[X] My Assistant

Metric
Pros: Easily convertible between its own equivalent scales 🤓
Cons: No feet 😢

Imperial
Pros: Has feet 🥵
Cons: Difficult to convert between its different measurement types 🤔

You can vote in the poll or share other relevant pros and cons

I use imperial measurements for working on old cars.

Or using my lathe.

I also used imperial when I used to buy weed back in the day.

I use imperial measurements for working on old cars.

Or using my lathe.

I also used imperial when I used to buy weed back in the day.

Why are so many of my tools in imperial measurements?

*shakes fist at spanners*

Why are so many of my tools in imperial measurements?

*shakes fist at spanners*

Holden and Ford phased out imperial and switched to metric in the early 90's.

Most motors made by Briggs and Stratton are 50% imperial which is very irritating.

A lot of engineering stuff is still imperial too.

EDDY:



This post has been edited by Mags_: May 29 2025, 19:38

Holden and Ford phased out imperial and switched to metric in the early 90's.

Most motors made by Briggs and Stratton are 50% imperial which is very irritating.

A lot of engineering stuff is still imperial too.

Yeah. My car is a bit unusual, its got a lot of imperial bits because a lot of the old TRD guys worked on Holden / Ford super cars / race teams. Even though TRD Australia closed down Toyota sponsored the TRD racing series, now its the GR racing series.

It confuses the shite out of the Toyota dealers how my car has new TRD parts even though TRD Australia closed in 2009.

The original Formula Atlantic 4AGE used a lot of imperial US parts as well... So now I have a Formula Atlantic spec FA20 and the mix of metric and imperial.

The United States goes by imperial/US customary units and I like it because it's easier to understand. We tried doing the metric system but no one wanted to bother learning it. Also Fahrenheit is easier to understand than Celsius, imo. I think the attitude is we're the United States, eff the rest of the world. Same as speak English when you come here or piss off, etc.

But we do have metric listed on food labels and measuring cups. Every American knows what a 2 liter soda is. With my sinus medicine, I use the mL amount that's on the dosage cup. When I watch documentaries, the scientific community uses metric no matter where they're from.

One thing I've noticed is kilometer used to be pronounced kil-OM-iter, now I hear it being pronounced KIL-o-meter.

imperial = freedom units

(IMG:[thumbs.dreamstime.com] https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/second-amendment-gun-control-us-concept-handgun-bullets-american-constitution-usa-flag-115234860.jpg)

This post has been edited by physics152: Jun 2 2025, 03:30

Freedom units... like... 9x19mm Luger?

The United States goes by imperial/US customary units and I like it because it's easier to understand

This one is so easy to disproof. From my personal experience - average adult US gamer has no idea how many yards are in a mile. Or yards in acre. Best case scenario they remember it's in thousands and not in hundreds.

We tried doing the metric system but no one wanted to bother learning it.

The funny thing about it is that now you have to learn 2 systems and end up knowing neither.

I think the attitude is we're the United States, eff the rest of the world. Same as speak English when you come here or piss off, etc.

It's good ol' exceptionalism. "We are great nation that knows better. We will enjoy our lead and asbestos cookware. Get owned, snowflakes" (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

This post has been edited by Benny-boy: Jun 10 2025, 16:22

It's remarkable what the French achieved by making the metric system. They needed a reference for something that had an immutable measurement and was accessible from anywhere in the world, and they used the Earth. Although the first calculation had a small margin of error, which was later corrected and used in England to make our current navigation and time coordinates with the Greenwich meridian

Meanwhile (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Well Because most of us grew up learning and using one or the other. The one we're used to is better (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) They are 2 things that provide the same function. Yes they are different and not compatible which I see as the only real issue. Measuring is measuring, whether its millimeters and metres or inches and yards the function of measuring is still accomplished. As long as you dont mix the 2 up. To us in the US its what we grew up with its what we learned, its how everything here is based around it and its always been that way. So even if the metric system is more simplified, our whole everything is based on the imperial standard. I mean everything. So can you imagine the fuckups trying to change and trying to apply metric measurements to things made with standard? A great example. NASA when calculating for sending one of their probes to Mars, Lockheed who built it gave specs for flying there in Standard. The JPL team the person made a mistake didnt convert standard to metric which is what they used to calculate navigation. The probe flew right into the planet. $125 million dollars ooops. We will probably never change over, not for any other reason than it would be a disaster and a nightmare and old school people would have to learn how to count all over LOL (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

This one is so easy to disproof. From my personal experience - average adult US gamer has no idea how many yards are in a mile. Or yards in acre. Best case scenario they remember it's in thousands and not in hundreds.
The funny thing about it is that now you have to learn 2 systems and end up knowing neither.
It's good ol' exceptionalism. "We are great nation that knows better. We will enjoy our lead and asbestos cookware. Get owned, snowflakes" (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

Well you got the "yards" thing wrong so you dont have any idea either LOL. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) So knowing how many yards are in a mile is a statement I've never even heard. And when would knowing that ever need to be known? BTW We dont use yards, except in football:) , we use feet. a mile is 5280 ft (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But so what? unless you're an engineer building a road thats useless information. To the average person there is no reason to know how many FEET are in a mile. And why would a gamer know that, or need to know that? Their stuck to the TV screen gaming. What a poor choice for an example lol.
And yards dont go into an acre either, its feet 1 acre = 43560 SQUARE ft not yards. IF you work in real estate or some other similar job where needing to know the size of a piece of land then this knowledge is not only helpful but crucial. Otherwise who cares. So we dont "have" to learn 2 systems. The imperial standard is so ingrained into everything in our society it would almost impossible to change over. It has nothing to do with "exceptionalism". Its just not a problem for us. I never hear anyone whining about the metric system, but you guys cry about it all the time. Its how we do it. You dont hear me complaining about how you do things in your house. its your house. This is our house and its how we do it. Get over it (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[www.facebook.com] Funny

[www.facebook.com] Funny

"This page is currently unavailable"

Also no spam pls, this is a serious debate

Well you got the "yards" thing wrong so you dont have any idea either LOL. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

And what exactly is wrong except your perception?

So knowing how many yards are in a mile is a statement I've never even heard. And when would knowing that ever need to be known? BTW We dont use yards, except in football:) , we use feet. a mile is 5280 ft (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But so what? unless you're an engineer building a road thats useless information. To the average person there is no reason to know how many FEET are in a mile. And why would a gamer know that, or need to know that? Their stuck to the TV screen gaming. What a poor choice for an example lol.
And yards dont go into an acre either, its feet 1 acre = 43560 SQUARE ft not yards. IF you work in real estate or some other similar job where needing to know the size of a piece of land then this knowledge is not only helpful but crucial. Otherwise who cares.

So you realize you have to know it for construction, real estate etc, but you downplay it because who cares. What a nice example of failure in education. You should also stop teaching how to write and read. Who cares? Do you want to be professor of something? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

So we dont "have" to learn 2 systems.

You still have to know metric for anything science related. Of anything related to other countries. Which is important for import-based economy btw (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

The imperial standard is so ingrained into everything in our society it would almost impossible to change over.

Change is nature of all life. People have changed systems for as long we existed. Of course it's fine to stay the way you are forever if you prefer to not adapt and disappear.

It has nothing to do with "exceptionalism".

It's textbook exceptionalism. Everyone knows it sucks but only you decided to stick with it and continue to argue that it's better.

It has nothing to do with "exceptionalism". Its just not a problem for us.

It's not a problem because you don't understand the problem. It's huge waste and the reason why you have to quarter everything.

I never hear anyone whining about the metric system, but you guys cry about it all the time. Its how we do it. You dont hear me complaining about how you do things in your house. its your house. This is our house and its how we do it. Get over it (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

You literally came to metric/imperial comparison topic and whining that people are comparing them. How soft can you be that you can't even stomach an idea that someone is comparing them? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[en.wikipedia.org] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile

The Romans divided their mile into 5,000 pedes (lit. 'feet'), but the greater importance of furlongs in the Elizabethan-era England meant that the statute mile was made equivalent to 8 furlongs or 5,280 feet in 1593.

[en.wikipedia.org] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furlong

The furlong (meaning furrow length) was the distance a team of oxen could plough without resting. ... An acre is an area that is one furlong long and one chain (66 feet or 22 yards) wide.

Every country had their own, different length mile, and before that,

The old English mile varied over time and location within England. ... The origins of English units are "extremely vague and uncertain", but seem to have been a combination of the Roman system with native British and Germanic systems both derived from multiples of the barleycorn.

It's an eminently practical system if the only standards you have access to are body parts, oxen and plant matter, and you rarely visit the next village over.

The second is an SI unit...

Since 1967, the second has been defined as exactly "the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom".

After several redefinitions, the numbers are kind of equally obtuse once you go down a few levels. How many French gamers remember the fixed numerical value of the caesium frequency?

How many French gamers remember the fixed numerical value of the caesium frequency?

Every French gamer that fails to remember the fixed numerical value of the caesium frequency is subjected to baguette, so at this point it's universal knowledge.

Putting aside the use of imperial dozenals and hexadecimal here, as they are their own reasonings for.

Forcing everything into base-10 is like arguing the 1950s era jello mold trend was the apex of culinary accomplishment. Different people have different jobs that call for distinct measures. Changing bases facilitates this.

It didn't help that USSR went metric first, then Americans thought it was some commie nonsense.