Metric system dumbs us down.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

You beat me to it!

Why not 12pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound? Proper money!

How many pennies in a pound now days? How many pennies in a shilling? How many shillings in a pound today?

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

You beat me to it!

Why not 12pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound? Proper money!

Proper money no longer exists in Britain. The word was "decimalization." 100 p now = one pound. Shilling? What is that? I think decimalization, and probably the absence of shillings, assisted in Brexit.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Jason Flare

Also, the exact length of a nautical mile is undetermined. It is a portion of the circumference of the earth

No it IS determined. It is a SI derived unit of exactly 1852 metres and was defined in 1929.

[JPA Cate]

For anyone like me who is an arithmetic dunce, how does a meter stick let you work out that problem?

I may well have done it wrong, but I came up with a weight of 194.6 lb for the water, but the barrel is not a size I know, nor it's composition, so the total weight would have to be ~195 lb plus "x".

[StuM]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Say again.

Actually, there is a way to measure angles with decimals rather than that old and worn down 360 system. I have seen it on older Russian compasses. Probably a cold war thing.

There's lots of ways used to measure angles including two which use hundredths or thousandths in their derivation.

Grads. Each quarter of a circle is divided into 100 Grads, making 400 Grads in a circle.

Mils or mil-radians. There are 2 x pi radians in a circle a mil-radian is 1/1000th of a radian. Consequently there are approximately 6283 mils in a circle. Mil compasses are generally marked in 1/64,000ths of a circle as a close approximation and for ease of use. (Some countries use 1/60,000th instead which makes 100 mils the same as 1 minute on a watch face)

Mils are commonly used in the military.

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

... I think decimalization, and probably the absence of shillings, assisted in Brexit.

Wahoo!! [I can't find the right emoticon - expressing astonishment and curiosity].

That is either a brilliant political insight or the most ridiculous extrapolation ever made. It's kind of like chaos theory: a butterfly in Sibera changes the weather in wherever. I'm going to have to sleep on this one.

[buzzstar]

Some of these posts do not measure up.

[Benz]

What I always wonder why the "Rest of the World" which have "All Gone Metric" (which is not even a little bit true) cares what Americans and other sensible people measure with? Why does it kill you if I easily know that 5/32 is between 1/8 and 3/16? Why do you people want everyone to be like you? Do you imagine in your arrogance that you're some kind of better to which everyone else should aspire?
"Everything the same" was the ambition of the Communists (who, btw, used the metric system--how'd that work out for them?). But we live in a vast and varied world, where there's more than one way to do things. Why sneer at those who are happily doing things differently, and getting them done? If the "rest of the world" wants to all go like lemmings off the cliff of ignorance, what's that to me? They way I do things gets them done, and if the rest of the frantic world thinks I'm doing it wrong, what do I care?
You who prefer a different way to measure things: I wish you joy of it. Have your system, rejoice in it, but know that when you think to put down those of us who are different you only put your ignorance on display.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

[Benz]

Originally Posted by StuM

There's lots of ways used to measure angles including two which use hundredths or thousandths in their derivation.

Grads. Each quarter of a circle is divided into 100 Grads, making 400 Grads in a circle.

Mils or mil-radians. There are 2 x pi radians in a circle a mil-radian is 1/1000th of a radian. Consequently there are approximately 6283 mils in a circle. Mil compasses are generally marked in 1/64,000ths of a circle as a close approximation and for ease of use. (Some countries use 1/60,000th instead which makes 100 mils the same as 1 minute on a watch face)

Mils are commonly used in the military.

So much for everything being standard. What is the standard SI method of measuring a circle? Has anyone decided yet?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by PPLepew

OK, here's a challenge:

I give you a cylinder or barrel, 37" tall, 15" diameter, a piece of paper, a pencil and a basic calculator (mult, div, plus, minus, Pi). No conversion tables or assumed water density. You have to tell me how much it weighs when filled with water.

A European kid does this in no time with a metric ruler.

Unfortunately the European kid will not be able to give the answer!

Just to clear, the European kid has a huge advantage in so far that the kid is presumably able to measure the cylinder rather than use the numbers you provided.

While the said kid will be able to measure the wall thickness of the cylinder, the kid still needs to know the sg of the material used to construct the cylinder before he/she can determine the how much it weighs when filled with water.

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by Benz

What I always wonder why the "Rest of the World" which have "All Gone Metric" (which is not even a little bit true) cares what Americans and other sensible people measure with? Why does it kill you if I easily know that 5/32 is between 1/8 and 3/16? Why do you people want everyone to be like you? Do you imagine in your arrogance that you're some kind of better to which everyone else should aspire?
"Everything the same" was the ambition of the Communists (who, btw, used the metric system--how'd that work out for them?). But we live in a vast and varied world, where there's more than one way to do things. Why sneer at those who are happily doing things differently, and getting them done? If the "rest of the world" wants to all go like lemmings off the cliff of ignorance, what's that to me? They way I do things gets them done, and if the rest of the frantic world thinks I'm doing it wrong, what do I care?
You who prefer a different way to measure things: I wish you joy of it. Have your system, rejoice in it, but know that when you think to put down those of us who are different you only put your ignorance on display.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

When I was an Engineering student I took a Philosophy course. For whatever reason - I don't remember - the discussion was on probability or something like that. The prof explained that, as far as he was concerned, if two independent events each had a 10% chance of occurring, then there was no chance that both would occur.

After a long discussion, I got him to acknowledge that this was true only if you defined a number system where anything less than 0.1 was equal to zero. With that acknowledgement I agreed to his calculation.

All that to say that, if you have a defined system I'm happy to work with it. One isn't "better" than another because "better" isn't a useful term here. Use the one that works for your purposes and preferences.

And work with the "rest of the world" or not as you see fit. Whoever they may be from your point of view.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Benz

What I always wonder why the "Rest of the World" which have "All Gone Metric" (which is not even a little bit true) cares what Americans and other sensible people measure with? Why does it kill you if I easily know that 5/32 is between 1/8 and 3/16? Why do you people want everyone to be like you? Do you imagine in your arrogance that you're some kind of better to which everyone else should aspire?
"Everything the same" was the ambition of the Communists (who, btw, used the metric system--how'd that work out for them?). But we live in a vast and varied world, where there's more than one way to do things. Why sneer at those who are happily doing things differently, and getting them done? If the "rest of the world" wants to all go like lemmings off the cliff of ignorance, what's that to me? They way I do things gets them done, and if the rest of the frantic world thinks I'm doing it wrong, what do I care?
You who prefer a different way to measure things: I wish you joy of it. Have your system, rejoice in it, but know that when you think to put down those of us who are different you only put your ignorance on display.
Ben
zartmancruising dot com

Err... actually we don't care. The premise of the thread is the Americans (meaning USA citizens) believe there is something amiss with the metric system so what is really on display?

As for the phrase "what Americans and other sensible people measure with", does this suggest you believe there is a correlation between the two groups stated or have I misinterpreted your point?

[Mirage35]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Err... actually we don't care. The premise of the thread is the Americans (meaning USA citizens) believe there is something amiss with the metric system so what is really on display?

As for the phrase "what Americans and other sensible people measure with", does this suggest you believe there is a correlation between the two groups stated or have I misinterpreted your point?

Okay, that's what I was trying to say but for once I was trying to be polite.

[Sea Dreaming]

@44'cruising cat:

So for a lot of the world, not only the width of the road, but the side you drive on was dictated by a horse's arse.

Best line all day!

Sort of sums the thread nicely!

[belizesailor]

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.

Yah, what a ridiculous system.

Metric, for me anyway, is way more rational and based on much better references than some dead guy's appendages.