Americans, what's so great about the Imperial System?

[quantumsoul]

The only advantage is being able to get approximate measurements without a measuring device. Using cups for cups and feet for feet. Otherwise I think it just makes us Americans look a little backwards.

 

[Shadowstar38]

It would probably save a lot of time if we wrote documents in Japanese. It takes less words on average to communicate the same idea than saying something in English(at least from what I've studied of it so far).

Though it'd be pointless sense everyone already is use to one and not the other. Math units are just as arbitrary.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Absolutely jack all, it's just that changing over will be far too expensive and disruptive to commerce, industry, sciences etc, etc...

 

[TK421]

First of all. I know this i probably going to be a pretty difficult discussion. Everyone here has grown up with one or the other measurement system, so nobody can be really objective about this.

Ok, then let's get this started. I read up a bit on the Imperial System and i just can't find any great benefits to it.
Let's start with the obvious advantage of the metric system, as that it is not only the international standard, but also the System of SCIENCE (Which kinda is an instant win right there).
It's easy to calculate with and is just perfect for Mathmatics, Physics and so on.
I heard from some people that the imperial system is easier to use in day to day life, but i can't see why.
It's obviously better in day to day life, if you have grown up with it and used it your entire life.
But if we look at both systems and how we would use them in day to day life, i still think the metric system to be far superiour.
First of all, you just have to learn 3 units of measurement. Meter, gramm and litre. Any larger or smaller units you might need, you just use the appropriate word before it. kilo for a thousand, mega for a million and so on.
In the imperial system you got yards, feet, miles, pinch, pounds, tons and so on, and so on.
It's just way more to memorize, for practically no benefit in day to day life.

Well, first of all, I don't care about SCIENCE, but I do agree with your other points. The metric system is much easier to use and makes more sense, but I grew up with the imperial system and I can easily eyeball all of the units. Since the imperial system is still far more widely used here, I will continue to use it as it is just easier for me personally at this point in time.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Apart from a couple of handy conversions, there's not much that's all that great.
As a meteorologist, (mostly Celsius, though it's not like it's hard to convert between the two since they have the same degree ratio)

Oooooo! Are you on local TV. You must be, like, a celebrity or something!

 

[hermes]

Really it's all arbitrary anyway!
a Meter is just a length of a rod based on some BS reason, same as a foot or a yard
Truth is we couldn't care less what stick you use to measure with
both work equally well and do a fine job of measuring things

so here's the REAL question;
Why do you Europeans get so bent out of shape that we Americans don't use your arbitrary definitions of measurement?

All of them are arbitrary, but the point of difference is what you do with it and how using them helps you.

For every measure in the metric system, to express it in the immediately next unit you only have to multiply or divide it by ten, always. Just move the decimal point... simple. For the imperial system, if you want to express a distance to the next scale, you have to multiply it by 1/12 (inches to feet), 1/3 (feet to yards), 1/220 (yards to stadia) or 1/1760 (yards to miles)

 

[Hero of Lime]

Honestly, does it really matter? We use different languages, laws, and a whole lot of other systems, what is one more added onto the pile. Even if metric is better/more convenient, (I'm not sure, nor do I care) if imperial is still perfectly functional, why bother changing it? It's like saying "our language is easier to speak, and more people use it, so you should stop speaking yours, and speak the correct way."

This response may sound like I really care about the debate, but I don't. I just feel like the sentiment sounds condescending and and petty.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Really it's all arbitrary anyway!
a Meter is just a length of a rod based on some BS reason, same as a foot or a yard
Truth is we couldn't care less what stick you use to measure with
both work equally well and do a fine job of measuring things

so here's the REAL question;
Why do you Europeans get so bent out of shape that we Americans don't use your arbitrary definitions of measurement?

Edit: I'd also like to point out that by simply doing nothing we can piss off millions of people and that amuses us to no end! XD

Well, speaking as an American I can see why it would make more sense for a system to be based off of multiples of ten rather than having a different amount of numbers needed to make it to the next tier of measurment.

Also, having only three words to represent the base types of measurement (gram, meter,liter) with universal sufixes applied to each makes a lot more sense than the mish-mash of Imperial terms used to define thing (an inch is in a yard is in a mile).

A lot easier to work with for the sciences and would be more than adequate for everyday life if you get a sense for how big a meter is.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Really it's all arbitrary anyway!
a Meter is just a length of a rod based on some BS reason, same as a foot or a yard
Truth is we couldn't care less what stick you use to measure with
both work equally well and do a fine job of measuring things

so here's the REAL question;
Why do you Europeans get so bent out of shape that we Americans don't use your arbitrary definitions of measurement?

All of them are arbitrary, but the point of difference is what you do with it and how using them helps you.

For every measure in the metric system, to express it in the immediately next unit you only have to multiply or divide it by ten, always. Just move the decimal point... simple. For the imperial system, if you want to express a distance to the next scale, you have to multiply it by 1/12 (inches to feet), 1/3 (feet to yards), 1/220 (yards to stadia) or 1/1760 (yards to miles)

This guy put my point across a lot more clearly.

 

[Qhartb]

Software engineer here. I don't think either system makes sense. Why isn't there a nice round 1024 grams in a kilogram?

edit: Also, today I learned a metric tonne is a megagram, which explain why rarely hear anything measured in megagrams outside a scientific context. WHY NOT JUST CALL IT A MEGAGRAM? It sounds way cooler anyway.

 

[DSK-]

Also, is ton not a Metric measurement?

A Metric Tonne is!
The older Long and Short Tons are not.
Short Tons are what is generally meant when Imperial users say ton, Metric Tonnes are common elsewhere and equal to 1000kg. No-one uses Long Tons any more.

OT; I'm British, meaning that I use metric for everything except measures of alcohol (pint), distance (in miles, when driving) and the weight of people (stone).
Measures of other liquids are metric, as are distances when not driving, and the weight of anything else. And yes, I'm aware it's utterly ridiculous.

Hahah, I'm in almost exactly the same boat. Whenever US friends ask me how much I weigh they are utterly confused when I answer in stones, and they constantly take the piss by asking for weight measurements in sticks, stones and hay. The bar stewards

 

[direkiller]

Ok, then let's get this started. I read up a bit on the Imperial System and i just can't find any great benefits to it.

Quite simply it is good for practical things when building. Wood Frames are 16" center to center, even in places with metric, it's not a number that works out nicely, and quite simply it saves time. Tiles are done in sq feet aswell due to there size.




Also how often do you have to convert? that is all I hear people say when it comes to metric, and i almost never see it even in science, they still want it in base units. So with that the strength of metric is out the window and it just comes down to what numbers you remember more, and quite frankly the imperial numbers are just easier when wood and steel are involved.

 

[Do4600]

I don't use it unless I'm forced to. As a crafts person I find it infuriating to make scale calculations while shifting between decimal inches and fraction inches. For instance, if I know I need one object to be 132% larger I pull out my calculator and have to multiply the value and then find a chart online that gives me the closest fraction to my calculated decimal. When forced to use imperial, I bet I lose an hour for every 120 hours spent designing.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Advantages to Metric:
It's logical, consistent and sensible.
Disadvantages to Metric:
There are none.

Advantages to Imperial:
There are none.
Disadvantages to Imperial:
It's arbitrary and retarded.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw8o0yvmHk1qcc8ul.jpg

Of course, it would cost so much to change it and somebody somewhere would ***** about it.

 

[Maze1125]

Also how often do you have to convert? that is all I hear people say when it comes to metric, and i almost never see it even in science, they still want it in base units.

What are you talking about?
Science uses conversions all the time. I've seen everything including Mm, km, m, mm, µm, nm and pm when it comes to length. And grams vs. kilograms are used practically constantly.

 

[ccggenius12]

Spoiler: The Metric System is the Tool of the Devil

 

[Amaror]

Ok, then let's get this started. I read up a bit on the Imperial System and i just can't find any great benefits to it.

Quite simply it is good for practical things when building. Wood Frames are 16" center to center, even in places with metric, it's not a number that works out nicely, and quite simply it saves time. Tiles are done in sq feet aswell due to there size.

Also how often do you have to convert? that is all I hear people say when it comes to metric, and i almost never see it even in science, they still want it in base units. So with that the strength of metric is out the window and it just comes down to what numbers you remember more, and quite frankly the imperial numbers are just easier when wood and steel are involved.

How often do i have to convert? I am not quite sure what you mean. Do you mean how often i have to convert the metric system into other system? Because the answer to that is never. I don't see why i ever should. I am living in germany. We completely have the metric system here. I don't even thing we ever had the imperial system, since it's the system of the old british empire, which germany most certainly wasn't a part of.
Or do you mean converting in the sense of "converting" meters into kilometers or something?
I wouldn't call that "converting". It's just choosing a different word before the unit of measure, dependant on how much it is. Have a thousand meter? 1 kilometer. 1000 gramm? 1 kilogramm. Pretty simple, really. With the science in base units, you probably mean, that stuff like speed is always measured in meter per second, or mass is always in kilogramm. But you only need to mess with this when your doing physics, otherwise you just use what you want.
Not sure about the building part here, but even though i am not a builder, i really don't think that we have wood planks or frames in imperial measures, that wouldn't make sense.
As i allready said, i can see how it's more practical if your either used to it, or if your whole country is using it, like is very much the situation in america. I was just curious if people in america actually liked the imperial system more for other reasons then that they know it and not metric.

 

[talideon]

So answer me this: Using the metric system, how many minutes are in an hour?

Your question doesn't make sense. Minutes and hours aren't SI units, only seconds are. Hours, minutes and days are non-SI units based on the second and the rotational period of the earth used purely for timekeeping.

 

[talideon]

Over my education, I've used both the metric and imperial systems.

I hate them both, I hate maths, I hate anything that involves my arithmatic or mathematical initiative, and I hate how 14 is a "stone". Why a stone? I'll tell you why: 150 lbs. What will you compare it to? Is it good? But 16 stone? No, it's just calling you fat now.

So basically, I hate the metric system for calling me fat. But I use it more, so I guess I preffer it.

Eh... stone is a UK imperial measurement with nothing to do with SI units. I think your anger might be misplaced.

 

[Senare]

Metric:
+ Mixes well with mathematics since it is base 10 (the symbols used for numerical digits in modern mathematics are ten).
+ More established in science; many widely different units mix well with each other.

Imperial:
+ Base 12, which is divisible by prime numbers 2,3. This makes simple division more convenient (because there are often more numbers divisible by 2 and 3 in a range of numbers).
+ Already established culturally (in the USA).
- As a later poster pointed out it is not always base 12, but sometimes base 14 or base 16. Changing bases inside a system is generally bad because it may mean extra conversion work in some problems.