The2ndAmendment
Gold Member
I noticed that I do a lot of raw calculation in metric (especially areas and volumes), but when I finally need to apply the "output" of the calculation, I always convert to imperial units.
Quite simply, I can split a foot into 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 very easily (and 8 or 1.5 inches per part), as well as (assuming a 1/16 ruler) any division that is quantized in 1/32 inches (such as 1 foot divided by 12
The only time I don't convert to imperial is when I'm splitting into 5's, 7's, 10's or 11's. However, if I need 5, 7, 10, or 11 pieces of DISCRETIONARY length (decoration/etc), I'll still use imperial.
But, this is not the only reason I defend the metric system, if that were really it, I'd side with the Metric people.
A more important reason: The people who NEED to use metric already do, scientists, engineers, big businesses, etc. It would impair them NOT to.
However, metric units are not needed for the common man! A tablespoon is not only more familiar, but also more USEFUL, the same applies to a foot, inch or yard. A mile means "a thousand paces." When phrased this way, as it was to me when I was a child, once I could comprehend the meaning of "1000" I could also comprehend the meaning of 1000 paces.
Quite simply, the mile is more useful. A thousand miles? That's 1,000,000 paces! That's 1000 paces, repeated 1000 times --- I certainly know I am not making that WALK in a day or two! At 20,000 paces a day, 5 days a week (2 days of rest, therefore 100,000 paces a week), I'll be there in about 10 weeks!
In the modern day however, many of of us think of miles in "time traveled in car." We know that every 10 miles is about 20 minutes (2-1 conversion). 100 miles is about 3 hours. 1000 miles is about 30 hours, or a 3 day drive (up to 5 days depending on plans).
Wait, all these zeros, doesn't it sound like metric? Yep, it does!
But it isn't mainly about the conversions either, because it if was, I would still favor metric.
The "ultimate" reason has already been stated: Imperial (traditional) units simply make more sense in day to day affairs. When we hear a "yard" we think of a pace. A foot, well we think of a man's foot. A tablespoon? No need to say what that is either.
In the UK, most people still think in "stones" and "pounds," contrary to what you may have heard. Yes, they are, by Law, a Metric state, but no one goes into a store in the UK and asks for a kilogram of meat. Ask any friend you may know from the UK.
In defence of imperial units - Stake Ventures
I came across that article since I was researching who else thought there was a reason to keep imperial units around.
Ultimately, traditional units are more relate-able to humans, not just simply more familiar.
Quite simply, I can split a foot into 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 very easily (and 8 or 1.5 inches per part), as well as (assuming a 1/16 ruler) any division that is quantized in 1/32 inches (such as 1 foot divided by 12
The only time I don't convert to imperial is when I'm splitting into 5's, 7's, 10's or 11's. However, if I need 5, 7, 10, or 11 pieces of DISCRETIONARY length (decoration/etc), I'll still use imperial.
But, this is not the only reason I defend the metric system, if that were really it, I'd side with the Metric people.
A more important reason: The people who NEED to use metric already do, scientists, engineers, big businesses, etc. It would impair them NOT to.
However, metric units are not needed for the common man! A tablespoon is not only more familiar, but also more USEFUL, the same applies to a foot, inch or yard. A mile means "a thousand paces." When phrased this way, as it was to me when I was a child, once I could comprehend the meaning of "1000" I could also comprehend the meaning of 1000 paces.
Quite simply, the mile is more useful. A thousand miles? That's 1,000,000 paces! That's 1000 paces, repeated 1000 times --- I certainly know I am not making that WALK in a day or two! At 20,000 paces a day, 5 days a week (2 days of rest, therefore 100,000 paces a week), I'll be there in about 10 weeks!
In the modern day however, many of of us think of miles in "time traveled in car." We know that every 10 miles is about 20 minutes (2-1 conversion). 100 miles is about 3 hours. 1000 miles is about 30 hours, or a 3 day drive (up to 5 days depending on plans).
Wait, all these zeros, doesn't it sound like metric? Yep, it does!
But it isn't mainly about the conversions either, because it if was, I would still favor metric.
The "ultimate" reason has already been stated: Imperial (traditional) units simply make more sense in day to day affairs. When we hear a "yard" we think of a pace. A foot, well we think of a man's foot. A tablespoon? No need to say what that is either.
In the UK, most people still think in "stones" and "pounds," contrary to what you may have heard. Yes, they are, by Law, a Metric state, but no one goes into a store in the UK and asks for a kilogram of meat. Ask any friend you may know from the UK.
StakeVentures Wherein our protagonist chronicles his thoughts and experiences in startups, banking, code and the world.
In defence of imperial units
Posted by Pelle August 28th, 2007 18 comments
The imperial units such as pounds, inches and feet have been receiving a fair about of criticisms and ridicule in the blogosphere recently (of course I can’t find the posts I’ve stumbled upon recently). Around learned people and in international crowds this is bound to happen fairly often. Of course the battle has been going on for centuries.
As someone who grew up in Denmark with the metric system yet also grew up making pancakes from recipes in the Joy of CookingI am fairly used to both systems and would like to take a bit of a contrarian defense of Imperial Units..
Let me first state that I like both systems of units and both have their uses. Also contrary to the argumentation of many European’s you are not stupid if you don’t understand metric, nor the other way around.
So the big advantage of the metric system is that it is easy to convert say from centimeters to meters to kilometers by cutting or adding 0’s off the end of a number. There in lies it’s genius.
Many people also add that the metric system is based on real verifiable physical properties such as the distance travelled by light in an absolute vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second. I would like to say that this is about as useless and arbitrary in daily life that seriously, who cares? Scientists and engineers do of course, but in daily use no one else.
So I’d say conversion and international standards are the most important aspects of metric units. However the fact that all units are based of decimal multiples of each other in some form or the other, is also the cause of the largest usability problem with it.
The metric system was originally developed by scientists during the enlightenment, but became the political tool it is today as part of the French revolution, yes it was brought to you by the good folks who also brought you the guillotine. Thus it was imposed on people from above to better their lives. This is also what has happened every other country in the world except it appears the US, Liberia and Myanmar (metrics that is, not the guillotine):
While standardized differently various parts of the world the Imperial Units essentially evolved organically over thousands of years by people. While prior to standardization not very precise measures were possible, they were all based on real world reference points that gave you an idea of their uses.
Thus a foot is well the length of a human foot. Miles come from the latin word for thousand and basically means 1000 paces and goes back to the roman days. A cup, is well a cup. An inch is a thumb length.
Most of the old units are gone now, but the most useful ones are still with us. Why? Well because they reflect useful sizes in daily use. So if you take a moment and look at it from a usability dimension like most of us web application designers like to think we can do.
A cup or a foot or a pound might just be more usable during actual daily use. Lets think about it. For measuring the length of something smallish like a notebook 15 inches just seems easier to relate to than 38 cm. I’m sure a psychologist could explain it better.
When measuring a room feet just seems an easier unit to eyeball. I could eyeball meters but not as exactly as with feet. The keyword here is eyeballing. Anything that can be eyeballed more or less might be easier to use with imperial units.
Cups and pounds relate much better to real portion sizes in a traditional home kitchen. Almost all recipe’s call for a pound of meat as it’s a kind of natural portion amount of meat to cook with. The same with cups of liquid. It’s way more natural to use a cup of liquid as the base of a recipe than deciliters.
That is the beauty of the imperial system is that because they were evolved and not specified they are naturally easier for us to relate to. In other words for the uses they were originally designed they are more usable.
However the needs of engineers, scientists and 7th grade maths students are very different. It is obviously a lot easier when you are trying to understand or change the world to have a common frame of reference and easy conversions. For them the metric system is great.
Everyone says the US is not metric. What that means is that the US hasn’t invented a law yet to say that we’re metric. This is all it means. For all intents and purposes the Americans who need to be metric are metric. Scientist, engineers, big business and designers already metric.Why? Because it makes sense for them in their trades. Almost all grocery’s also have metric units listed on the packaging.
Why do ordinary people have to be forced into using metrics in their kitchen or measuring their living room prior to going to Ikea? The answer is they don’t. The metrification map
I linked to above shows pretty much a metric world. But what it doesn’t tell you is what people still use in daily use.
England is listed as being metric. That is a joke. Everyone in England thinks in pounds, stones (yes stones), miles and feet. Panama is listed as being metric since the 20s. But if you go to the meat counter in the super market and order “medio kilo de carne molida” you will receive blank stares (and possibly a “gringo loco” under the breath). They use pounds, inches etc just like the US.
Obviously there are lots of countries that are metric, such as Denmark, Germany and Franche. But even highly metric Denmark still has remnants of it’s evolved units that stubbornly refuses to die purely for reasons of usability. Recipe’s don’t talk about using 15 milliliter’s worth of sugar but 1 tablespoon.
I’m sure every country has still got their own traditionally evolved units in use in the markets, kitchen or even hidden in standardized portion size.
In defence of imperial units - Stake Ventures
I came across that article since I was researching who else thought there was a reason to keep imperial units around.
Ultimately, traditional units are more relate-able to humans, not just simply more familiar.
