posted in Asklemmy
Why is the USA the only country who doesn’t use the metric system?
posted in Asklemmy
Why is the USA the only country who doesn’t use the metric system?
Replying to @Confidant6198@lemmy.ml
I’m old enough to remember when they tried to convert us to metric. I can tell you why.
People tried to force it on us and we don’t need the metric system for daily use. Trying to force people to use it isn’t going to work. Now, personally, I’d prefer if measurements on rulers and in cars were still given in both systems.
Metric advocates tend to be smug and insulting towards anyone not using the metric system. I have seen this myself more than once. Calling a whole nation stupid because they use a different but functional system of measurement is hardly a good strategy for converting them to your system.
I learned the metric system in school. I understand that the metric system is superior in many sciences. I have strong interests in anthropology. And here I am at 55 and I have never, not once, needed to use metric. Bone measurements are often given in metric but it’s not such a big issue that I need to wholly convert to metric.
My question is, what’s the big deal? Is the metric system a religion? I’ve seen evangelical Christians less intent on converting people. Why?
Replying to @Ghost_Mermaid@lemmy.zip
base 10 is way better than whatever the fuck cups, pints, ounces, different ounces, and so on are
Replying to @robot_dog_with_gun@hexbear.net
Functionally, what’s better about it? I mean, really.
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
way easier to learn/remember or to convert things in your head. less chance of getting it wrong.
but once you’ve spent years and years getting used to the mess that’s US customary measurements, you’ve already put the work in, so metric doesnt look that much easier (and if you’re unfamiliar with it, will look downright harder).
Replying to @huf@hexbear.net
Is it that much easier? I think y’all make US customary out to be more complicated than it is.
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
yes, it’s generally easier to remember 10 as the conversion number and nothing else, and it’s also easier not to have to add/multiply fractions of an inch in your head.
this also works between types of units, so it’s pretty simple to remember that 10cm^3 i’m a fucking idiot, it’s a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm cube, so 1000cm^3 is 1l is ~1kg of water, for example.
Replying to @huf@hexbear.net
I already know how many cups to a pint, pints to a quart, and quarts to a gallon there are bad fractions are so simple that we learn them in the 1st grade.
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
it’s still more stuff to remember than you have to in metric. but yes, of course, now that you’ve already spent years memorizing this shit and practicing fraction addition/multiplication in your head a lot, it seems easy to you.
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
Fractional math of a US tape measure is certainly more complicated than it needs to be. I’d rather just add and subtract directly than find the common denominator and subtract that in my head.
US car manufacturers got halfway through converting to metric, but decided to keep a few things that require SAE tools, cluttering up a garage or shop with slightly different tools.
Ounces vs fluid ounces is infuriating. So is having a recipe call for a pint of blueberries but blueberries are sold by the dry pint. Making larger or smaller portions in grams/weight is way easier than figuring out what sort of measuring spoon combinations you need for making a smaller/larger portion of a quart ingredient.
The only thing on US cars that isn’t metric these days may be bolt threads, but I’m pretty sure even those are metric now, except maybe for wheel nuts.
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
it’s so complicated i definitely don’t remember ounces in a pint or quart or yards in a mile, let alone any of the less common ones despite living in this shithole.
division by 10 is the easiest division you can have in base 10
Replying to @robot_dog_with_gun@hexbear.net
When have you ever needed to know yards in a mile?
Replying to @JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip
less often than knowing the mass of a volume of water would have been useful, which is trivial in metric.