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Sep. 12th, 2004 11:58 pmWhen is the U.S. going to quit in their stubborn ass ways and convert to the metric system?
I think it's on its way out, and here's why:
1. Most (if not all) of the scientific world has already switched, but we have to waste a lot of time converting everything to the English system so that lamens people will understand it. Take meteorology for example. Temperature readings are all measured in degrees celsius by the instruments, but they have to be converted to Fahrenheit for public weather products and forecasts.
2. We have to use both types of measurement at the same damn time. Mechanics have to carry two sets of tools, because almost any motorized vehicle and farm equipment in this country has nuts and bolts in it that are both metric AND English.
In meteorology, the temp and dew point are both measured using celsius (although we should be using Kelvin in order for it to be true SI), but everything is else is measured according to the English system. Pressure is measured in inches at the surface (although it's in millibars above that), rainfall/snowfall is measured in inches, ceiling and cloud heights (same thing) are measured in feet, visibility is in miles, and wind speed is in knots. In order for meteorologists to be able to do any calculations whatsoever with this information, we have to convert every damn thing to metric values first. The same problem somewhat exists in hydrology, although they seem to rely more heavily on the English system.
Cars have spedometers that can display both metric and English values, because you never know what country you'll be driving in.
3. So much time is wasted in early education (and more advanced education) teaching all the conversion crap. I'm a junior in college, and we are STILL getting problems on our assignments that involve converting values from English to metric. Then there's also the whole issue of teaching students two types of measurement in school. Do you have any idea how much more we would learn if we didn't have to cover all that?
4. Teachers in elementary and high school are having students learn concepts and scientific stuff in metric more than English. We know about how much a kilogram is, or a kilometer, degree Celsius, etc. from what we learned in school. In fact, I think I have more of a problem telling you how much a pound is compared to a kilogram. When the schools start teaching this stuff at a young age, it's pretty much inevitable that the old English system people will die off and be replaced by a population that is increasingly trained on metric. It's like breeding out bad qualities in a species.
Yeah, I don't know why I just typed all that out. I guess I just got sick of doing the conversion shit in my homework and felt like ranting.
I think it's on its way out, and here's why:
1. Most (if not all) of the scientific world has already switched, but we have to waste a lot of time converting everything to the English system so that lamens people will understand it. Take meteorology for example. Temperature readings are all measured in degrees celsius by the instruments, but they have to be converted to Fahrenheit for public weather products and forecasts.
2. We have to use both types of measurement at the same damn time. Mechanics have to carry two sets of tools, because almost any motorized vehicle and farm equipment in this country has nuts and bolts in it that are both metric AND English.
In meteorology, the temp and dew point are both measured using celsius (although we should be using Kelvin in order for it to be true SI), but everything is else is measured according to the English system. Pressure is measured in inches at the surface (although it's in millibars above that), rainfall/snowfall is measured in inches, ceiling and cloud heights (same thing) are measured in feet, visibility is in miles, and wind speed is in knots. In order for meteorologists to be able to do any calculations whatsoever with this information, we have to convert every damn thing to metric values first. The same problem somewhat exists in hydrology, although they seem to rely more heavily on the English system.
Cars have spedometers that can display both metric and English values, because you never know what country you'll be driving in.
3. So much time is wasted in early education (and more advanced education) teaching all the conversion crap. I'm a junior in college, and we are STILL getting problems on our assignments that involve converting values from English to metric. Then there's also the whole issue of teaching students two types of measurement in school. Do you have any idea how much more we would learn if we didn't have to cover all that?
4. Teachers in elementary and high school are having students learn concepts and scientific stuff in metric more than English. We know about how much a kilogram is, or a kilometer, degree Celsius, etc. from what we learned in school. In fact, I think I have more of a problem telling you how much a pound is compared to a kilogram. When the schools start teaching this stuff at a young age, it's pretty much inevitable that the old English system people will die off and be replaced by a population that is increasingly trained on metric. It's like breeding out bad qualities in a species.
Yeah, I don't know why I just typed all that out. I guess I just got sick of doing the conversion shit in my homework and felt like ranting.