generally we still talk about our bodies in imperial for some reason. We give our height in feet and inches and our weight in stones and pounds. Also all our road signs are in MPH and we usually talk in miles not kilometres.
A kilogram is just over 2 pounds. 2 pounds is too heavy to lift? Fail.Also, the sweet thing about base 10 is that IT DOESN'T MATTER AT ALL IF YOUR UNITS ARE THE "RIGHT" SIZE. There is nothing confusing about saying, say, 0.3m (which is 3dm, 30cm, 300mm, 3000um, etc). The whole point of metric is that it scales beautifully. No matter what sort of thing you are measuring, no matter what numbers you're dealing with, every unit still converts based on a consistent scale or prefixes. You memorise those prefixes and one single unit for each type of measurement and you can easily communicate that measurement to most of the rest of the world. Compare that to Imperial, where you have to memorise several different units of measure for each type of measurement. Volume is the most patently ridiculous, but length and weight are silly, too.Also, doing ANYTHING remotely scientific with Imperial measurements is a pain. Metric handles things like mass-volume ratios of liquids much more elegantly, not to mention the fact that doing most math with unconverted Imperial units is impossible since there is no consistent base.
Well, it's actually just the same measure but related to the speed of light for a more precise way to obtain it. Not "based on".It is, actually, a nice size, but it could be, let's say, 1/1000 of a nautical mile. That would make more sense.The speed of light would be a good base, but seconds are not, because it's (oddly) divided from days, and days are not all that regular.
Myanmar and that little guy in Africa are the only truly American and Progressive nations in the world. Obviously. Everyone else=the true axis of evil.
That being said, I suppose the U.S. should also be in the orange. Most any packaging found on store shelves these days has a metric equivalent along side our imperial measurement.
oldNgray:"Canadian Subway" is an American wholly-owned subsidiary and they decided to show Canada as little respect as possible by a) using ounces for drinks and inches for sandwiches and b) using american-english spelling for signs. This is not a good example.The whole point was not if there are still people using the old system in a country, but whether or not the country has officially adopted the metric system.
Thought its been a while when all nations lived indendent of another - its time to globalise, at least in some aspects. Scientists should be able to understand one another... As for the normal pple - kg and degrees Celcium are the easiest to grasp (imho)!
jamesdewAug 13, 2008
generally we still talk about our bodies in imperial for some reason. We give our height in feet and inches and our weight in stones and pounds. Also all our road signs are in MPH and we usually talk in miles not kilometres.
stickwstAug 14, 2008
its the dream that we all share....its the hope, for, TOMOROW-OOOOOWWWW!!!!
solistusAug 14, 2008
A kilogram is just over 2 pounds. 2 pounds is too heavy to lift? Fail.Also, the sweet thing about base 10 is that IT DOESN'T MATTER AT ALL IF YOUR UNITS ARE THE "RIGHT" SIZE. There is nothing confusing about saying, say, 0.3m (which is 3dm, 30cm, 300mm, 3000um, etc). The whole point of metric is that it scales beautifully. No matter what sort of thing you are measuring, no matter what numbers you're dealing with, every unit still converts based on a consistent scale or prefixes. You memorise those prefixes and one single unit for each type of measurement and you can easily communicate that measurement to most of the rest of the world. Compare that to Imperial, where you have to memorise several different units of measure for each type of measurement. Volume is the most patently ridiculous, but length and weight are silly, too.Also, doing ANYTHING remotely scientific with Imperial measurements is a pain. Metric handles things like mass-volume ratios of liquids much more elegantly, not to mention the fact that doing most math with unconverted Imperial units is impossible since there is no consistent base.
whytheamAug 15, 2008
You haven't been in a school recently have you.
cawasAug 24, 2008
Well, it's actually just the same measure but related to the speed of light for a more precise way to obtain it. Not "based on".It is, actually, a nice size, but it could be, let's say, 1/1000 of a nautical mile. That would make more sense.The speed of light would be a good base, but seconds are not, because it's (oddly) divided from days, and days are not all that regular.
fuzzybeardAug 25, 2008
meepmeepMEEP?
bobbycgiffordSep 7, 2008
Myanmar and that little guy in Africa are the only truly American and Progressive nations in the world. Obviously. Everyone else=the true axis of evil.
freedomkeeperSep 8, 2008
That being said, I suppose the U.S. should also be in the orange. Most any packaging found on store shelves these days has a metric equivalent along side our imperial measurement.
mbryNov 14, 2008
oldNgray:"Canadian Subway" is an American wholly-owned subsidiary and they decided to show Canada as little respect as possible by a) using ounces for drinks and inches for sandwiches and b) using american-english spelling for signs. This is not a good example.The whole point was not if there are still people using the old system in a country, but whether or not the country has officially adopted the metric system.
look4gsmNov 18, 2009
Thought its been a while when all nations lived indendent of another - its time to globalise, at least in some aspects. Scientists should be able to understand one another... As for the normal pple - kg and degrees Celcium are the easiest to grasp (imho)!