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why is the US not Metric

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bsfeechannel:

--- Quote from: rstofer on February 25, 2020, 06:28:20 pm ---FWIW, I am not anti-metric
--- End quote ---

Yes, you are, because, according to you, metric is for the unit buff, not for the common man. However, the metric system was designed for everybody and for the use everywhere. The person in the street is the primary target of the metric system. It requires less calculations in practice and less math concepts to operate.

Since you people are denying this to everyone, you ARE NOT METRIC. And this is criminal.


--- Quote ---We aren't going to change our base units, ever, and foreigners are not going to impact our decision.
--- End quote ---

Yes. This is what must be hurting you the most. That, France, Europe or whatever, is in fact imparting benefits to the people in the US, not a local institution, like the government.

That's why I like your posts.


--- Quote ---This entire debate is meaningless because the person in the street doesn't care about units,
--- End quote ---

If that was true, standard units, metric, imperial or whatever, were not in place for the people to practice. The people in the street DO CARE about units, contrary to what you think.

The thing is that arguments like that are issued with the clear intention to quell the discussion about metrication in the US. However, after 55 pages, you can see that this is not working.


--- Quote ---doesn't understand metric and could care less about the subject.
--- End quote ---

If that is true, so much the better. Metrication will be quick and painless. Maybe you will have some reaction here and there but people will eventually get used to the metric system and will even fight to protect it once they realize how it makes their jobs easier.


--- Quote ---You do realize that France isn't highly regarded by the average Joe on the streets, right?  As soon as Joe finds out the standards are kept in Paris, the game is over.
--- End quote ---

No standards are kept in France. And it is assertions like that that gives us full authority to whiplash the crap out of your arguments, reject them outright and--why not?--have fun with them.

If the average Joe in the US thinks that the metric standards are kept in France, this tells us that the US is not that impressive. It cancels the glory you think it deserves, for example, from the the moon landings.


--- Quote ---Maybe if the standards were moved to Sweden the change would have better odds of happening.
--- End quote ---

The standards have been "moved" to Sweden, to Zambia, to Vietnam, to New Zealand, to Antarctica, and even to the US! In fact, any person in the street can have access to the standards in the comfort of their own homes, once they have the appropriate equipment which is not that expensive these days. You can even buy it on ebay.


--- Quote ---Everybody loves Sweden!
--- End quote ---

Who doesn't?


--- Quote ---Wait another 25 years and see if things have changed.
--- End quote ---

This thread will have 4125 pages.


--- Quote ---And we're still the only country to walk on the Moon.
--- End quote ---

And, by the looks of it, it will be the only one.

bsfeechannel:

--- Quote from: rdl on February 25, 2020, 08:40:48 pm ---I know it's been said before, but I'll repeat it anyway. Very few Americans care one way or the other what measurement system is used. Metric or US customary, we're fine with either and use both on a daily basis. I don't know why this is so hard for some people to understand.

--- End quote ---

I'll tell you what is hard.


--- Quote ---The US officially went Metric back in the seventies. Today, America is as Metric as it needs to be. No more, no less. Hand-wringing and fretting about it by random people on the internet will never make any difference.

--- End quote ---

First of all, the US went officially "metric" in the 19th century, not in the seventies.

If I were an E.T. and my spaceship crashed, say, in Roswell, I'd notice that customary units would be everywhere. So my conclusion would be that the US is not metric. Not even where it needs to be: in the streets.

So that's what is hard to accept: an argument that contradicts reality and logic with the only intent of censoring scrutiny.

rstofer:

--- Quote from: bsfeechannel on February 26, 2020, 05:07:22 pm ---
--- Quote from: rstofer on February 25, 2020, 06:28:20 pm ---You do realize that France isn't highly regarded by the average Joe on the streets, right?  As soon as Joe finds out the standards are kept in Paris, the game is over.
--- End quote ---

No standards are kept in France. And it is assertions like that that gives us full authority to whiplash the crap out of your arguments, reject them outright and--why not?--have fun with them.

--- End quote ---

Here is an article that claims THE international standard for the kg is kept in an underground vault in Paris.  I'm been to Paris but I wasn't searching for the vault.  Maybe the article is wrong, I wouldn't know.

https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/mathematics/el-sistema-metrico-la-medida-de-todo/

There are dozens of 'identical' copies but these are, at best, secondary standards.

The meter used to be a metal bar kept in, you guessed it, Paris!  Now it is defined based on the wavelength of a certain frequency of light.  This is easier to duplicate around the world.

I just know what I have read and I have to believe the article is based on some facts.  But, it's the Internet, facts are not in abundance.

angrybird:
The fact that people are arguing about this is beyond me.  It's just math.  You can convert between one and the other if you need to.  You can work with one or the other depending on your preference.  The fact that geographical areas historically picked one  vs. the other doesn't matter.

People who learned one in primary school are likely to stick with this for life, and forcing a sudden change on everyone is certain to cause more chaos than simply working with what we have... because it's just math.

The USA moved forward with the imperial system and is unlikely to change, and arguments to force this change are "piss in the wind".  Keep in mind that the citizens of the USA are in posession of upwards of a billion guns, many of these being the most dangerous kind, shotguns and hunting rifles, we're not talking BB guns here.  It's adviseable to not force them to do anything, especially something this pointless.  I think they're already ready to start shooting over this emotional politics/media nonsense going on.

Go learn math, stop urinating into a headwind, and marvel at the fact that the USA is free to stay the way they are no matter what some educated yet clueless makers, hobbyists, and engineers think.

Go drink a beer!

rstofer:
We'll know when there is a movement to convert:  You will see people in the streets wearing "Make America Metric" T-shirts and baseball caps.  Or, if you don't want to wander our streets, look up in the sky.  Do you see pigs flying?  That would be a sign!

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