Poll: I hate the imperial system. America, I'm looking at you! Give it up, metric is simply better!!!!

[Imat]

I always use pounds when weighing myself, I also use miles instead of kilometres

This may have been stated already, but we use pounds because we really don't want to use Newtons...See, pounds is a measure of force, whereas grams are a measure of mass. No matter where you are, your mass will stay the same. Your weight will change if you, say, head on over to the moon. And using Newtons would confuse everybody, because there are very few people who use Newtons for anything but physics-related problems.

Frankly I'm fine with Imperial. Besides, Base 10 is too arbitrary for me. Who decided everything has to be Base 10? I'd much rather use Base 2, or maybe Base 3 on some days.

 

[Random Argument Man]

"US" think about it..

Would rather ask a Quarter-pounder with cheese or "Royal with cheese"?

Its called Quarter-Pounder everywhere else, the french are just d-bags '

You're just jealous because you didn't think about it sooner.

Note* I'm french....canadian by the way.

 

[Retardinator]

I don't get the calculation behind the imperial system. It would be fine if measurements were rounded when compared to metric, but 1 foot=30.48 centimeters and 1 inch=2.54 centimeters just doesn't make much sense to me.
What's also confusing are the values inside the imperial system itself. 1 foot=12 inches and a yard is 3 feet and a chain is 22 yards, etc... Why not just round out the values to 10? Or just switch to metric?

 

[Imat]

The metric system has no soul!

It works too well, it has no idiosyncrasies! You aren't friends with the metric system, you use the metric system.

What numbers do you think robots use? The metric system, because it's efficient. I don't know about you, but I ain't no goddamn robot!

I! AM! A! MAN!

Also it takes effort to change these things. And we have other things to do with our effort.

Actually robots cannot use metric. They are limited to dealing with Base 2 numbers, so they have to convert from Metric (Base 10) to Binary every single time they need to perform a calculation. Which can be done just as easily with Imperial as Metric.

 

[KeyMaster45]

where's the "I know both but was socialized to used metric with science and imperial with everyday things"

I don't see why you're so worked up over it, it's just numbers when it comes down to the calculations. I can easily work in both metrics and imperial, and there should be little to no need to convert measurements from one to the other. Working in imperial units carries the same difficulty as working in metrics. It's all just numbers if you can't do it then maybe you're working in the wrong profession.

 

[Kumomaru]

I don't get the calculation behind the imperial system. It would be fine if measurements were rounded when compared to metric, but 1 foot=30.48 centimeters and 1 inch=2.54 centimeters just doesn't make much sense to me.
What's also confusing are the values inside the imperial system itself. 1 foot=12 inches and a yard is 3 feet and a chain is 22 yards, etc... Why not just round out the values to 10? Or just switch to metric?

Er, the imperial system was developed seperately from the metric system. Doesn't really matter how their values compare to each other =/

 

[supermariner]

Because we are America, and we use whatever the fuck we want because we can.
If you disagree you clearly hate freedom and are a communist, socialist, or some evil combination of the two.

yeah! those evil Socialists with their fair distribution of wealth, community sharing and uprooting of the cruel and unjust class system
evil bastards!

OT: surely everyone likes the metric system
and everyone kinda already knows the imperial system
why can't we just use both?

 

[Marowit]

It's pretty funny, because anything that we do that we do that is important we use the metric system; from science to our military. So, yes the imperial system should be phased out.

Though, could you imagine if Mr. Obama tried to start this initiative? He is trying to improve the efficiency of light bulbs (something that was originally stared by good ol Dubya) and you'd think he was strangling babies on Live TV while laughing maniacally - if you were to watch Fox's take on it.

 

[Kenko]

"US" think about it..

Would rather ask a Quarter-pounder with cheese or "Royal with cheese"?

Its called Quarter-Pounder everywhere else, the french are just d-bags '

You're just jealous because you didn't think about it sooner.

Note* I'm french....canadian by the way.

I feel with you brah, theres probably psychiatric help you can get for that

 

[archabaddon]

Metric is pretty nice in terms of easy of use. However, when I considered the implications of transitioning to metric while talking to a Canadian colleague, I never realized how much of a task it would be, from not only retooling every manufacturer, but also to think like building codes, road construction, aviation, nautical travel, zoning of property and plots, geology, etc., etc.

 

[Mr Fatherland]

I don't know if this has been said, but the US military actually uses metric. Thanks Generation Kill! (The book).

 

[Kukakkau]

The OP speaks truth - imperial is pretty much useless in most fields and seems to complicate things more than needed

And I always laugh at people who measure height in feet. Feet is made of (insert correct number here) inches. And an inch is made up of 2.4 or so centimetres - soooo why not just use centimetres full stop and simplify things?

 

[whiteshark12]

Miles for speed and distance, Metric for everything else. Centigrade is very logical, I am actually confused how people can think that starting a scale at 32 was a good idea, except from what some people have said as to how confusing it is to cross over measurements (If I said it was 35 degrees outside, people in Europe would reach for suncream while people in the US would get coats)

also, the only exception I have seen in distance measuring on small scales is that the lengh of someone's penis is ALWAYS in inches, even in metric countries

 

[LikeDustInTheWind]

I always use pounds when weighing myself, I also use miles instead of kilometres

So does everyone in the world. Other measurements should be Metric, though.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

The metric system has no soul!

It works too well, it has no idiosyncrasies! You aren't friends with the metric system, you use the metric system.

What numbers do you think robots use? The metric system, because it's efficient. I don't know about you, but I ain't no goddamn robot!

I! AM! A! MAN!

Also it takes effort to change these things. And we have other things to do with our effort.

Actually robots cannot use metric. They are limited to dealing with Base 2 numbers, so they have to convert from Metric (Base 10) to Binary every single time they need to perform a calculation. Which can be done just as easily with Imperial as Metric.

Fuck.

I suppose I should thank you, though. This knowledge will aid me in my mission as robot fighter, a task for which I am hilariously ill-prepared.

 

[Imat]

The metric system has no soul!

It works too well, it has no idiosyncrasies! You aren't friends with the metric system, you use the metric system.

What numbers do you think robots use? The metric system, because it's efficient. I don't know about you, but I ain't no goddamn robot!

I! AM! A! MAN!

Also it takes effort to change these things. And we have other things to do with our effort.

Actually robots cannot use metric. They are limited to dealing with Base 2 numbers, so they have to convert from Metric (Base 10) to Binary every single time they need to perform a calculation. Which can be done just as easily with Imperial as Metric.

Fuck.

I suppose I should thank you, though. This knowledge will aid me in my mission as robot fighter, a task for which I am hilariously ill-prepared.

Every little bit helps to stem the inevitable robot revolution is what I say.

 

[DaJoW]

As long as industry etc. use metric it doesn't matter what the population at large uses, and I'm just going to assume nearly all industries follow SI. I'm guessing it doesn't exactly help scientific literacy in the population though.

I always use pounds when weighing myself, I also use miles instead of kilometres

So does everyone in the world. Other measurements should be Metric, though.

I have never used pound or mile (meaning ~1.6km), except for when an American has asked me to convert because he couldn't picture it. "Mile" here means 10km, and I don't think I've heard anyone use our word for pound.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

I'd totally use metric, but us Americans think in Imperial terms. We just don't know about how far 14 kilometers is. I think scientists and engineers use metric, though. Base 10 is sweet in science, and using an inverse exponential function for the halving things is idiotic.

 

[Peteron]

Because we are America, and we use whatever the fuck we want because we can.
If you disagree you clearly hate freedom and are a communist, socialist, or some evil combination of the two.

You tell em! AMURICA! No. But in all seriousness, metric is better.

 

[emeraldrafael]

university right now (I started calling it university even though I am American... makes more sense to me)

As opposed to a college? Cause there's a difference between a college and a university (besides the price).

OT: I dont care. We already use the metric when we talk to other countries, its printed on our stuff. Why does the world care if we use both? We ultimately bend when we deal with it with other countries.

Actualy, it hink I may have posted here before on the subject.