Imperial System! WHAT THE FUCK!

[termis]

Some mentions of metric system here on previous posts.  I fucking hate imperial units!

How can anyone defend that shit?  Living in North America made me into a retard whenever I go anywhere else.  Who fucking uses miles anymore 'cept the UK & the US?  Even worse for fahrenheit -- even the goddamn poms use centigrade now.  Just fucking change the things already!  It's perfect timing anyway -- lot of unemployed fuckbags out there - make use of them and start to change shit over on roads.

And you Canadians don't get to escape this shit either.  How many Canadians really quote their height/weight in metric units (or even know it)? Go look at your fucking ovens and tell me whether it's in centigrade or fahrenheit.  Go look at your damn supermarkets, and tell me if they quote mainly in imperial units or metric.  Take a look at your food label and tell how they quote energy rating (is it in joules?!)!  How much How much power does your car make (in kW)? (answer: all imperial units)

Why, oh, why does this useless system of measurement still exist?  Why do BRAND NEW start-up companies in the U.S. decide to use SAE nuts & bolts to build their shit?!  Why do I even have to buy my fucking tools in both SAE and Metric for fucks sakes?  Get with the times! 

USE METRIC!

[albinoMithos]

FUCKIN' RIGHT! I'm tired of this shit too!  Fuck whoever came out with that imperial bullshit!!! It's grams, liters, and meters NOT ounces, pints, and miles.  Fuck that shit!!!!

[Blammo]

Let's go all the way and use only SI units.

All time should be measured in seconds, damn it. Seconds!

[Joe Redifer]

I don't hate Imperial and I don't hate Metric.  What I DO hate is the fact that we're not all using the same standard for measurements!

[termis]

I don't hate Imperial and I don't hate Metric.  What I DO hate is the fact that we're not all using the same standard for measurements!

That's exactly it!  Everyone else IS using the same standard measurements!

[rag-time4]

That's exactly it!  Everyone else IS using the same standard measurements!

Lucky there's a fighting street board termis or surely you'd be banned for talking metrics.

[albinoMithos]

Oh it's not just that everyone else is using SI units.  No, imperial units make no fucking sense.  Especially when you want to convert from one unit to another.  Wanna go from grams to kilograms?  Well guess what all you have to do is move a decimal place and BAM job done!  Wanna change from pounds to ounces?  Well I hope you have a conversion chart or the internet available because you're not doin' it otherwise.  Seriously fuck imperial.

[Turbo D]

Down with the metric system!

[guyjin]

Wanna change from pounds to ounces?  Well I hope you have a conversion chart or the internet available because you're not doin' it otherwise.  Seriously fuck imperial.

Uh, you can multiply by 16, right? It's obviously not as easy as metric, but it's not THAT complicated.

[albinoMithos]

Wanna change from pounds to ounces?  Well I hope you have a conversion chart or the internet available because you're not doin' it otherwise.  Seriously fuck imperial.

Uh, you can multiply by 16, right? It's obviously not as easy as metric, but it's not THAT complicated.

Again pointless.  Not that complicated doesn't matter.  Since we use a base-10 system it makes more sense to change units based on a base-10 conversion system.  Imperial isn't consistent with these conversions.  Even if we moved to a base-16 system even changing 1 fluid ounce to 1 pint which are both imperial units is stupid.  Hell I'm not even sure why the fuck it took NASA so long to change to metric but I'm glad they did.

[termis]

Again pointless.  Not that complicated doesn't matter.  Since we use a base-10 system it makes more sense to change units based on a base-10 conversion system.  Imperial isn't consistent with these conversions.  Even if we moved to a base-16 system even changing 1 fluid ounce to 1 pint which are both imperial units is stupid.  Hell I'm not even sure why the fuck it took NASA so long to change to metric but I'm glad they did. 

And fuckbags can't even get imperial measurements between countries straight.  A fucking pint _OR_ a gallon isn't even the same in the U.S. vs U.K!  You ask for a damn pint of beer, and the varying amount could be as large as _fifty_ fucking percent depending on what people deem to be a "pint".

[CrackTiger]

Even doing a lot of conversion to kilograms at my job, I still can't really judge weight accurately unless I use pounds. And human height only means anything to me in feet and inches. Otherwise I think of distance in metric units.

[Keranu]

Generally I prefer metric too and wish we all used the same system, BUT I do prefer Farenheight when used for weather.

[albinoMithos]

Generally I prefer metric too and wish we all used the same system, BUT I do prefer Farenheight when used for weather.

I think people prefer Fahrenheit because they've been conditioned to the range of temps to expect.  To me Centigrade and Kalvin make more sense and I think with enough time the general populace can be conditioned to use these scales as well.

[Ravij]

Hell I'm not even sure why the fuck it took NASA so long to change to metric but I'm glad they did. 

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric/

Not soon enough though! I can't believe any engineer would use Imperial units, almost any scientific or engineering calculations are 1000x easier in Metric.

[CrackTiger]

Generally I prefer metric too and wish we all used the same system, BUT I do prefer Farenheight when used for weather.

I forgot about temperature, it's probably the most extreme in that celsius makes sense (0 = freezing, 100 = boiling) but fahrenheit is just gibberish to me.

[TurboXray]

Again pointless.  Not that complicated doesn't matter.  Since we use a base-10 system it makes more sense to change units based on a base-10 conversion system.

Speak for yourself. I use base-16 all the time. What's next? Changing clocks to base-10 as well?

 Imperial System ftw!

[Tatsujin]

without further ado..it's time to use..METRIC!!!

[TurboXray]

 nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[albinoMithos]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Search your feelings you know it be true!!  Join me and embrace the full power of the metric side of the force!!!!

[NecroPhile]

Blah, blah, blah.  Oh noes!  The rest of the world uses the metric system.  Why can't the US conform?  Blah, blah, blah.

Quitcherbitchen.  What's next; should we decimalize music, adding H and J (Do Re Mi Fa So La Wo Bo Ti Do)?  Fuck the rest of the world and fuck you if you can't do simple math.  Buy a calculator or go audit a third grade math class and get up to speed. 

[guyjin]

You know what? Screw Celsius AND Farenheit. We should use Rankine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankine_scale

For example, today is a pleasant 515 degrees rankine.

[albinoMithos]

Blah, blah, blah.  Oh noes!  The rest of the world uses the metric system.  Why can't the US conform?  Blah, blah, blah.

Quitcherbitchen.  What's next; should we decimalize music, adding H and J (Do Re Mi Fa So La Wo Bo Ti Do)?  Fuck the rest of the world and fuck you if you can't do simple math.  Buy a calculator or go audit a third grade math class and get up to speed. 

It's not just about the rest of the world using metric.  That's not the point.  Imperial is just inefficient.  You try being a physicist, chemist, engineer, etc. using imperial and get back to me.  Music couldn't go with extra notes because, as or right now, the notes don't exist.  Hell imperial conversions tend to add cost to things because it's so ass to convert to.  Also why the fuck would I want to buy a calculator when I could be doing all the converting I need in my head?  That's stupid to do unnecessary work.  Dimensional analysis or not using imperial is retarded.

[NecroPhile]

It's not just about the rest of the world using metric.  That's not the point.  Imperial is just inefficient. 

So what is your point?  Smart people can multiply and divide by 16/12/whatever just as quickly as they can by 10; they are equally capable of memorizing a handful of conversion factors.  At least you're not afraid to admit your failings.

You try being a physicist, chemist, engineer, etc. using imperial and get back to me.

My career does happen to fall under etc., yet I have no problem working in imperial units.  Maybe it's because I don't suck.

Music couldn't go with extra notes because, as or right now, the notes don't exist.

Red Dwarf reference recognition fail.  You suck.

Hell imperial conversions tend to add cost to things because it's so ass to convert to.

Who gives a shitty fuck?  They should have started in imperial units to begin with.

Also why the fuck would I want to buy a calculator when I could be doing all the converting I need in my head?  That's stupid to do unnecessary work.

You obviously can't do all the converting in your head, else you wouldn't be bitching.  Many calculators are capable of doing all sorts of conversions with just the touch of a button, so maybe you should get one of those or move to metric loving France with all the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Dimensional analysis or not using imperial is retarded.

Agreed.  Not using imperial units is retarded.   Correct comma usage is for suckers!

[albinoMithos]

It's not just about the rest of the world using metric.  That's not the point.  Imperial is just inefficient. 

So what is your point?  Smart people can multiply and divide by 16/12/whatever just as quickly as they can by 10; they are equally capable of memorizing a handful of conversion factors.  At least you're not afraid to admit your failings.

You try being a physicist, chemist, engineer, etc. using imperial and get back to me.

My career does happen to fall under etc., yet I have no problem working in imperial units.  Maybe it's because I don't suck.

Music couldn't go with extra notes because, as or right now, the notes don't exist.

Red Dwarf reference recognition fail.  You suck.

Hell imperial conversions tend to add cost to things because it's so ass to convert to.

Who gives a shitty fuck?  They should have started in imperial units to begin with.

Also why the fuck would I want to buy a calculator when I could be doing all the converting I need in my head?  That's stupid to do unnecessary work.

You obviously can't do all the converting in your head, else you wouldn't be bitching.  Many calculators are capable of doing all sorts of conversions with just the touch of a button, so maybe you should get one of those or move to metric loving France with all the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Dimensional analysis or not using imperial is retarded.

Agreed.  Not using imperial units is retarded.   Correct comma usage is for suckers!

Ahem.  I could care less about correct comma usage read the sentence how you will, but it doesn't change my stance on things..  My point is that moving a decimal place is easier and faster than doing multiplication.  When I say I can do all the conversions in my head I am talking about metric.  I don't watch and never will watch Red Dwarf so you can go fuck off.  I don't suck at my profession, and I do happen to use metric daily.  And you ask who gives a shitty fuck if it imperial adds costs to things? Please people care about cost, and if things aren't in imperial to begin with then they aren't.  Again like I've said before memorizing conversions is all fine and good but why? Honestly I don't understand your hatred of metric.  Imperial is outdated, and utterly useless to the world.  I want standards here and easy ones at that.  Imperial doesn't provide that so I'm against it.

[NecroPhile]

Ahem.  I could care less about correct comma usage read the sentence how you will, but it doesn't change my stance on things..  My point is that moving a decimal place is easier and faster than doing multiplication.  When I say I can do all the conversions in my head I am talking about metric.  I don't watch and never will watch Red Dwarf so you can go fuck off.  I don't suck at my profession, and I do happen to use metric daily.  And you ask who gives a shitty fuck if it imperial adds costs to things? Please people care about cost, and if things aren't in imperial to begin with then they aren't.  Again like I've said before memorizing conversions is all fine and good but why?

Ahem.  You're taking this far to seriously.  Try to recognize the tone of threads, remember what forum you're in, and get a fucking sense of humor. 

Honestly I don't understand your hatred of metric.  Imperial is outdated, and utterly useless to the world.  I want standards here and easy ones at that.  Imperial doesn't provide that so I'm against it. 

I can see where you're coming from, but I honestly don't understand your hatred of imperial units (if working with non-base10 units were my most difficult and time consuming challenge, I'd piss down both legs with glee).  Anyway, it's simply amazing how many millions of products have been successfully engineered and built using such an outdated and utterly useless construct.

[albinoMithos]

Ahem.  I could care less about correct comma usage read the sentence how you will, but it doesn't change my stance on things..  My point is that moving a decimal place is easier and faster than doing multiplication.  When I say I can do all the conversions in my head I am talking about metric.  I don't watch and never will watch Red Dwarf so you can go fuck off.  I don't suck at my profession, and I do happen to use metric daily.  And you ask who gives a shitty fuck if it imperial adds costs to things? Please people care about cost, and if things aren't in imperial to begin with then they aren't.  Again like I've said before memorizing conversions is all fine and good but why?

Ahem.  You're taking this far to seriously.  Try to recognize the tone of threads, remember what forum you're in, and get a fucking sense of humor. 

Honestly I don't understand your hatred of metric.  Imperial is outdated, and utterly useless to the world.  I want standards here and easy ones at that.  Imperial doesn't provide that so I'm against it. 

I can see where you're coming from, but I honestly don't understand your hatred of imperial units (if working with non-base10 units were my most difficult and time consuming challenge, I'd piss down both legs with glee).  Anyway, it's simply amazing how many millions of products have been successfully engineered and built using such an outdated and utterly useless construct.

I take this seriously because it's something I strongly believe in.  Take or leave it.  I have a sense of humor, but this is seriously something I wish were changed.  I "hate" imperial because of what I've said before memorizing conversion tables, non-standard units, deriving new units, the fact that it doesn't seem natural to me at all.  I mean couple that with the fact that like it or not, we collaborate with the rest of the world in a lot of scientific endeavors.  I like the fact that NASA, for example, is working with the rest of the world to get us into space faster and effectively.  There have been instances there where using imperial has cost them some big money, like the Mars Climate Orbiter in 99.  I fight for metric because of stuff like that and it's really not that hard of a change to make.  Like I've said before the biggest thing people will need to get used to are the new associated ranges of whatever they're measuring.  That's a small leap and one I'm sure quite a few people wouldn't mind making.  Though I do know that there is quite a few that would oppose it, but those are the ones who usually complain about change anyways.

[NecroPhile]

I take this seriously because it's something I strongly believe in.  Take or leave it.

I think I'll leave it, considering that I can (and do) work with both sets of units without problems.  You've picked an interesting horse for tilting at windmills, considering that nobody here has control over which units are the US standard.

[Ceti Alpha]

FUCKIN' RIGHT! I'm tired of this shit too!  Fuck whoever came out with that imperial bullshit!!! It's grams, liters, and meters NOT ounces, pints, and miles.  Fuck that shit!!!!

...actually, litres and metres.

It is true though that Canadians use both imperial and metric. I tend to use imperial for rough estimates in casual conversation, i.e. "The car is just a few feet away." I do normally use imperial when discussing my own weight and height, but I'm not lost when I'm talking to a European and they say they're 1.8 metres tall. I would prefer Canada just make the final leap and lose whatever remnants of the Imperial system that's left. When using Photoshop or Indesign, I can't stand using inches. It seriously drives me crazy, but it's the norm in the printing industry so you're screwed.   I usually just work in cm and then change to inches.

[albinoMithos]

I take this seriously because it's something I strongly believe in.  Take or leave it.

I think I'll leave it, considering that I can (and do) work with both sets of units without problems.  You've picked an interesting horse for tilting at windmills, considering that nobody here has control over which units are the US standard.

That's not entirely true.  Your representatives in the government work for you.  I know they don't always act like it, but it's up to their constituents to kick their asses into gear. And seeing as how they have the power to control these types of things I'd say that any American here has the power to change thing like this.  I can use imperial units just fine, but that doesn't mean I like to or think it's efficient to.  I see where you're coming from on your argument, but like I said before, metric something I strongly believe in using.

[Zeon]

I agree with Mithos on this one. There's really no good reason to keep the imperial system and plenty of excellent reasons already mentioned to switch to metric.

The problem here is the fact that most people resist change, it's human nature to value the "status quo", even if the current state of things can be vastly improved by change. Yeah people typically bitch at first, but after time has passed it's amazing how many can't imagine how the lived without the change.

This reminds me of this one short story that took such idea of tradition and the status quo to an extreme. It was about this village who had a lottery once every year during which, if you were the unlucky winner of said lottery, the rest of the villagers got to find you and stone you to death. Nobody in said village knew the reason for this, it has long been obscured by time, they just continued the tradition simply because "That's the way it has always been"

I know it's human nature to fall into habits, traditions and what not. But when there is a damned good reason for change with the only drawback is people will go through a short adjustment time "true of any change", why the hell not?

You obviously can't do all the converting in your head, else you wouldn't be bitching.  Many calculators are capable of doing all sorts of conversions with just the touch of a button, so maybe you should get one of those or move to metric loving France with all the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

It's not that doing said conversions is difficult and we can't do it. It's more that the names for units are very obscure. An inch to a mile? An ounce to a ton? A pint to a bushel? Ounces? Hogshead!?!?!?!? WHAT IN THE FUCK! Where the hell did these names come from? I can convert just fine, it's just when I see something like 5 ounces, I have no earthly visualization in my head how much that really is physically.

How do I know how many base 16 places a gallon is from a fluid ounce?

With metric you have a prefix which refers to the decimal place (kilo, milli, centi etc.) followed by a word (meter, gram, watts, joules). Nothing could be simpler. The word tells you what kind of measurement you are dealing with (energy, distance, mass, etc.) and the prefix let's you know the decimal place.

Yes they have some odd words for units too, but at least you can make sense of it with the prefix and the word simply lets you know what kind of measurement you are dealing with. Also, they don't have no fucking hogshead as a unit! 

So I ask WHY imperial? Oh right, because it's always been done that way. Excellent reasoning people, let's jump through hoops with obscure measurements and no sense of uniformity, vs a much simpler and standard system. All because we have always done it that way. You know, because base 16 makes all the sense in the world, forget the fact we have 10 fingers, oh no man screw that.

Who gives a shitty fuck?  They should have started in imperial units to begin with.

Obviously not you, the whole it's been this way so let's stick with it attitude is pathetic.

BUT WAIT!!!!

You must care to some degree, otherwise you wouldn't be opposing us so, or continuing to rag on metric. You seem strongly opposed to metric for god only knows what reason. We have put forth our case and reasons for a switch to metric. A damned good case and reasons at that. Why do you want imperial to stay so much? All I have heard from you are cynical snarky remarks, and no real good reason to keep imperial units.

Ahem.  You're taking this far to seriously.  Try to recognize the tone of threads, remember what forum you're in, and get a fucking sense of humor. 

NEVER!!!! This is no joking matter, and for you sir to make light of it! The nerve!

[rag-time4]

I agree with Mithos on this one.

Surprise, surprise!

[Zeon]

I agree with Mithos on this one.

Surprise, surprise!

You seem to act as though that was expected. I'm not sure why though, me and Mithos disagree on most things, just ask that bastard his opinion on pineapple, or the n64 to see what i mean. 

[esteban]

Someone might have mentioned this, but I am old enough to remember when there was actually a push towards the metric system. Lots of our textbooks (not just math, but all of them), made references to the metric system.

Anyway, the only reason to hold on to the imperial system is for its charm, especially when cooking and ordering drinks. TO COOK, DRINK and DIE by the METRIC SYSTEM is to live a sad life:


"I'll have a pint of lager!"

"I'll have 2 cups of Bud Light!"

"I'll have .473 liters of ale!"

Note:
US pint = 16 oz.
British pint = 20 oz.

"I'll have a US pint of lager!"

"I'll have 2 cups of Bud Light in a chilled glass!"

"I'll have .473 liters of ale!"

At least we here (in the States) don't use terms like "stone" when referring to weight. Now that's friggin' silly.

[termis]

Someone might have mentioned this, but I am old enough to remember when there was actually a push towards the metric system. Lots of our textbooks (not just math, but all of them), made references to the metric system.

Anyway, the only reason to hold on to the imperial system is for its charm, especially when cooking and ordering drinks. TO COOK, DRINK and DIE by the METRIC SYSTEM is to live a sad life:


"I'll have a pint of lager!"

"I'll have 2 cups of Bud Light!"

"I'll have .473 liters of ale!"

Note:
US pint = 16 oz.
British pint = 20 oz.

"I'll have a US pint of lager!"

"I'll have 2 cups of Bud Light in a chilled glass!"

"I'll have .473 liters of ale!"

At least we here (in the States) don't use terms like "stone" when referring to weight. Now that's friggin' silly.

It's not uncommon to have 500ml (and 350ml) beer glasses in non-Anglo parts of the world.  You walk into a bar, and simply ask for a "500" of something, and it's natural as ever.

[NecroPhile]

I agree with Mithos on this one. There's really no good reason to keep the imperial system and plenty of excellent reasons already mentioned to switch to metric.

The problem here is the fact that most people resist change, it's human nature to value the "status quo", even if the current state of things can be vastly improved by change. Yeah people typically bitch at first, but after time has passed it's amazing how many can't imagine how the lived without the change.

This reminds me of this one short story that took such idea of tradition and the status quo to an extreme. It was about this village who had a lottery once every year during which, if you were the unlucky winner of said lottery, the rest of the villagers got to find you and stone you to death. Nobody in said village knew the reason for this, it has long been obscured by time, they just continued the tradition simply because "That's the way it has always been"

I know it's human nature to fall into habits, traditions and what not. But when there is a damned good reason for change with the only drawback is people will go through a short adjustment time "true of any change", why the hell not?

You obviously can't do all the converting in your head, else you wouldn't be bitching.  Many calculators are capable of doing all sorts of conversions with just the touch of a button, so maybe you should get one of those or move to metric loving France with all the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

It's not that doing said conversions is difficult and we can't do it. It's more that the names for units are very obscure. An inch to a mile? An ounce to a ton? A pint to a bushel? Ounces? Hogshead!?!?!?!? WHAT IN THE FUCK! Where the hell did these names come from? I can convert just fine, it's just when I see something like 5 ounces, I have no earthly visualization in my head how much that really is physically.

How do I know how many base 16 places a gallon is from a fluid ounce?

With metric you have a prefix which refers to the decimal place (kilo, milli, centi etc.) followed by a word (meter, gram, watts, joules). Nothing could be simpler. The word tells you what kind of measurement you are dealing with (energy, distance, mass, etc.) and the prefix let's you know the decimal place.

Yes they have some odd words for units too, but at least you can make sense of it with the prefix and the word simply lets you know what kind of measurement you are dealing with. Also, they don't have no fucking hogshead as a unit! 

So I ask WHY imperial? Oh right, because it's always been done that way. Excellent reasoning people, let's jump through hoops with obscure measurements and no sense of uniformity, vs a much simpler and standard system. All because we have always done it that way. You know, because base 16 makes all the sense in the world, forget the fact we have 10 fingers, oh no man screw that.

Who gives a shitty fuck?  They should have started in imperial units to begin with.

Obviously not you, the whole it's been this way so let's stick with it attitude is pathetic.

BUT WAIT!!!!

You must care to some degree, otherwise you wouldn't be opposing us so, or continuing to rag on metric. You seem strongly opposed to metric for god only knows what reason. We have put forth our case and reasons for a switch to metric. A damned good case and reasons at that. Why do you want imperial to stay so much? All I have heard from you are cynical snarky remarks, and no real good reason to keep imperial units.

If you truly believe that there isn't a single reason to keep utilizing imperial units (outside of tradition), then you are astoundingly naive.  To name but two - the costs involved with switching would be considerable and the inevitable conversion errors could cause some serious problems.  One could argue that the initial costs would be outweighed by the long term benefit, but that wasn't your assertion.

Your arguments for switching to metric pretty much boil down to making it easier to collaborate with others and it being too difficult to remember a couple dozen (oops, that's not metric) units and how they relate to each other.  The first argument is negated by the fact that the US government does not compel anyone to use imperial units (when they're paying the bills, they usually require the use of metric units), so if it's easier for you to use metric units, then use 'em.  The second half of your argument isn't very compelling, considering how easy it is to remember a few units of measure.  I managed to memorize the meanings of pico, nano, micro, milli, centi, deci, deca, hecto, kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta without too much trouble, just as I can remember how many feet are in a mile and how many quarts are in a gallon.

In short, I'm not a fan of bigger government and see no good reason for the government to force the metric system on the private sector.  Those that would greatly benefit from it have done so already (academics, scientific research, and manufacturing) or are free to convert on their own.

P.S. - Hogshead is not a current standard unit of measure; using it in your argument makes about as much sense as if I were to start bitching about myriametres, quintals, and tonnes (all metric units).  If you want to participate in a reasonable and intelligent conversation, then try not to obfuscate the facts with bullshit. 

[esteban]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

[rag-time4]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

It's in The Bible, dude!

[termis]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

It's in The Bible, dude!

That's good stuff there.

[Zeon]

I agree with Mithos on this one. There's really no good reason to keep the imperial system and plenty of excellent reasons already mentioned to switch to metric.

The problem here is the fact that most people resist change, it's human nature to value the "status quo", even if the current state of things can be vastly improved by change. Yeah people typically bitch at first, but after time has passed it's amazing how many can't imagine how the lived without the change.

This reminds me of this one short story that took such idea of tradition and the status quo to an extreme. It was about this village who had a lottery once every year during which, if you were the unlucky winner of said lottery, the rest of the villagers got to find you and stone you to death. Nobody in said village knew the reason for this, it has long been obscured by time, they just continued the tradition simply because "That's the way it has always been"

I know it's human nature to fall into habits, traditions and what not. But when there is a damned good reason for change with the only drawback is people will go through a short adjustment time "true of any change", why the hell not?

You obviously can't do all the converting in your head, else you wouldn't be bitching.  Many calculators are capable of doing all sorts of conversions with just the touch of a button, so maybe you should get one of those or move to metric loving France with all the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

It's not that doing said conversions is difficult and we can't do it. It's more that the names for units are very obscure. An inch to a mile? An ounce to a ton? A pint to a bushel? Ounces? Hogshead!?!?!?!? WHAT IN THE FUCK! Where the hell did these names come from? I can convert just fine, it's just when I see something like 5 ounces, I have no earthly visualization in my head how much that really is physically.

How do I know how many base 16 places a gallon is from a fluid ounce?

With metric you have a prefix which refers to the decimal place (kilo, milli, centi etc.) followed by a word (meter, gram, watts, joules). Nothing could be simpler. The word tells you what kind of measurement you are dealing with (energy, distance, mass, etc.) and the prefix let's you know the decimal place.

Yes they have some odd words for units too, but at least you can make sense of it with the prefix and the word simply lets you know what kind of measurement you are dealing with. Also, they don't have no fucking hogshead as a unit! 

So I ask WHY imperial? Oh right, because it's always been done that way. Excellent reasoning people, let's jump through hoops with obscure measurements and no sense of uniformity, vs a much simpler and standard system. All because we have always done it that way. You know, because base 16 makes all the sense in the world, forget the fact we have 10 fingers, oh no man screw that.

Who gives a shitty fuck?  They should have started in imperial units to begin with.

Obviously not you, the whole it's been this way so let's stick with it attitude is pathetic.

BUT WAIT!!!!

You must care to some degree, otherwise you wouldn't be opposing us so, or continuing to rag on metric. You seem strongly opposed to metric for god only knows what reason. We have put forth our case and reasons for a switch to metric. A damned good case and reasons at that. Why do you want imperial to stay so much? All I have heard from you are cynical snarky remarks, and no real good reason to keep imperial units.

If you truly believe that there isn't a single reason to keep utilizing imperial units (outside of tradition), then you are astoundingly naive.  To name but two - the costs involved with switching would be considerable and the inevitable conversion errors could cause some serious problems.  One could argue that the initial costs would be outweighed by the long term benefit, but that wasn't your assertion.

Your arguments for switching to metric pretty much boil down to making it easier to collaborate with others and it being too difficult to remember a couple dozen (oops, that's not metric) units and how they relate to each other.  The first argument is negated by the fact that the US government does not compel anyone to use imperial units (when they're paying the bills, they usually require the use of metric units), so if it's easier for you to use metric units, then use 'em.  The second half of your argument isn't very compelling, considering how easy it is to remember a few units of measure.  I managed to memorize the meanings of pico, nano, micro, milli, centi, deci, deca, hecto, kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta without too much trouble, just as I can remember how many feet are in a mile and how many quarts are in a gallon.

In short, I'm not a fan of bigger government and see no good reason for the government to force the metric system on the private sector.  Those that would greatly benefit from it have done so already (academics, scientific research, and manufacturing) or are free to convert on their own.

P.S. - Hogshead is not a current standard unit of measure; using it in your argument makes about as much sense as if I were to start bitching about myriametres, quintals, and tonnes (all metric units).  If you want to participate in a reasonable and intelligent conversation, then try not to obfuscate the facts with bullshit. 

Now who's taking things too seriously? Yeah you do bring up some good points, however I never said anything about the government doing anything about it. If we want this it's gonna be by force 

I didn't discredit the costs associated with a switch, I just conveniently forgot about the in the heat of this argument I agree a transition would not be smooth, take much time, and be costly. But if we start gravitating that way slowly we are on the path to recovery. Personally I think it would be worth it. Others don't think so, go figure 

Yes not all imperial measurements need to go, imo it really depends on what kind of measurement.

Also, I know hogshead isn't a current standard measurement. I put that in there to interject some humor and lighten the situation up a bit, apparently not very successfully.

Finally it's all i good fun man, I enjoy a good discussion over seemingly trivial things sometimes. I guess the lengths of my posts and word choice make me sound too serious, and sometimes my sarcasm isn't very obvious

[albinoMithos]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

I didn't care for Gomola Speed, but I did like Wonderboy III.  In any case I don't really care to argue about it anymore.  It's honestly was all in fun, but I do take it seriously and I realize that NecroPhile has his own opinions on the matter and I have mine. I'll leave it at that because we can argue about this for days and not get anywhere because he sounds like he's just as stubborn as I am.

[esteban]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

It's in The Bible, dude!

rag-time, you just made my day.... and on a Sunday, no less!

Simply awesome

[esteban]

I don't understand how folks can get worked up over weights and measures.

Getting upset over someone's refusal to appreciate Wonderboy III: Monster Lair or Gomola Speed, that I can understand.

But weights and measures?

I didn't care for Gomola Speed, but I did like Wonderboy III.  In any case I don't really care to argue about it anymore.  It's honestly was all in fun, but I do take it seriously and I realize that NecroPhile has his own opinions on the matter and I have mine. I'll leave it at that because we can argue about this for days and not get anywhere because he sounds like he's just as stubborn as I am. 

WTF? You don't like Gomola Speed?!!!

Don't worry, I have been known to get passionate over things, as well. In fact, I have long-argued.... uh, I'll save that for another day.

;)