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What system of measurement do you use/prefer at home? Personally? In your country?
I've always been torn between the two, as I spontaneously one or the other, depending on use. If its a chemistry class, or if I'm building and measuring something specific, then it has to be on metric. For everything else, ice cream, milk, paint, water, its Standard. Here are the pros of each system or measure
Advantages of Metric
1. Simple names. One unit per category and is only determined according to the prefix (centimeter, millimeter, dekameter, etc.) Less words to memorize than yard, feet, inches, etc. Also, the names are already an indication of their relation to one another.
2. Conversion by 10. Everything is divisible or multipliable by 10. There is no random arbitrary conversion from one unit to another say 12 inches = 1 foot, and how many feet are in a yard?
3. Use of 10 also fits to our number system, which is also based on 10. We simply move the decimal point if we need to change units - 101 meters = 10.1 dekameters = 1.01 hectometers = 0.101 kilometers.
Advantages of Standard
1. Standard goes more naturally with fractions - quarter of a pint, half foot, etc. Technically, you don't say half meter but rather 50 centimeters or 500 millimeters.
2. Standard units are more practical and convenient. No one goes to the grocery to buy 400ml drink, instead, they buy it in 12 ounces. No one buys 5 meters of wood, instead, they buy it is 1x1x12, all in feet.
What do you use? What do you think are the pros and cons of both system of measurement? Do you have specific examples in your country or personally where one is better than the other?
Poll: Standard or MetricMetric (meter, centimeter, kilometer) (3360) 85% Standard (inches, feet, yards) (581) 15% 3941 total votes Your vote: Standard or Metric (Vote): Standard (inches, feet, yards)
(Vote): Metric (meter, centimeter, kilometer)
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They all have their place for different things. For instance, in construction Standard is ... well... standard lol. Metric is easier to calculate, I think.
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Since when was the continental or imperial system called standard? That seems very US-Centric, and as to the question I use imperial because I'm in the US and we do dumb things like teach kids this system but I think we should 100% switch to metric.
Edit - Also those reasons to use standard seem to be based on having been taught standard in the first place, it's only more intuitive if it's what you grew up with, I'm sure 400 ml could be just as intuitive as 12 ounces if it's what you're used to.
Also relevant - The Oatmeal
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Standard because the US is nonsensical and refuses to adapt.
Edit: Also people say half a meter, half a kilometer, etc, all the time.
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I'm from country that doesn't use standard but when I'm drawing I think about things in feets and inches. I have no idea why, though, heheh.
I wonder if in USA where you use standard, you also use metric?
No one buys 5 meters of wood, instead, they buy it is 1x1x12, all in feet.
but that's using 3rd dimension also, right?
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hey look, i'm american.
yea, if the imperial system wasn't so ingrained in my life, i would use the metric system. it just makes so much more sense.
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I use both. Being in the USA, we are forced to use Standard, but metric is by far the better system, so I use that a lot as well.
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On December 09 2011 13:38 Ryndika wrote:
I'm from country that doesn't use standard but when I'm drawing I think about things in feets and inches. I have no idea why, though, heheh.
I wonder if in USA where you use standard, you also use metric?
Only in science class :/
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On December 09 2011 13:35 Nothingtosay wrote:
Standard because the US is nonsensical and refuses to adapt.
Edit: Also people say half a meter, half a kilometer, etc, all the time.
but then it is not technically appropriate, because the metric system is designed to have specific measures for fractions, like 500 meters or so. saying half a kilometer borrows from the logic of standard system, though there is nothing wrong with it
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As an American, I am both confused and angered by the metric system.
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Just in case this isn't a troll thread, the metric system is the standard in every country in the world except the US.
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I use both because we're taught both.
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2. Standard units are more practical and convenient. No one goes to the grocery to buy 400ml drink, instead, they buy it in 12 ounces. No one buys 5 meters of wood, instead, they buy it is 1x1x12, all in feet.
I don't understand what you mean. I don't buy 12 ounce drinks, I buy 50cl ones. I don't even know what an ounce is.
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metric, cause i'm canadian, and I think outside of the US, people buy their drinks in mL, and everything else in metric (except like cygnus said, in construction) I honestly can't think of any advantages to using standard other than the fact that it's already being used and changing to metric causes too much of a hassle
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On December 09 2011 13:41 Medrea wrote:
As an American, I am both confused and angered by the metric system.
You don't represent us.
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On December 09 2011 13:38 Ryndika wrote:I'm from country that doesn't use standard but when I'm drawing I think about things in feets and inches. I have no idea why, though, heheh. I wonder if in USA where you use standard, you also use metric? but that's using 3rd dimension also, right?
please tell me where i can buy 0.3x0.3x3.6 meter wood
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Bottles of soda are sold in both standard and metric.
Take for instance, the 2 Liter bottle of soda.
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Well, it depends.
For academics (the sciences), I would only ever use Metric: the scientific world IS IN metric.
Otherwise, I use 'standard', for normal conversation (simply because most people would talk in feet, pounds, etc).
As far as I know, it's the same for most people living in 'standard' countries.-
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On December 09 2011 13:43 zeru wrote:Show nested quote +On December 09 2011 13:41 Medrea wrote:
As an American, I am both confused and angered by the metric system. Eeeeh, explain why? whats there to be confused about. It's about as simple and optimized as it can be.
Its joke, ok?
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EPT
