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On December 09 2011 13:56 Keyboard Warrior wrote:Show nested quote +On December 09 2011 13:45 Malikari wrote:On December 09 2011 13:40 Keyboard Warrior wrote: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 Couldn't we argue then that saying "half a foot" isn't appropriate either, since you have "6 inches."? Fractions are in both systems >_> the key word there is [b]technically[/d]
The metric system uses the same base term and only needs to invoke prefixes for powers of ten. Not all fractions. It's much more efficient and simple.
The American standard system uses nearly no noticeable patterns, no common base terms, and uses nearly arbitrary numbers like 12, 3, and 5280.
Metric >>>>>>>>> American Standard. And I'm American.
+ Show Spoiler +And I have a background in mathematics and math education.
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On December 09 2011 13:56 Keyboard Warrior wrote:Show nested quote +On December 09 2011 13:45 Malikari wrote:On December 09 2011 13:40 Keyboard Warrior wrote: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 Couldn't we argue then that saying "half a foot" isn't appropriate either, since you have "6 inches."? Fractions are in both systems >_> the key word there is technically
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/technically
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
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Standard/Imperial is harder to learn, therefore it's easier than eating a slice of pie to obtain the knowledge of metric.
However, going from Metic->Standard is a lot like going from Spanish->English, good luck with that.
It's harder, therefore I like knowing it as my first measurement learned, same way I like English being my first language. Yes, other systems are easier/faster to learn, but If you know the hard stuff first, you suddenly know everything else and "reverting back to old habits" is reverting back to a harder, more challenging system.
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Height is the only thing I don't use metric for. I always say 5"X instead of how many cm tall
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On December 09 2011 13:58 KazeHydra wrote:
Because I live in the U.S., I grew up using "standard" all the time. Once I started doing math/physics/chem problems, I learned to despise the idiocy of this system. Metric makes so much more sense; however, I can't help but continue using English units in every day conversations because I'm too accustomed to it (plus, no one I talk to would be able to easily convert it). And as others have said, metric is standard everywhere except America.
If we did things based on how much they make sense in math and in science we would use base 12 math which is much easier to do by hand then base 10. Which frankly in the US was taught along with base 8, when we were pushing the New Math deal during the cold war. But then we got calculators and got lazy.
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This isn't a personsal choice, if you live in the US you probably use a mix depending on what you are doing. Hard science stuff has a ton of metric, other than that most people I know use standard in everyday conversations or to describe height and such. IF you live outside the US you probably use pure metric.
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I like standard. I never use metric unless I'm looking at my kilometers per hour on my dash lol.
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In Sweden, the only time I use inches is when talking about things that have to do with construction (wood, nails, etc) and feet for measurement of boats. ^^
On December 09 2011 14:04 semantics wrote:Show nested quote +On December 09 2011 13:58 KazeHydra wrote:
Because I live in the U.S., I grew up using "standard" all the time. Once I started doing math/physics/chem problems, I learned to despise the idiocy of this system. Metric makes so much more sense; however, I can't help but continue using English units in every day conversations because I'm too accustomed to it (plus, no one I talk to would be able to easily convert it). And as others have said, metric is standard everywhere except America. If we did things based on how much they make sense in math and in science we would use base 12 math which is much easier to do by hand then base 10.
How is base 12 math easier to do by hand than base 10 math? Sure, you might be more used to one or the other, but I'm quite sure that being able to just cross off zeros makes base 10 math easier.
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What you call standard and what actually is the imperial units system is pretty much obsolete in most countries of the world excluding the USA (and to some extent, the UK). The only usage for any imperial units I can think of in Poland is TV / monitor diagonal.
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"Standard"?
Anyway, I use a mix of measurements depending on context because that's how my country is. There's no doubt that metric is objectively superior, however.
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Really, I wouldn't claim to use either. I use the standard system for what I need, being in the U.S., but being in physics I mainly use the S.I. units or various types of natural units.
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I live in Canada and I use both consistently... So does everyone around me. We (at least those I know) understand both and use both all the time.. I use inches, feet, centimeters, meters and yards all quite often.
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On December 09 2011 13:40 Keyboard Warrior wrote:Show nested quote +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
I really don't get this point about technical appropriateness at all. I know a half liter is 500 mL, seems like a pretty exact measurement to me.
That being said, I still use 6'0" and 175 lbs for my personal info though I do know the metric equivalent. Probably has to do with being so close to the US. Growing up, pro athlete info was always given in the Imperial format. And then when we talk about hard liquor, it's usually a 26 or 40 etc. (fluid oz).
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I could always understand why Americans made spelling simpler (e.g. colour -> color etc.). I don't agree but I understand it. But the imperial system is just so silly and arbitrary. Reminds me of American dates month/day/year. wtf? why!? where do you get that order from?! D:
I reckon this poll would correlate almost perfectly to a "Do you live in the US?" poll.
Oh and going out to buy 12 ounces of milk sounds totally wack to me. Probably how going out to buy 400ml of milk sounds to you. And I say half a litre, half a km etc. all the time. I don't see how that is any different to saying half an foot? You could go down to the lower unit in both cases?
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Metric makes more sense but it doesn't really make a difference in my day to day life. If I have to travel 5 kilometers it doesn't really help that I can quickly convert it to 5,000 meters. And if I have to travel 5 miles it doesn't matter that I can't easily convert that into 26,400 feet.
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standard is the metric system fyi
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On December 09 2011 13:47 Orcasgt24 wrote:
Metric for absolutly everything except football.
^^word
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I use imperial for everyday stuff because I understand it better (I especially hate km/h, mph is so much easier).
But metric is all I use for physics or chemistry, as it is the worldwide standard and easier to calculate.
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American standard system only has its advantages because we're so used to using them. I personally cannot think in metric, except for a few exceptions , which are generally the sciences. For me personally, I'm a student of civil engineering, so I will have to know both, as standards vary tremendously between countries and codes. It will, simply put, be beneficial for me to know both.
If Americans intends to switch over, it will have to do so very gradually. I would imagine we would have to print both on everything, while teaching metric exclusively in school. Eventually, it might switch over.
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EPT
