the metric system.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[quade 4]

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The superiority of the SI system is due to the fact that it's RATIONAL.

Are you saying that the Imperial system doesn't use fractions and the metric system does?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Lindsey 0]

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Yeah, my brain isn't what it used to be....

Yep. And I already have a pretty good idea what 2500 square feet looks like. What is that in square meters? I not interested in doing the math (it's probably about 250?). I like having mental pictures of measurements without having to convert them to something that is just not all that familiar to me. Maybe I'm lazy that way, but with all there is to think about, it's hard for me to want to spend much energy this way. I'm sure for my child's generation, they'll go metric. It's easier. Dumb it down for 'em. .

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[mnealtx 0]

1 qm ~ 11 sf (If I recall correctly)

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

[Lindsey 0]

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1 qm ~ 11 sf (If I recall correctly)

See...you had to think about it. Is it something worth thinking about? Naaaaaa. Don't think so....lol.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[mnealtx 0]

LOL...had to dredge it up from memory, from when I was living in Germany.

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

[rhys 0]

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whats so difficult about 3 * 5.5 = 16.5L. For me, its easier to multiply by 3 than divide by 25.

Agreed.

division has always been harder than multiplication.

but that depends on who's brain we are talking about.

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

[shropshire 0]

>


Bwaaaaaaaa

but it doesn't help when some countries can't even measure a Gallon correctly.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[crwtom 0]

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What's the midpoint of a 7 and 3/16" wide board? 3 1/2 plus 3/8" on your tape measure.

What's the midpoint of a 15.125 cm wide board? You have to think to come up with 7.5625 cm.

This doesn't have much to do with the unti system since you're not
relating units but just expressing one of them in fractions. (You
may as well also measure in 3/16 cm if you wish)

Plus the fractional notation is an advantage only of the denominators
are what you use in applications - tha is half points, quarter points,
etc. If you'd have to divide distances in 3rds and 5ths you'd have a
relatively straight forward calculation in decimal numbers in the
decimal system - but you'd really have to remember your fractions
from high school if you need to do this in the fractional (base=2)
system (which is a problem with many college freshmen I teach).

Another one on conversion of units within a system. Who can
tell me how many inches are in a mile without looking stuff up
or using paper/calculators. This is a much easier exercise if
you ask how many cm's are in a km.

Cheers, T

*******************************************************************
Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

[ypelchat 0]

Quote

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?

What's wrong about bizarre mesurement systems?

My truck weighs 331,63 stones.
In fact, it actually weighs 331,63823154382298928755916116616 stones.

It's all in the maths.

Yves.

[dorbie 0]

Quote

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?

Nonsense. That is merely defining a standard quantity as a property of a physical object. Ensuring that units at different scales operate with a consistent numerical base which humans use for counting and units & their products (etc.) interract to produce other consistent base 10 values has great value. Having ONE consistent system also makes sense, and using the same standard definition for terms and properties within that system is so obvious that anything else seems downright idiotic. I'm not sure why anyone would argue for a medeival system of weights & measures, "that's what I grew up with" is not a strong argument, it's just inflicting your flawed past on the future.

I still think in miles w.r.t. distances, and gallons & pints w.r.t. gasoline & milk. Conversion from kilometers is trivial but there's an instant intuitive gap there thanks to generations of hold-outs who contaminated my thinking with their "traditional stupidity" a pox on them. Thomas Jefferson was right and should have been listened to. We should outlaw the use of all imperial measures (& related systems) and consign them to the history books ASAP.