Metric system dumbs us down.

[double u]

...the real boon of the imperial system is in engineering:
3/16, 5/8, 31/64, ...1/4...you name it, madness has a name!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by 0urh

How come you Yanks have metric money?

There we are just being obstinate in general not against any measurement system. The dollar bill is not an even number of metric or standard units of measurement nor are any of the coins.

Example: Dollar Bill - Width. 6.14 inches ≈ 156.1 mm. Height. 2.61 inches ≈ 66.3 mm

If you are referring to the numeric value of bills and coins, you are confusing the decimal (base 10) numbering system with metric units of measurement.

Its completely correct to say standard sheet of plywood (4x8' in USA) is 10.01110 meters on the long side if using binary numbers. While decimal is certainly more convenient, there is no requirement that metric measurements be in decimal numbering. Our currency is a function not of the metric system but of decimal system.

[Pelagic]

Personally I believe these different units of measurement originated from suppliers desire to cheat their customers and the confusion today only perpetuates the scams

[carstenb]

Oh dear - and here I was just getting used to Fathoms and Cables - of course- not to mention the easily understood Beaufort system

How many here can convert a fathom or a cable to a more "everyday" unit of measure?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Personally I believe these different units of measurement originated from suppliers desire to cheat their customers and the confusion today only perpetuates the scams

Like introducing a new currency (Euro) on 300 million people and in the medley round up the prices from the old currencies to make a little on the side

The metric system work brilliantly for diving. Cylinder volume is calculated in liters of water volume. Pressure is measured in bar (close to atmospheres) so multiplied together give the volume of free air available, eg 10 x 232 bar equals 2320 litres of free air.

Depths are measured in meters and for every 10m the pressure increases 1 bar. Again simple maths to work out how much air you will breath at depth per minute, to a point most of us can do these calculations underwater in the cold when slightly panicky because you are running short of air

for engineering, well the imperial system is just baffling. So you want a drill slightly bigger than 5/32, what's the next size up

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Pete7

... So you want a drill slightly bigger than 5/32, what's the next size up

5/32 = 0.1563"
next immediate size up is
#22 = 0.157"
next fractional size up is
11/64 = 0.1719"

[dlymn]

Originally Posted by double u

...the real boon of the imperial system is in engineering:
3/16, 5/8, 31/64, ...1/4...you name it, madness has a name!

you forgot BSF, WHITWORTH, SAE, UNF and many more. Oh the metric system is a common name derived from the metre. it is essentially a base10 (decimal) system for length, volume, speed, area, weight. Don't get me going on watts and horsepower.
We have had decimal system for over 40 years now. Yesterday, my 30 year old daughter told me she was 5 foot 7 tall. I think the wheel bolts on cars are all the same (unf?) no matter where they're manufactured or at least used to be.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Oh dear - and here I was just getting used to Fathoms and Cables - of course- not to mention the easily understood Beaufort system

How many here can convert a fathom or a cable to a more "everyday" unit of measure?

But there's no need to convert when fathoms and cables are your everyday unit of measure! Once you have sailed long enough that those are everyday units for you, you'll find them wonderful.

One of the many insoluble problems of the Metric System (or SI, as some call it, for "System of Idiots" but I will not be so unkind), is that when measuring lengths you get all tripped up between meters, centimeters, decimeters, and millimeters. So much of the word "Meters," that it's hard to keep track of what unit you were discussing. Exactly how long is 5.8 decimeters? Wait, was that deci- or centi-? The confusion got so great in one boat shop that was trying against all reason to convert to Metric, that we ended up building 42-foot boat measuring only in millimeters. I was having to do ridiculous things like measure 6,475 millimeters from here or there.

So I wouldn't say the Metric System makes you dumber--it's just harder to use and far less convenient.
Ben
zartmancruising.com

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Pete7

for engineering, well the imperial system is just baffling. So you want a drill slightly bigger than 5/32, what's the next size up

The one just to the right of the 5/32 bit.

[double u]

Originally Posted by GordMay

5/32 = 0.1563"
next immediate size up is
#22 = 0.157"
next fractional size up is
11/64 = 0.1719"

how you could win any war or fly to the moon with such a "system"...

[dlymn]

Originally Posted by Benz

One of the many insoluble problems of the Metric System (or SI, as some call it, for "System of Idiots" but I will not be so unkind), is that when measuring lengths you get all tripped up between meters, centimeters, decimeters, and millimeters. So much of the word "Meters," that it's hard to keep track of what unit you were discussing. Exactly how long is 5.8 decimeters? Wait, was that deci- or centi-? The confusion got so great in one boat shop that was trying against all reason to convert to Metric, that we ended up building 42-foot boat measuring only in millimeters. I was having to do ridiculous things like measure 6,475 millimeters from here or there.



So I wouldn't say the Metric System makes you dumber--it's just harder to use and far less convenient.

Ben

zartmancruising.com

Yes and all science happily uses these measurements and adds
micron, nanometers and many more across the range. How are you guys going with your grains, pennyweights, gills,roods? quick, off the top of your head, how many inches in a mile? You guys are really going to be stumped when they decimalise the year sometime very early in April.

[Mirage35]

Let's see, I get in my car, check how many liters of fuel I have in the tank, and drive a few kilometers to the marina.

Then I go sailing for several nautical miles, find an anchorage with a fathom or two of depth, and make sure I put out enough feet of rode.

And, speaking of that "metric" money, if the guy at the fuel pump is generous he may round it down to the nearest quarter dollar.

When stocking up, I happily ask the butcher for about a pound of cold cuts, and he equally happily gives me about 500 grams. (Not sure why, but he tends to round up ...)

I don't know about you, but my brain is getting enough exercise.

[Tetepare]

I lived through the metric scare.

Now I have both imperial and metric tools on the boat. And another set in the truck. And at home. Dandy!

Speaking of differing measurements: if one is travelling at sixty miles per hour, what is your speed in minutes per minute? I suppose that sailors are more likely to understand this conundrum, most people say the question is wrong.

[valhalla360]

Reminds me of a common response when people ask about the perfect boat:

"Horses for courses."

Standard units tend to be geared toward their purpose. If you are loading a truck with barrels of beer, it makes a lot more sense to say I have 20 barrels rather than calculating out how many liters or cubic meters of beer you have.

It's only when you start doing more complicated engineering calculations that metric units become advantageous.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by bvander

Find it funny, US kicked BritS out in 1700s and yet still today use the imperial system of wieghs and measures, a system based on the size of a kings appendages.

Explains why an imperial pint is around 20% larger than a US pint!

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