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The conversions don't have rhyme or reason yes, but the imperial system is based on ease of use for laymen.
Look at temperature - in C, 0 degrees is fairly cold and 100 degrees is extremely hot. But weather temperatures in most places only fluctuate between like 5C and 30c, so you're barely using any of the scale. In F, weather temperatures usually go between 0 and 100ish , making it a lot easier to say how relatively hot or cold it is.
Same for feet and inches. Most things humans deal with on a daily basis are still smaller than a meter long, and it's harder to think about 30 centimeters than it is to use 1 foot, and nobody uses decimeters.
I'll give benefit of the doubt on miles vs kilometers though - the only reason we use them in the States is that our country is so freaking big that a larger unit of measure is more convenient.
[+]goatboy1 point7 points8 points
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[–]goatboy1 point
7 points
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No. I'm pissed that we haven't adopted a new base 2 binary system, or a base e system, or a base pi system, or a base i (as in the sqrt of -1) based system, or a polar coordinate based system, or a system based on the average daily growth of beard hair. We could use whatever system we want, but are stuck using only the US Customary or the Metric system. The problem is the model of measurement we use informs the modes of thinking we restrict ourselves to. The base 12 system of the Babylonians probably arose from counting time at night using one's knuckles when looking at constellation's rising. This made them interested in dividing circles evenly, and were fascinated by stars and the zodiac. The British were obsessed with land ownership and inheritances and their measurement system reflected the size of a king's foot to stake out the sovereign's claims to title. American cowboys were interested in the power of their horses and measured things by their hands and understood power in terms of horsepower.
The way we measure things shows what is important to our culture, but also our culture informs the way we evolve measuring things. The US customary units show intrinsic American stubbornness and rigor. The metric system shows the Austrian fascination with absolute precision, infinitely growing, infinitely dividing systems, efficiency, and ultimately- to uncertainty itself. Both systems have value, use, and elevate human consciousness in different and meaningful ways. However, they are not the only ways of understanding or biasing our views about the universe.
Nope. I'll use metric when millimeters make more sense than 16ths of an inch or grams are easier than fractions of an ounce, but aside from that, I prefer imperial to metric.
Dvorak keyboards are also limited by the advent of hotkeys and keyboard shortcuts. Even though typing is more efficient, you'll also have to relearn the muscle memory for a lot of different applications
No. I can use metric just fine but think people who cannot use other measurements are feeble minded. As a result, I find the rest of the world's use of metric kind of annoying. It makes it more difficult to tell if people are morons just by their abilitiy/inability to understand units of measurement. Actually, that's not even true. I just think it's funny we refused to go along with it when others foolishly adopted it.
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[–] Chronibus 3 points 16 points 19 points (+19|-3) ago
Yes.
[–] [deleted] 3 points 9 points 12 points (+12|-3) ago
[–] OneTrueCube 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
Eh, not exactly.
The conversions don't have rhyme or reason yes, but the imperial system is based on ease of use for laymen.
Look at temperature - in C, 0 degrees is fairly cold and 100 degrees is extremely hot. But weather temperatures in most places only fluctuate between like 5C and 30c, so you're barely using any of the scale. In F, weather temperatures usually go between 0 and 100ish , making it a lot easier to say how relatively hot or cold it is.
Same for feet and inches. Most things humans deal with on a daily basis are still smaller than a meter long, and it's harder to think about 30 centimeters than it is to use 1 foot, and nobody uses decimeters.
I'll give benefit of the doubt on miles vs kilometers though - the only reason we use them in the States is that our country is so freaking big that a larger unit of measure is more convenient.
[–] voat-ist 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Also, feet divide so nicely.
[–] voat-ist 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
You realize every system of measurement is completely arbitrary right?
[–] goatboy 1 point 7 points 8 points (+8|-1) ago (edited ago)
No. I'm pissed that we haven't adopted a new base 2 binary system, or a base e system, or a base pi system, or a base i (as in the sqrt of -1) based system, or a polar coordinate based system, or a system based on the average daily growth of beard hair. We could use whatever system we want, but are stuck using only the US Customary or the Metric system. The problem is the model of measurement we use informs the modes of thinking we restrict ourselves to. The base 12 system of the Babylonians probably arose from counting time at night using one's knuckles when looking at constellation's rising. This made them interested in dividing circles evenly, and were fascinated by stars and the zodiac. The British were obsessed with land ownership and inheritances and their measurement system reflected the size of a king's foot to stake out the sovereign's claims to title. American cowboys were interested in the power of their horses and measured things by their hands and understood power in terms of horsepower.
The way we measure things shows what is important to our culture, but also our culture informs the way we evolve measuring things. The US customary units show intrinsic American stubbornness and rigor. The metric system shows the Austrian fascination with absolute precision, infinitely growing, infinitely dividing systems, efficiency, and ultimately- to uncertainty itself. Both systems have value, use, and elevate human consciousness in different and meaningful ways. However, they are not the only ways of understanding or biasing our views about the universe.
[–] kayjewlers 1 point 6 points 7 points (+7|-1) ago
Metric is for math. Customary is for Humans
[–] watch_listed 2 points 4 points 6 points (+6|-2) ago
Nope. I'll use metric when millimeters make more sense than 16ths of an inch or grams are easier than fractions of an ounce, but aside from that, I prefer imperial to metric.
[–] [deleted] 4 points 2 points 6 points (+6|-4) ago
[–] OneTrueCube 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Dvorak keyboards are also limited by the advent of hotkeys and keyboard shortcuts. Even though typing is more efficient, you'll also have to relearn the muscle memory for a lot of different applications
[–] NZ_MPS 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
This post is asking an opinion, people answer, and others are down voting, wtf?
[–] Thisismyvoatusername 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
No. I can use metric just fine but think people who cannot use other measurements are feeble minded. As a result, I find the rest of the world's use of metric kind of annoying. It makes it more difficult to tell if people are morons just by their abilitiy/inability to understand units of measurement. Actually, that's not even true. I just think it's funny we refused to go along with it when others foolishly adopted it.