Razors Edge ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #1 Posted June 7, 2019 Which is your choice? Personally, I "think" in the classic imperial system of inches, feet, miles, pounds, but when I actually do technical stuff, metric seems to win out by a long shot. Measuring stuff in metric seems more "exact", so when my tape measure or ruler has inches and cm/mm, if something doesn't line up exactly on the inch or half-inch, I end up using the metric length. Same with weights where it just becomes easier to deal with the non-on-the-mark stuff using the easily manipulated metric system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #2 Posted June 7, 2019 Imperial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, bikeman564™ said: Imperial This chart helps in the kitchen: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #4 Posted June 7, 2019 For most Americans who still live in the imperial world, this question is a bit like asking "What tastes better, fried chicken or fried walrus penis?" The overwhelming majority wiĺl say "fried chicken" without ever eating fried walrus penis and without knowing fwp actually tastes like a party in your mouth. Having grown up through the imperial system and lived through us converting to metric, I can say the metric system is way simpler and makes more sense. 90% of my thoughts involving units of measure are done in metric. Having said that, I still consider myself 6', 220lbs and never think 182cm, 100kg. Also any measurement over a foot with a measuring tape I still use feet and inches. My kitchen measuring items are still in cups, table and teaspoons. I guess I am a measuring version of bisexual. And for the record, fried walrus penis is just something I made up, and I have no idea what it would taste like. That is my story and I am sticking to it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR46 Posted June 7, 2019 Share #5 Posted June 7, 2019 It depends on what I'm working on. I prefer to use metric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #6 Posted June 7, 2019 Anymore metric. Just last week I bought a new hitch rack for my tandem. It came in many pieces. I grabbed some sockets and wrenches only to be surprised to find out that the bolts and nuts were not metric. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #7 Posted June 7, 2019 At work we use Imperial in our plant for manufacturing. However a lot of drawings from our customers are in metric. So a lot of converting happens. Divide by 25.4 and round in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #8 Posted June 7, 2019 19 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: This chart helps in the kitchen: how do you convert eggs from imperial to metric in a recipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 7, 2019 Share #9 Posted June 7, 2019 18 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Measuring stuff in metric seems more "exact", so when my tape measure or ruler has inches and cm/mm, if something doesn't line up exactly on the inch or half-inch, I end us using the metric length. Your problem is not the measuring system nor the device. One system is not more or less accurate. Your problem is that you either missed a class due to illness in 3rd grade or you have a learning disability. As my dad used to say, "You have to be smarter than the tool to be able to use it." If he were alive today he would be happy to see another example of his wisdom being proven true. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 7, 2019 Just now, jsharr said: how do you convert eggs from imperial to metric in a recipe? Multiply by 1.0 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share #11 Posted June 7, 2019 2 minutes ago, jsharr said: how do you convert eggs from imperial to metric in a recipe? Just go VEGAN!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #12 Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, Kzoo said: Your problem is not the measuring system nor the device. One system is not more or less accurate. Your problem is that you either missed a class due to illness in 3rd grade or you have a learning disability. As my dad used to say, "You have to be smarter than the tool to be able to use it." If he were alive today he would be happy to see another example of his wisdom being proven true. It is not a matter of if it can be done, but which is easier. If you have a board you need to cut into two even pieces, it is way easier to find your mark if the board is 180cm long than if it is 71 3/8 inches long. Even someone who is resistant to change can see that. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted June 7, 2019 Share #13 Posted June 7, 2019 Imperial but my brain can calculate distance & speed in Km’s pretty easily. Not sure why the Army did everything in Imperial except measure distance? We marched in “Klicks”, but drove in MPH? Really odd. When I helped that dude who wiped out on his mtn bike, I was talking to the 911 dispatcher trying to guide the paramedics who I could see but couldn’t see me. I told the dispatcher to have them come back about 200 meters and they will see the trail... I then thought why’d I say meters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #14 Posted June 7, 2019 Metric. All the industries I worked in for the last couple of decades since leaving P&W operated in metric. For all I know, they do too. Metric screws and nuts are much easier to understand and keep track of. Multiplying by 10 is easier because I have (still) 10 of them on my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share #15 Posted June 7, 2019 4 minutes ago, Zephyr said: It is not a matter of if it can be done, but which is easier. If you have a board you need to cut into two even pieces, it is way easier to find your mark if the board is 180cm long than if it is 71 3/8 inches long. Even someone who is resistant to change can see that. Kzoo is a closet metric man. Usually, the folks who stand up loudest against something are really just hiding something. NTTIAWWT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #16 Posted June 7, 2019 I am high tech and I use the same blended Imperial/Metric system that NASA uses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #17 Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, jsharr said: I am high tech and I use the same blended Imperial/Metric system that NASA uses. Is this why your probes often fail? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #18 Posted June 7, 2019 Just now, maddmaxx said: Is this why your probes often fail? They don't fail, they just eject their payloads in very strange places, and often prematurely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted June 7, 2019 Share #19 Posted June 7, 2019 22 minutes ago, Zephyr said: It is not a matter of if it can be done, but which is easier. If you have a board you need to cut into two even pieces, it is way easier to find your mark if the board is 180cm long than if it is 71 3/8 inches long. Even someone who is resistant to change can see that. Agreed. But I still would have to measure once and cut twice. And if someone can't divide 71-3/8 by 2 in their head then they shouldn't be doing any cutting. My counter-point to his point was that the system used in not more or less precise. Maybe he doesn't know what those little marks between the inch marks are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #20 Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, Kzoo said: My counter-point to his point was that the system used in not more or less precise. This was just me not reading whole posts again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #21 Posted June 7, 2019 34 minutes ago, Kzoo said: Agreed. But I still would have to measure once and cut twice. And if someone can't divide 71-3/8 by 2 in their head then they shouldn't be doing any cutting. My counter-point to his point was that the system used in not more or less precise. Maybe he doesn't know what those little marks between the inch marks are. My method is even easier. I like to teach life lessons. Example, I divide 71-3/8 by two in my head and get 35-11/16 but my eyes are bad and I mark and cut at 35-9/16. I hand the two pieces to my son, who needed the board cut into two exactly equal pieces and when he comes back to tell me they are not the same length, I tell him life is not fair and if you want something done right, do it yourself. I then walk away smiling to myself. Problem solved. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prophet Zacharia Posted June 7, 2019 Share #22 Posted June 7, 2019 27 minutes ago, ChrisL said: Not sure why the Army I thought “military logic” was a well known oxymoron. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share #23 Posted June 7, 2019 6 minutes ago, jsharr said: My method is even easier. I like to teach life lessons. Example, I divide 71-3/8 by two in my head and get 35-11/16 but my eyes are bad and I mark and cut at 35-9/16. I hand the two pieces two my son, who needed the board cut into two exact pieces and when he comes back to tell me they are not the same length, I tell him life is not fair. and if you want something done right, do it yourself. Problem solved. But how do you halve 9.71 hands??? That's bloody and disgusting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #24 Posted June 7, 2019 As a chemist, I much prefer the metric system because it's so easy to move between weight, volume, and length and where the units are decimals so its easy to remember that 1 gram of water is one milliliter and 1 kg of water is 1 liter, etc. It used to be said that the USA didn't go metric when even England did because our industry was tooled in imperial units. That's not really the case anymore - every auto mechanic has to have sets of both and so do most of us with home rachet, box wrench, etc. sets and I wonder if sticking with it costs us in global trade. For example, Caterpillar was using one inch thick steel plates for the floor of one of its vehicles, then switched to a Swedish company that made 25 mm thick plates, less than an inch's 25.4 mm, and Caterpillar saved 1.6% off both the cost of the plate and weight of the plate. That was millions of savings for Caterpillar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #25 Posted June 7, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted June 7, 2019 Share #26 Posted June 7, 2019 32 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said: I thought “military logic” was a well known oxymoron. It’s military intelligence but logic works too. We used to say there is the right way, wrong way and Army way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #27 Posted June 7, 2019 In college, in the 70s, the U.S. was going to go metric "in the next few years". We had to do problems in both systems, not just get one answer then convert, one prob would be in Imperial the next in metric. It would get you used to seeing things in one system and then learning to expect answers within certain boundaries. It helped a lot when I got immersed in metric while in SA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12string Posted June 7, 2019 Share #28 Posted June 7, 2019 I thought this was going to be about an upcoming WWF match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris... Posted June 7, 2019 Share #29 Posted June 7, 2019 I grew up with the imperial system. Then in 1975 they switched, while I was in high school. Then I moved here and had to switch back. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #30 Posted June 7, 2019 5 minutes ago, Chris... said: I grew up with the imperial system. Then in 1975 they switched, while I was in high school. Then I moved here and had to switch back. ? Your post reminded me that Imperial liquid measurements are different than US liquid measurements. An Imperial gallon is around 1.2 US gallons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #31 Posted June 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Zephyr said: For most Americans who still live in the imperial world, this question is a bit like asking "What tastes better, fried chicken or fried walrus penis?" The overwhelming majority wiĺl say "fried chicken" without ever eating fried walrus penis and without knowing fwp actually tastes like a party in your mouth. Having grown up through the imperial system and lived through us converting to metric, I can say the metric system is way simpler and makes more sense. 90% of my thoughts involving units of measure are done in metric. Having said that, I still consider myself 6', 220lbs and never think 182cm, 100kg. Also any measurement over a foot with a measuring tape I still use feet and inches. My kitchen measuring items are still in cups, table and teaspoons. I guess I am a measuring version of bisexual. And for the record, fried walrus penis is just something I made up, and I have no idea what it would taste like. That is my story and I am sticking to it Do they still trust you with a gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 7, 2019 Share #32 Posted June 7, 2019 52 minutes ago, wilbur said: Do they still trust you with a gun? 7.62 but not 30 cal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted June 7, 2019 Share #33 Posted June 7, 2019 2 hours ago, wilbur said: Do they still trust you with a gun? Some days....., but they are known to make the odd stupid decision 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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