The metric system

[David S]

The U.S. is gradually implementing the metric system. Are you in favor of this or opposed?

[Gabu]

Personally, I don't care.  Metric makes a heck of a lot more sense than what the US currently has, but as long as their scientists all use metric (I'm looking at you, guy who forgot to convert to metric and consequently made NASA waste a billion dollars), both work for what they're used for in common usage.

[David S]

Personally, I don't care.  Metric makes a heck of a lot more sense than what the US currently has, but as long as their scientists all use metric (I'm looking at you, guy who forgot to convert to metric and consequently made NASA waste a billion dollars),

It wasn't me man.

[Gabu]

Personally, I don't care.  Metric makes a heck of a lot more sense than what the US currently has, but as long as their scientists all use metric (I'm looking at you, guy who forgot to convert to metric and consequently made NASA waste a billion dollars),

It wasn't me man.

Not you, I meant I was looking at that one scientist who made some spacecraft crash-land purely because he forgot to use metric.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

The U.S. is gradually implementing the metric system. Are you in favor of this or opposed?

This is an incredibly idiotic idea.

I know Clinton delayed forced metrification, but I don't know if he totally killed it.

[Gabu]

The U.S. is gradually implementing the metric system. Are you in favor of this or opposed?

This is an incredibly idiotic idea.

I know Clinton delayed forced metrification, but I don't know if he totally killed it.

What's so horrible about the metric system?  If nothing else, it makes the math easier; "1000 meters in a kilometer" or "1,000,000 square meters in a square kilometer" is a heck of a lot easier to remember than "5280 feet in a mile" or "43,560 square feet in an acre".

Plus, it's a lot more structured: all you need to remember are the prefixes (and the conversion factors thereof) and the principal quantities, instead of individual names for each level of measurement and every single individual conversion factor.

[Keystone Phil]

No. I think that this is one thing most American forum members can agree on.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

What's so horrible about the metric system?

The real issue is national autonomy.

[Gabu]

What's so horrible about the metric system?

The real issue is national autonomy.

Maybe you should develop your own national language, then, too; English is used throughout the world and it is clearly destroying your national autonomy to conform to the rest of the world on that point.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Maybe you should develop your own national language, then, too; English is used throughout the world and it is clearly destroying your national autonomy to conform to the rest of the world on that point.

I agree. I would favor an increased awareness of some Native American languages such as Cherokee.

[Bono]

I can't believe I agree with bandit.

[Richard]

Nah, keep it the way it is.

[A18]

I can't believe I agree with bandit.

[John Dibble]

Teach both the U.S. and the metric systems. Metric is good for science stuff, but I think the U.S. system is more convenient for everyday stuff(like cooking).

[dazzleman]

Personally I don't care.  Metric makes a lot more sense than our current system.

Of course, I heard we were switching to the metric system in the early 1970s, so I'll believe it when I see it.

The only problem I have with it is a lack of fluency with it.  I have a mental picture of what a gallon, pound, mile, etc. mean, and lack that for metric measurements.  But it can be obtained.

[Akno21]

Football fans would hate it. It would take me forever to grasp "And its a 5 meter run for Lewis". Though they could keep their yards if they want.

[Gabu]

Football fans would hate it. It would take me forever to grasp "And its a 5 meter run for Lewis". Though they could keep their yards if they want.

Switching to the metric system would not make private use of the British system illegal if you really wanted to do it.  We here in Canada are completely converted to the metric system, but we still talk about yards in football, cups and tablespoons in recipes, etc.

[dazzleman]

Football fans would hate it. It would take me forever to grasp "And its a 5 meter run for Lewis". Though they could keep their yards if they want.

Switching to the metric system would not make private use of the British system illegal if you really wanted to do it.  We here in Canada are completely converted to the metric system, but we still talk about yards in football, cups and tablespoons in recipes, etc.

I'm surprised the liberals haven't tried to outlaw that....

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Scientists have long been using the metric system, but no on else seems to use it.

[dazzleman]

Scientists have long been using the metric system, but no on else seems to use it.

It really makes a lot more sense than the system we use.  Basing everything on a 10-factor makes it a lot easier to compute than the hodgepodge system we use. 

1 mile = 5,280 feet 
1 acre = 43,560 square feet
1 foot = 12 inches
1 yard = 3 feet .....

...on and on.  It's hard to remember.  The metric system makes a lot more sense, if we could ever bring ourselves to learn it.

[Gabu]

Football fans would hate it. It would take me forever to grasp "And its a 5 meter run for Lewis". Though they could keep their yards if they want.

Switching to the metric system would not make private use of the British system illegal if you really wanted to do it.  We here in Canada are completely converted to the metric system, but we still talk about yards in football, cups and tablespoons in recipes, etc.

I'm surprised the liberals haven't tried to outlaw that....

Har har.

Seriously though, I don't think anyone cares.  Switching to metric is an issue of making things simpler, not to simply switch for the heck of it (regardless of what the people say who say for whatever reason that America would lose national autonomy if it switched to the measuring system that the entire rest of the world uses).  Since it wouldn't make things simpler to talk about a 18.288-meter field goal, nobody cares that the British units are used there.

[David S]

Metric is definitely easier to learn and to use. It takes some getting used to though. Most Americans have a feel for the english system. For example we know car tire pressure should be around 30 lbs per square inch, but how much is that in pascals or megapascals? Gas is $2.30 per gallon and it takes 16 gallons to fill up but how much does it cost per Liter? And how many liters does it take to fill up? Yeah we can look it up but we don't have a feel for it. Speed limits can be a problem for a while too especially in older cars that don't have speedometers calibrated in KPH.

[Gabu]

Metric is definitely easier to learn and to use. It takes some getting used to though. Most Americans have a feel for the english system. For example we know car tire pressure should be around 30 lbs per square inch, but how much is that in pascals or megapascals? Gas is $2.30 per gallon and it takes 16 gallons to fill up but how much does it cost per Liter? And how many liters does it take to fill up? Yeah we can look it up but we don't have a feel for it. Speed limits can be a problem for a while too especially in older cars that don't have speedometers calibrated in KPH.

It obviously would take some getting used to, but the only reason that Americans have a feel for the current system is because that's what's in place.  I have a feel for the metric system a lot more than the British system simply because that's what I grew up with.

All of the other countries made the transition; I don't see why America couldn't.

I remain as I said in my first post, that I don't really care, since I know enough about the British system to make do when I go to the US, but it certainly would be doable.

[TX_1824]

Personally, I like the metric system. It is almost impossible to get through school without using it. Besides, are we the only country that hasn't converted?

[KEmperor]

I can't believe I agree with bandit.