re: The metric system is indeed superior

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i dont think you know the definition of the word precise.

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Dude we've been here for like 10 years and known each other. Do you picture me as stupid?

If the metric system is so much more precise then why do they insist on giving their weight in stones?

Lady loses 13 stone after being called "fat"

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I'm a trim carpenter not a framer. I do crown, coffered ceilings ect. 16th of an inch is usually good enough though.

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16th of an inch is absolutely good enough. I worked a summer with my FIL who is a well-regarded contractor and finish carpenter. I could probably count the times we measured anything in 16ths on one hand.

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But here’s the thing, I find it so difficult to abstractly understand the magnitude of something when told to me in metric system units. 15 km? 42 C? 150 kg? Oh you mean 9.32 miles, 107.6 F, 330.69 lbs?

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Exactly. It's a better system, but when you don't use it, it is basically Greek to you.

When I see the temperature is going to be 36 C in Mexico, I have no clue if it's hot or cold.

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The metric system may be superior but I still don't know how to dress when it's 12 degrees centigrade outside.

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But do you know how to dress when it’s 285 kelvin?

More precise than grams and milligrams?

More precise than centimeters? Millimeter?

When it comes to nuts and bolts metric is much easier. Less sizes/thread pitches

We should switch to Decimal Time too.

Wiki Link to Decimal Time

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But here’s the thing, I find it so difficult to abstractly understand the magnitude of something when told to me in metric system units. 15 km? 42 C? 150 kg?

Oh you mean 9.32 miles, 107.6 F, 330.69 lbs?

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See, here’s why I think it’ll never change for Americans - there’s simply no real need.

Nearly every highly technical field has their own set of “common” units they use. Oil is measured in barrels, horses are measured in hands, surveyors use chains, sailors have fathoms and cables, astronomers use light-years and solar masses, farmers have bales, and don’t even get started with physicists (with our barns, foes, electron-volts, sieverts, plancks, shakes, merus, etc.).

Point being that once you progress beyond common usage an industry usually has their own system of measurement that is highly case specific and not very applicable to everyday conversation. Therefore, there’s no significant benefit to changing the system with which people are most familiar.


Personally my favorite unit is furlongs-per-fortnight.