Imperial measurements just feel better

[SteamKing]

All measurement systems are based on some sort of arbitrary convention.

Imperial is derided because of its legendary foundations as being based on a person's proportions.

Metric is equally arbitrary in being based originally on the
circumference of the earth. The French found to their dismay that the Earth was not as easy to measure as they had assumed. The meter now is based on the
oscillations of an atom of cesium-137. Anybody got cesium-137 in their fridge?

The point is, if a large enough group of people agree to use the convention, then it really doesn't matter if it is 'easier', 'or this system is superior', etc. Oil is still priced in barrels of 42 U.S. gallons, because a large enough number of people agrees to this convention.

In my work as an engineer, I use USCS and SI often, but I prefer USCS because I have worked with it long enough to gauge relative magnitudes easily. I don't particularly have a problem with the conversions, because they are just numbers.

I find that the number of SI derived units have grown like Topsy, and one needs a
dictionary to keep the constituent units straight. If SI were ever revised significantly, I would hope that the thicket of derived units could be pruned back, and that units with more practical magnitudes substituted for the current ones.

In these forums, you will continue to find students who struggle with SI even though that is all that they have ever known.

 

[Crazymechanic]

I think the debate is not about is the imperial system wrong or right.
Ofcourse you can achieve a moon landing both designing the rocket with metric numbers or imperial ones.
You rightly pointed out that some know one better some the other and some none but if we would use just one global system instead of two separate ones it would be easier for all.
Now someone can't understand the metric system maybe but he is learning and one day he will understand it and be able to use it but with the imperial one around he now has two systems to remember and use.
I think that's just extra unnecessary information , instead we could agree on the best one (i guess we already have) and use it.
No offense ofcourse you can't just suddenly change the whole nations understanding of measurement but slowly trying to make a more practical world wouldn't be a bad idea would it...

 

[Bandersnatch]

Oh ****! :) I'm not a native english speaker, and thus I tend to mess it up completely, as you can notice... I'll start writing "mètre, litre et gramme" and this way I have no problems! (yeah right...) :)

Don't let yourself be bamboozled by davenn's joke. Both the -er and -re spellings are proper English, only the first one is American English dialect, and the other is British English.
Works the same with e.g. center and centre.

A "tonne" is equivalent to saying a "metric ton".


One just needs to remember to be consistent with usage of dialects from either side of the pond.

 

[kevinferreira]

Don't let yourself be bamboozled by davenn's joke. Both the -er and -re spellings are proper English, only the first one is American English dialect, and the other is British English.
Works the same with e.g. center and centre.

A "tonne" is equivalent to saying a "metric ton".


One just needs to remember to be consistent with usage of dialects from either side of the pond.

Yes, I know that, it was just kind of contradictory to be on the side of the metric system and use American English words to write it down.

 

[rock.freak667]

32C is ambient temperature where you live? Are you in the Sahara? Usually room temperature is around 21C.

I live in the Caribbean :)