General > General Technical Chat
why is the US not Metric
schmitt trigger:
For me, the solution has been to become fully "bilingual" between Metric and Imperial.
I can use either system indistinctly, based on what suits me.
For instance, with respect to weather temperature I like Fahrenheit best, since it provides greater resolution without resorting to decimals.
But for heatsink calculations I will always use metric units.
ebastler:
--- Quote from: KL27x on November 18, 2019, 05:18:20 pm ---America is basically metric, already, in any way that matters to other countries, other than:
1. How americans communicate distances to each other
2. Car market, re odomoter/speedometer.
--- End quote ---
And volumes. And weights. And temperatures. Oh, and funky thread sizes -- 5/16" anyone?
I am pleasantly surprised that we all agree that an hour has 60 minutes. ;)
KL27x:
^None of that other stuff matters, though. It's just a label on a container. You sell us the same stuff, just with oz printed on it, or whatnot. We don't care. It doesn't matter.
Except for the fasteners. I've said before, I live here my whole life and my wrenches are metric. Only metric. And changing to metric does not change the screws and lathes. The mill beds, the taps, the wrenches and bits. No matter how may times you give them the bulletin, "we are metric, now!!!" they do not change size and shape to metric. Some things stay the way they are for actual reasons, and not arrogance or stubbornness. These machines and tools and fasteners are not just in America. They exist and are still used in many other countries which are officially metric.
The industrial revolution was led by Britain. Not France. Machining and fastener technology goes back to the 1800's. England spread their standard all around the world. In some ways, fasteners are not metric or imperial. They are what they are. And it was dumb for metric revolutionaries to reinvent this wheel just to fit a new paradigm. Well, this is not what happened, exactly. Let's say we had two competing fastener standards being spread by various war/trade empires through history. Spreading their particular brand of junk across other countries who would otherwise not have given 2 shits. And the legacy of these two competing standards is still around. It does not go away after America says "we're metric, now!" The problem is not in America and not solvable by America. To fix this, you need a time machine. Because this cat already got out of the bag, and he crapped everywhere.
I have lived in the north, and I have driven a few times to Canada. The only difference you notice between a metric country and ours is the road signs and the liters at the gas station. Big whoopie cushion, right?
W/e problems imperial causes to your life in your country, this is the same problems we have here in America. And changing to metric does not fix any of these real issues. We are all still in the same boat, which is the same size and shape and length no matter how you measure it.
People complaining about test questions in school seem to be the only legit complaint. Yes, if we remove the ability to convert units from our education, we can all be dumber.
soldar:
--- Quote from: Simon on October 26, 2019, 08:44:46 pm --- litres per 100km alwoys confused me. I mean why?
--- End quote ---
Because that is how normal people think. A normal person thinks "hmmm, I would like to go visit my aunt Arleen who is 56 Km away; knowing the car uses 7.2 liters per 100 km then I can know I need 0.56 * 7.2 liters to go to her house".
Very few people think "hmm, I have 4 liters of fuel, how many Km can I travel with that and who lives at that distance so I can visit them".
In other words, when doing calculations the distance is given and the fuel is the quantity desired, not the other way around.
KL27x:
--- Quote from: soldar on November 18, 2019, 06:28:54 pm ---
--- Quote from: Simon on October 26, 2019, 08:44:46 pm --- litres per 100km alwoys confused me. I mean why?
--- End quote ---
Because that is how normal people think. A normal person thinks "hmmm, I would like to go visit my aunt Arleen who is 56 Km away; knowing the car uses 7.2 liters per 100 km then I can know I need 0.56 * 7.2 liters to go to her house".
Very few people think "hmm, I have 4 liters of fuel, how many Km can I travel with that and who lives at that distance so I can visit them".
In other words, when doing calculations the distance is given and the fuel is the quantity desired, not the other way around.
--- End quote ---
I don't care either way, personally. It's just one way to think or another.
Here's another example: threading. Metric goes by distance between each thread, or the pitch. 1mm, 0.8mm 1.25mm. Imperial goes by number of threads per inch. Tomato, tomato. Doesn't matter to me, either way, but.....
Saw blades go by TPI, or teeth per inch, in America, same as imperial threading. How they go in your country? Do they go by pitch? (Distance in mm between each tooth?) I'm curious how they call it in Canada or Australia... (I have heard Australia is still dominated by quarter inch and half inch routers, btw. I bet people still say TPI, there?)
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