Should the U.S adopt the Metric system completely and why?
- Thread starter Xanikk999
- Start date
Someone without a calculator - how many ounces in a stone? How many feet in a mile? How many pounds in a ton?
Now, how many grammes in a kilogram? How many kilograms in a tonne? How many microgrammes in a gramme?
Now, how many grammes in a kilogram? How many kilograms in a tonne? How many microgrammes in a gramme?
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I would have no idea about the first group, but the metric is basically mostly 1000 for each except for the last one, where it is 1million µgs to the gram
GenMarshall
High Elven ISB Capt & Ghost Agent
"The metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it." - Abraham Simpson
(I'd rather keep the imperial/standard system than switch over to the metric system. It's been tried before back in the 70s and that did not worked out so well)
(I'd rather keep the imperial/standard system than switch over to the metric system. It's been tried before back in the 70s and that did not worked out so well)
Yes; it's overwhelmingly stupid we haven't done so yet. End of story really, metric system is necessary for pretty much any sort of technical work everywhere else in the world and students should learn it in math/science in school.
Also, there was a good comic posted somewhere recently, maybe in our funny pics thread that I liked, about a "gang that went around doing stuff for the metric system" like vandalizing signs and so on. Punchline being a random guy drinking soda out of a two liter bottle "That's gross - but it doesn't disagree with our metric philosophy"
A gang of nerds. Next they'll go around updating people's atlases.
Chukchi Husky
Lone Wolf
Britain was supposed to have gone metric back in the 70s and even now it still hasn't caught on. If it takes that long for a tiny country I would imagine it would take much longer with a large country like the US.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
Australia changed to the metric in 1970 and we have not looked back, even though other countries have.
If I was the president of the US I'd require all new traffic signs to show the speedlimits in both mph and km/h. Also all containers (milk cartons, chocolate bars etc) would show the metric value alongside with imperial value. That way the public will automatically learn the metric system and once enough time has passed you could just switch to metric much much easier.
Leifmk
Deity
Might as well just renumber the whole chronology from some point before the beginning of recorded history.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
It worked out alright for Canada. I'm not sure when we switched over, but we use metric for some things, and imperial for others. It works fairly well.
Xanikk999
History junkie
Aside from speed limit signs on all food products metric labeling is shown besides imperial labels. On most products sold in the United States it shows both versions.
Skwink
FRIIIIIIIIIITZ
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Well, at least the Earth's orbit is a good proof that there was no "intelligent designer"...
On topic:
Start to switch over dammit! Think of all the problems we could have avoided - and will avoid in the future - if we can just standardise on a sensible system.
Furthermore, I want us all to adopt the convention that there was a year 0 before year one, and move all years before the Common Era back one year. THERE MUST BE A YEAR ZERO!
Oh, and I think I just found my favourite Wikipedia-page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_standards!
If ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization shouldn't it be IOS?
Of course it does, for the same reason a time 0 makes sense.
I don't use imperial. In fact I get annoyed with road signs being in miles.
Maybe when the old people are gone?
EDIT: or pleasingly irrelevant
Huh? I did not know that. Then add metric to speed limits and thermometers etc. so Americans learn to use metric so it wouldn't be such a big jump?
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
People keep saying that the biggest problem will be the switch to Celcius.. but.. here in Canada that seems to be the easiest thing people have adapted to. Nobody uses Farenheit anymore, but people will use feet and inches for height, pounds for personal weight, a lot of our tools still use imperial, etc.
Akka
Moody old mage.
The OP made this thread as his 10 000th post, so I'll answer by making my 7 000th one 
It seems pretty obvious that the metric system is vastly superior : it's consistent, simple and intuitive. The ONLY SINGLE reason not to use it is habits, and habits can be changed - and if you change them now, your children won't have to.
It's not like if it's that difficult either - I never learned the idiotic units in class, I just looked at the conversion charts enough to remember that a mile is 1,6 km, an inch is 2,54 cm, a foot is 30,48 cm and a gallon is about 3,8 L. And it's still sufficient to get a rough idea about most things - it takes a little while to convert in my head, but that's it, and again, I've never been used to this system, as I've been taught and used metric all my life.
If I can get by with using a completely random system making no sense, when I didn't even had to learn it, then you should wonder if you're unable to use a logical and simple system that you actually had to learn at school...
It seems pretty obvious that the metric system is vastly superior : it's consistent, simple and intuitive. The ONLY SINGLE reason not to use it is habits, and habits can be changed - and if you change them now, your children won't have to.
It's not like if it's that difficult either - I never learned the idiotic units in class, I just looked at the conversion charts enough to remember that a mile is 1,6 km, an inch is 2,54 cm, a foot is 30,48 cm and a gallon is about 3,8 L. And it's still sufficient to get a rough idea about most things - it takes a little while to convert in my head, but that's it, and again, I've never been used to this system, as I've been taught and used metric all my life.
If I can get by with using a completely random system making no sense, when I didn't even had to learn it, then you should wonder if you're unable to use a logical and simple system that you actually had to learn at school...
The world already have standardized on metric for decades, you know. We didn't wait for USA, and everything international is in metrics.
