• (cs) in reply to osp70
    osp70:

    to continue on this weighty subject,  why is it that NASA uses metric?

    Because you can use pounds in space... everything is weightless.  I mean, duh!

  • (cs) in reply to yep
    Anonymous:

    <FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffbf0">USA *is* the civilized world.</FONT>

    Let's ask the people in Guantanemo Bay "interrogation" centers if they agree.

  • Ali G (unregistered)

    its no wonder the US is loosing its war on drugs!

    they teach the kids how to deal in ounces / 1/8th of ounces 1/4th of ounces and stuff.

    nobody deals in kilos of anything, I dont know anybody who has bought a kilo of anything except my mate dave who is in jail now.

  • Biznatch (unregistered) in reply to Bustaz Kool

    Yeah lets ask the bad guys how the world should be run.  Really Fuckin brillant!

  • DUDE (unregistered) in reply to dubwai
    dubwai:

    Maurits:
    Anonymous:
    More exactly is:
    "The real WTF here is that people from <FONT size=5>USA</FONT> still don't use the metric system."

    the rest of the americans(yeah the american continent start in alaska and end in the patagonia): mexicans, cubans, peruvian, chilenian, etc use it !


    So sad.  Every year thousands of USA-nian children are forced to learn an obsolete system of measurement, which isolates them from the rest of the civilized world, all so that Detroit doesn't have to retool its factories.

    Huh?  Last time I looked by socket set has metric and 'standard'.  That's not the reason.  Even if it were, Detroit won't have any factories soon.

    The problem is that old people don't want to have to learn a new system.

    Also, not all tons are equal.  Some tons are heavier than others.

    I disagree... a ton of excrement is equal to a ton of USAians.

     

  • (cs) in reply to Biznatch

    Anonymous:
    Yeah lets ask the bad guys how the world should be run.  Really Fuckin brillant!

    As the number of posts approaches infinity, the probabilty of a, unintelligible yet angry post on the subject approaches 1.

  • giannis (unregistered) in reply to hank miller
    hank miller:

    It comes down to this: metric was designed by scientists using the world knowledge of the late 1700s, while the "standard" system was designed over the years by people with real world problems.  The scientists never needed to use measurements in the messy real world, so they never asked why the measurements were so messy.   The people who did the "standard" systems (who were above common) didn't care about things looking nice on paper, they needed to get a job done.

    The "standard" system doesn't use base-10, which is about the worst choice you could make.   Base-12 is common in the "standard" system because the standard system was made for the real world where you need to take thirds and fourths often, and 12 allows both.   Base-10 doesn't give you either.  



    Nobody does that though, so it is a moot point.

    Who's asking 1/3 of a bread loaf, or cheese, or glass of milk?


    hank miller:

    Yes in metric you can change units by moving the decimal.   Nobody does that though, so it is a moot point.



    and 1/4 of a kilo is 250 grams (instead of 0,25 kilos), of meter is 25 centimetres (not 0,25metres), as you can see with metric you don't have to use decimals because it is easy to change units by moving the decimal. So your moot point doesn't stand, you're just more familiar to "standard" system.


    hank miller:

    However nearly everyone else uses metric, while there never was a single "standard" system that everyone used (Which is why I carefully put standard in quotes).   Thus metric is important and useful in the real world.


    I find it ironic that most Europeans are able to speak 2+ languages, but cannot deal with 2 systems of measurements, while Americans only speak English, but can handle 2 systems of measurements.



    We speak 2+ languages because in europe there are 20+ languages and having 1 or 2 more common languages is helpfull. There is no need to know 2 measurement systems because everybody (except english I think) make use of the metric system.


  • Me Too (unregistered) in reply to hank miller

    @RevMike: dude, first time ever visit here. chuckled at first... then it seemed you're not really trying to be funny. reading another post of yours "metric system has been used here and there", "we chose freedom"... i've seen people on crack that make more sense than you. don't mean to insult you unless some of the stuff you posted here is truly your oppinion. that being the case... get some help. if you're trying to be funny: get some humour. if you're trying to be serious: get educated. default: get some help.

    sorry... to still add something to the discussion...

    if i recall correctly base 16 system has been used by the babylonians and hasn't survived over the years... (yes, it's a power of two.. w00t!). But humans seem to be able to cope more easily with powers of ten... "just append a 0 dude!"

    anyways, as far as I can tell the metric system are really important in the whole of the scientific world (including computational science) and is used throughout in these fields.

    i do agree that only powers of two make sense in computers (and anything electric), as one of the (the?) first computer(s) built was based on powers of ten. but that doesn't scale. you really need to go two states in that respect.

    "i heard that beer makes you stupid" "no i.. doesn't!"

  • (cs) in reply to Anonymoose
    Anonymoose:
    Anonymous:
    Anonymous:
    It make no sense to bring english currency like dollars or pounds into the picture.
    1 ton = 1000kg. End of story.


    No.   1000kg = 1 tonne


    Nope.

    As long as we're being technical,
    1000Kg = 1 tonne.


    Did you just go and invent your own SI prefix there, or what?

    1000 kg = 1 metric ton = 1 tonne



  • (cs) in reply to dubwai
    dubwai:

    Xepol:

    In fact, you can even have Adrien Clarkson... Her delusions that she's the queen from her time as the governer general are so strong that they probably still persist.

    She's the one that spent a bunch of money decorating a mansion snd that's basically all she did, right?

    Not quite! She dragged 80 people across Russia, Finland and Iceland at taxpayer expense. The second leg of her tour was stoppped due to outraged citizen complaints and negative press. Read the last entry titled, "Lifetime Achievement — Adrienne Clarkson:" at http://taxpayer.com/main/news.php?news_id=1296
  • (cs) in reply to Bob
    Anonymous:
    well i am a citizen, born and raised in the US of A and I proudly use metric system, soley.  If I am asked my weight, Ill give it in kg, i am asked the outside temp, ill say it in C.  US changed into metric long ago, legally speaking.  I am just using it and not my fault americans are too lazy to use a superior measurment system bc to them its tradition.  no wonder why the rest of the world hates us.    

    Yes, the rest of the world hate the US because they haven't fully adopted the SI system. That's it.
    8-)
  • (cs) in reply to taphu

    taphu:
    Anyone who voices an extreme opinion on Metric vs. Standard should be shot, in the face.

    I wouldn't touch this thread with a 10 dodecainch pole.

  • (cs) in reply to Rank Amateur

    <FONT face=Tahoma>Just because you use something it doesn't make it better than anything someone else uses, like those dickheads gringos do. ex: RevMike and Tim <FONT color=#d3d3d3 size=1>(you two can go fuck yourself)</FONT></FONT>

  • nate (unregistered) in reply to Me Too

    Anonymous:
    But humans seem to be able to cope more easily with powers of ten... "just append a 0 dude!"

    If all we used was a base 16 then we'd still be able to just append a 0 because 10 comes after F, not 9

    1B7F * 10 = 1B7F0

    1B7F * 1000 = 1B7F000

    1B7F / 1000 = 1.B7F

     

  • (cs) in reply to tdog
    tdog:
    YEAH!  And WhyTF do Bakers need their own dozens.  It is about time we stand up for this non-sense.

    Because there was a time when shorting a customer was a capital offen[cs]e--they tended to throw in an extra just to make sure.

  • (cs) in reply to Me Too
    Anonymous:
    @RevMike: dude, first time ever visit here. chuckled at first... then it seemed you're not really trying to be funny. reading another post of yours "metric system has been used here and there", "we chose freedom"... i've seen people on crack that make more sense than you. don't mean to insult you unless some of the stuff you posted here is truly your oppinion. that being the case... get some help. if you're trying to be funny: get some humour. if you're trying to be serious: get educated. default: get some help.

    sorry...



    If you don't understand the satire (and many of you don't) that isn't my fault.  Ponder for a moment how silly it is to lambast another country for using a different system, when the system you propose to replace it with will have no benefit for 90% of those people.  People are entitled to their opinions but they also need some perspective.

    ...anyways, as far as I can tell the metric system are really important in the whole of the scientific world (including computational science) and is used throughout in these fields.


    When people do science with standard measures, they don't bother with expressions like 3 lbs 4 ozs.  Instead they use 3.25 lbs, 3.250 lbs, or 3.2500 lbs.  Once they've made that adjustment. however, there is not much benefit to using SI.  Some conversions become simpler, but it is just a little math here or there.  People do science in SI because it has become the standard.

    i do agree that only powers of two make sense in computers (and anything electric), as one of the (the?) first computer(s) built was based on powers of ten. but that doesn't scale. you really need to go two states in that respect.


    First of all, there is the whole family of analog computers that you shouldn't leave out.  Second, lots of common architectures support BCD at the instruction level, so base ten computing is not very uncommon, unless you want to say that IBM mainframes are exotic hardware.

  • (cs) in reply to RevMike
    RevMike:
    scpoRIch:
    dubwai:

    Maurits:
    Anonymous:
    More exactly is:
    "The real WTF here is that people from <FONT size=5>USA</FONT> still don't use the metric system."

    the rest of the americans(yeah the american continent start in alaska and end in the patagonia): mexicans, cubans, peruvian, chilenian, etc use it !


    So sad.  Every year thousands of USA-nian children are forced to learn an obsolete system of measurement, which isolates them from the rest of the civilized world, all so that Detroit doesn't have to retool its factories.

    Huh?  Last time I looked by socket set has metric and 'standard'.  That's not the reason.  Even if it were, Detroit won't have any factories soon.

    The problem is that old people don't want to have to learn a new system.

    Also, not all tons are equal.  Some tons are heavier than others.



    I believe the term for wrenches, sockets, etc. is SAE.  At least I'm 14mm sure. Now there is an interesting question - what IS our system called?

    On the subject of software design: I wonder what his function for conversion from feet to miles looks like...  And if the programmer would have taken a nautical mile or a statute mile...


    Well, I can't predict what someone with a CS degree might do :), but a good programmer would probably do something like...

    public static decimal NautMileToFeet(decimal nautMiles)
    {
      decimal feetPerNautMile = 6076.11549m;
      return Decimal.Multiply(nautMiles, feetPerNautMile);
    }

    public     static decimal StatMileToFeet(decimal statMiles)
    {
      decimal feetPerStatMile = 5280.0m;
      return Decimal.Multiply(statMiles, feetPerStatMile);
    }
     

    With a CS degree, you would use the much simpler but functionally equivalent:

    public static decimal NautMileToFeet(decimal nautMiles) {
      decimal feetPerNautMile = 6076.11549m;
      return nautMiles * feetPerNautMile;
    }

    public     static decimal StatMileToFeet(decimal statMiles) {
      decimal feetPerStatMile = 5280.0m;
      return statMiles * feetPerStatMile;
    }

  • Matvei S (unregistered)

    The most ridiculous part of this program, in my oppinion, is the use of "Decimal.Divide" and "Decimal.Multiply". Does this guy think that use of operators is outdated?! Well, then why not to eliminate all operators and replace them with objects and properties?

    ThisProgrammingLanguage.Operators.Assignment.Assign(
   ThisProgrammingLanguage.Variables.GetVariable("PoundFactor").VariableName,
   ThisProgrammingLanguage.DataTypes.Decimal(0.4535924).GetValue()
).Evaluate();

    Decimal.Divide((Decimal.Multiply(pounds, poundFactor)), tonFactor) reads much better as pounds*(poundFactor/tonFactor). Or, even better, precompute and define a constant ("poundsPerTon", or something alike) that would equal to ( poundFactor / tonFactor ). That is, if you want to stick with those wierd factors...

  • A nonny mouse (unregistered) in reply to Matvei S
    <FONT size=2>

    I'm English. Geographically (if not politically) that means I'm also a European. I only speak English but I'm learning Italian for interest. I spend pounds not euros or dollars. I would rather stay that way because they are part of our history. I like the Queen, I also like her son the future King, though I'm not a fan of his son. However, given the choice, a powerless monarch is probably still preferable to yet another idiotic politician as a UK president.

    The point of this? It's nice to choose something appropriate rather than have it imposed.

    It's easier to ask for a pint of beer than the various different fractions of a litre that you can get in other European countries.

    On a cold day it's handy to describe temperatures using Celsius because numbers like zero sound more meaningful than numbers in the low thirties. On a hot day Fahrenheit is useful because 80-90 sounds warmer than 27-32.

    Metric stuff is definitely easier to learn because almost all the units are base 10 as opposed to a mixture but that benefit ends once you've learnt it. In any case, something isn't necessarily good just because it's easy.

    What a few people need to grasp though (aside from irony) is that it only matters when different cultures come into contact. If London is 50 miles away then it doesn't get significantly nearer or further away by calling it 80 kilometres.

    Americans (USA variety), generally don't leave America so they can mostly get by without the metric system. Europeans tend to come into contact with other nationalities more often and so probably need a more international system. Brits and Canadians probably need to think about their audience a little more. What would probably be good is for a few more people to make a bit more effort when they find themselves on someone else's turf. If you can learn the syntax for several programming languages then a few measurements should be within your grasp.

    </FONT>
  • Seven (unregistered) in reply to RevMike

    sigh

    1 gram = the mass (not weight) of 1 cubic centimetre of (pure) water at sea level (quick quiz: how many atoms of H2O is that?  What is the mass of one atom of H2O?)
    1kg = 10^3 grams (what's this "1000" number anyway?  True SI units involve powers of 10).

    Who knows what 6/6 vision means?

    And nobody, but nobody talks about "2.54 cm," whether of snow or of other measures.  But you will hear (I won't, but you will) incredulous women around the world exclaim, "THAT is six inches?!"

  • Maxim (unregistered) in reply to RevMike
    RevMike:


    Now compare unemployment rates, growth rates, etc.  Please tell me why I shouldn't be laughing.


    Now compare:
    - crime rate
    - poverty rate
    - the length you can be put into prison without even being told why
    - the 'torture rate'
    ...

    Now tell me:
    How does somebody living on the street profit from your growth rate?
    How does it help to be fully employed if you still can't feed your kids because there are no minimum wages?

    Still laughing?

    /Maxim
  • (cs) in reply to dubwai
    dubwai:

    Yeah, David Burne wrote tha American money is the ugliest money in the world.  But I'm not sure.  A lot of Canadian money has a picture of the queen on it.  It's hard to compete with that for ugliness.  The inbreeding should eventually be dilluted but it seems to be taking a long time.

    Hah, wait till Camilla becomes queen, now you'll have ugly. The current queen doesn't come anywhere close.

    dubwai:

    RevMike:

    Seriously, most standard measure is inferior to metric, and only continues to be used due to habit.  There is only one place I find standard measures superior - the kitchen.  The measures typically found in recipes factor very well in twos, fours, etc.  Thus it is easy to modify a recipe that serves eight to serve four or two and vice versa.  The natural factoring of ten to metric measures does not serve here nearly as well.

    Beer too.  A pint is a much preferrable amount of beer than a half-liter of beer.

    Germans usually use "liter" and "2 liters"

    I say i'm quite okay with that, much more than with half a quart.

    Anonymous:
    RevMike:

    I learned a long time ago that many many people from the metric parts of the world are seemingly insecure about the metric system.  It makes it very easy to bait them for my own amusement.


    RevMike, you are just a shithead and forum troll.

    That, or he's just funny and you don't have the brains to grasp it

  • ByteJuggler (unregistered) in reply to Bob
    Anonymous:
    well i am a citizen, born and raised in the US of A and I proudly use metric system, soley.  If I am asked my weight, Ill give it in kg, i am asked the outside temp, ill say it in C.  US changed into metric long ago, legally speaking.  I am just using it and not my fault americans are too lazy to use a superior measurment system bc to them its tradition.  no wonder why the rest of the world hates us.    


    Well, to be fair:  I'm a South African (South Africa uses metric exclusively) but am currently living and working in the UK.  The brits still use the imperial system as well (for the most part.)  I've gotten quite used to working in pounds, weighing myself in stones/pounds, and working speeds in miles/h.  (So point is I got converted to using imperial in addition to metric .... |-)
  • Boo (unregistered) in reply to Yoey

    Sir, you have no idea about what you are talking about...

  • boo (unregistered) in reply to hank miller
    hank miller:
    Anonymous:
    Anyone who voices an extreme opinion on Metric vs. Standard should be shot, in the face.

    The "standard" system doesn't use base-10, which is about the worst choice you could make.   Base-12 is common in the "standard" system because the standard system was made for the real world where you need to take thirds and fourths often, and 12 allows both.   Base-10 doesn't give you either.  


    Yeah, base 12, and 16, 8, and sometimes 2, 1760, etc.

  • Gary Wheeler (unregistered) in reply to rogthefrog

    rogthefrog:
    You haul 16.0000017637 tons, and whaddayaget

    (yes, I did compute it based on those factors)

    "another day older, and deeper in debt;
    Saint Peter don't you call me, for I cannot go,
    I owe my soul to the company store."

    Tennessee Ernie Ford has the original, although the one by Rockapella aint' bad.

  • (cs) in reply to Maxim

    Anonymous:
    RevMike:


    Now compare unemployment rates, growth rates, etc.  Please tell me why I shouldn't be laughing.


    Now compare:
    - crime rate
    - poverty rate
    - the length you can be put into prison without even being told why
    - the 'torture rate'
    ...

    Now tell me:
    How does somebody living on the street profit from your growth rate?
    How does it help to be fully employed if you still can't feed your kids because there are no minimum wages?

    Still laughing?

    /Maxim

    So Maxim, if Africa had a minimum wage, would we end starvation?

  • (cs) in reply to JohnO

    By the way, it's quite easy to predict that you are a Euro.  Cradle to grave socialism is great for you tiny, homogenous, stagnant countries.

  • anon (unregistered) in reply to JohnO

    By the way, it's quite easy to predict that you are a American.  Blinding arrogance is great for your huge, fat, ignorant country.

  • Eponymous Coward (unregistered) in reply to Paul Tomblin

    Right.  We spit out hype by the yard...

  • (cs) in reply to RevMike

    Thats by far one of the funniest things I've read all week. I read it out loud to the guys at work here, we were all laughing so hard. 8-| well done, made my day.

    However, although I know you say it just to rile people, it's not that far from how I found some people in the states actually think (sure not everyone, but a good number)...
    I only recently returned from a 4 month work stay in the states... Damn... I guess I now know what makes a republican tick... and explode... I heard very similar stuff from a number of people on everything from taxes to health care to, of course, that f***ing war. That said those I met who had spent a decent length of time in euroupe, australia / NZ, asia or the like I generally found to be very nice people.. Just the 'america is the world, why the hell should I leave' types were the ones that made me sad.
    Not saying americans are bad, just massivly contrasting. You get some absolutly awsome people, then some utterly unbelivable nut jobs.



    On a completly unrelated note, while there I was at one point living in a house with 9 mormon students... There were about 2 guns in the house per person and I think they were probably quite glad to see me go.. what with my crazy 'liberal' views and such.
  • (cs) in reply to Yoey
    Anonymous:
    RevMike:
    Anonymous:
    The real WTF here is that Americans still don't use the metric system.        


    No, the real WTF is that the rest of the world has been duped into using that inferior system.


    Because a system based on density of water is pure madness.


    Gee, anybody notice that the metric vs. english debates end up sounding like java vs. C++, etc.?  Psst, all measurment is an abstraction, no matter what its based on.
  • (cs) in reply to Maxim
    Anonymous:
    because there are no minimum wages?

    $5.15. Many states higher. The internet is full of facts, use it.

    Anonymous:
    Adiabatic Lapse Rate is 1.98 Celsius degrees per 1000 ft elevation.

    It's more fun when you have several unit systems all munged into one big blob.

    Anonymous:
    RevMike:

    I learned a long time ago that many many people from the metric parts of the world are seemingly insecure about the metric system.  It makes it very easy to bait them for my own amusement.


    RevMike, you are just a shithead and forum troll.
    [image]
  • Sean (unregistered) in reply to Maurits

    You'd be surprised how much of the US schools' curriculum is in metric measurements.  Every science class I've ever taken dealt exclusively in metric, same with every math class.  For how hard they push it on students in US schools, it's frustrating that there are no initiatives to switch us over outside of schools. 

  • Raw (unregistered) in reply to Maurits

    "So sad. Every year thousands of USA-nian children are forced to learn an obsolete system of measurement, which isolates them from the rest of the civilized world, all so that Detroit doesn't have to retool its factories."

    Actually, the car factories are already using metrics, there are less than a handful non-metric screws in my '87 Firebird.

  • northwest (unregistered) in reply to Raw

    The real WTF here is what some people manages to put up in their comments. I mean, a guy (or girl...) writes a bad/horrible unit-conversion method, and suddenly the discussion is about royalty and what countires belongs to which continents!!

    ...ehhm suddenly I recall why I keep reading tdwtf [:D] 

  • hmph (unregistered) in reply to RevMike

    Yup, you certainly set the standards when it comes to brain-washing...

  • innocent bystander (unregistered) in reply to hmph

    So what's this I hear about giving times in base-60 and mod 12? WTF?

  • Terlisimo (unregistered) in reply to dubwai

    I beg to differ.

    A liter of beer is a much more preferrable amount of beer than a pint. Even more so if you drink US beer.

    Wuss.

  • (cs)

    Ever since the Euro was introduced in The Netherlands I have the irresistible urge to apply the conversion factor (2.20371) to non-money units as well. Two kilos of potatoes? Ah, that's 4.40742 old kilos of potatoes. Going 45 km/h? That's 100 old km/h for you.

  • Ray (unregistered) in reply to Handyman

    I have a question,

    Do you programmers in the new world (i.e. American's) use SI units (as in meters, kilograms, litres, Newtons) when you write programs? Seeing as how this is the international convention, and many equations simply don't work in imperial units?

    Or do you stick to your mantra "Imperial is better, Imperial is better, Imperial is better, Imperial is better"?

    (Oh, and I don't want to be told the USA is different from America. The term for a citizen on the USA is an American)

  • idunno (unregistered) in reply to hmph
    Anonymous:
    Yup, you certainly set the standards when it comes to brain-washing...


    blah blah blah
  • Mr B (unregistered) in reply to dabocla

    I agree that the actual values involved are crazy, but there are some advantages to the imperial system.

    Because a lot of it is grounded in ancient measurements which were based on body parts (yes, bring on the puns but I'm thinking thumbs, toes and arms here folks...).

    So, for ready reckoning inches and feet often seem more "natural".

     

    Oh, and the Earth is flat isn't it?

  • Me (unregistered) in reply to yep
    Anonymous:

    <font style="background-color: rgb(255, 251, 240);">USA *is* the civilized world.</font>



    lol
  • HangaS (unregistered) in reply to dabocla

    Complicated?? I can't imagine anything simpler! Everything is base 10. You can mix units of all kinds weight, length, etc and calculate on then all from your head.

    Whats easier to calculate? How many inches there are on a mile or how many centimeters there are on a Kilometer? Someone using the metric system is already saying 100.000 when you are stiil asking "normal mile or nautical mile?" :)

    Also isn't a bit primitive to mesure things using stones, inches or feet? If that is so good why don't you mesure the months in moons? 

    However there is still a mesurment in the metric system that is still not metric. time! There is a metric time unit, but not used yet.I hope to se the day when metric time is standard.  I hate to calculate by head that 100Km/h are 360000000 meters per second.

     

  • Me (unregistered) in reply to Bob
    Anonymous:
    well i am a citizen, born and raised in the US of A and I proudly use metric system, soley.  If I am asked my weight, Ill give it in kg, i am asked the outside temp, ill say it in C.  US changed into metric long ago, legally speaking.  I am just using it and not my fault americans are too lazy to use a superior measurment system bc to them its tradition.  no wonder why the rest of the world hates us.    

    sorry about my last comment there seems to be some pieces of civilization over there...

     * Anonymous again
    PS By the way not even Wikipedia seems to know the difference between weight (a force measure) and mass. Pound is a force measure while the metric gram system is based on mass so actually saying you weight some kg is not really correct, you mass is some kg:-) and converting between force and mass depends on a lot of things like gravity...

  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered) in reply to Grimoire

    Yes an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of feathers, but did you know that a pound of gold weighs less than a pound of feathers? Strange but true!

  • (cs) in reply to giannis
    Anonymous:
    We speak 2+ languages because in europe there are 20+ languages and having 1 or 2 more common languages is helpfull. There is no need to know 2 measurement systems because everybody (except english I think) make use of the metric system.


    Actually, the UK has been officially using metric for quite some time. From what I hear, the younger people who grew up with it  are generally quite happy with it, while many of the older ones keep using the old system, gripe loudly about the new one, form "demetrification clubs"  and display childish glee whenever they manage to have a road sign somehwere "demetrified".

    To add my 0.2 currency subunits to the debate: I find the pro-imperial-system arguments utterly flawed. You claim it's easier to divide into thirds? What's one third of a gallon then, huh? Not only does it use a different base than the numerical system, it uses different bases for different units, it even uses different bases for subunits of the same unit! That's just totally fucked up. One big steaming pile of WTF.

    Of course this only really comes to bear when you actually have to do non-trivial calculations with the stuff (though it can even make addition non-trivial), which most people never do in their daily lives. They just need it to express or estimate simple values and compare them, and for that, any system of units works. Yet because it is a part of their daily lives in this simple usage, people put completely unreasonable emotional investment into it and percieve any change as a huge threat.

  • Kefer (unregistered) in reply to HangaS
    Anonymous:

    I hate to calculate by head that 100Km/h are 360000000 meters per second.

     

     

    360000000 meters per second? Woohaa, that´s really fast.

    I love these "the rest of the world" against USA and USA against "the rest of the world" arguments. I´m from "the rest of the world". And I have just one thing to say to the rest of "the rest of the world": just let them. It´s the same people that chose Bush TWICE. I mean, common...

  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered) in reply to bramster

    Anonymous:

    In aviation, distance is in nautical miles, visibility is in statute miles. Fuel is measured in pounds.  Adiabatic Lapse Rate is 1.98 Celsius degrees per 1000 ft elevation.

    It goes on. . .   and on.

    In some forms of aviation, distance is in km, fuel what's that? I wouldn't want to live in whatever mixture of atmospheric gases you're in, the dry adiabatic lapse rate is actually roughly 3C/1000ft. The saturated adiabatic lapse rate can be 1.98C/1000ft but depends heavily on temperature, after a few thousand feet it certainly will not be 1.98C even if it was at cloudbase.

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