re: Britain to return to Imperial Measurements

I don't understand why we can't teach both in schools.

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on't understand why we can't teach both in schools.

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Lmao are you kidding me? They can barely teach our kids to add

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The usual suspects are, of course, screaming about backwards old white men, etc.

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12 is greater than 10. Always has been and always will be.

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 foot unlike a meter can be cleanly divided by two , three and four – which for a carpenter or tailor makes it the better unit to work with

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Idk about all that carpenter and tailor bs but a meter can be divided by 100. It's called a millimeter. A foot can be divided by 100 also, it's about 1/8" but with metric it's exactly 1/100 and the decimal works without conversion. Add to that that a millimeter is roughly 1/25 of an inch and you have a more precise measurement as well.

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Idk about all that carpenter and tailor bs but a meter can be divided by 100. It's called a millimeter. A foot can be divided by 100 also, it's about 1/8" but with metric it's exactly 1/100 and the decimal works without conversion. Add to that that a millimeter is roughly 1/25 of an inch and you have a more precise measurement as well.

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Kind of like descriptions of a woman as 1.66m with 87-61-87 measurements, or an offensive lineman at 1.98m and 140kg.

Good? Bad? ... Got a calculator?

But "much more precise". Right?

Nah.

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In fact, preferential imperial use in daily living is not just d/t familiarity with the system. Imperial units were based on lengths, volumes, or weights of things commonly encountered in everyday use. The result is ease of use in daily activities, but randomness in science. (Water freezes at 32°F, Boils at 212°F)

Metrics are anchored on scientific landmarks (Water freezes at 0°C, Boils at 100°C), but carry the expectation of adaptation to daily use.

So whereas the imperial system offers 4 common linear units (inches, feet, yards, and miles), metrics offers just three. It makes a difference. The metric result is unwieldy in day-to-day application ... centimeters (too small), meters (too large), and kilometers (too small).

For example, we measure homes in sq ft. Why? Because that is a more manageable, convenient measurement for the purpose than sq yards. Sq meters is an even more cumbersome area measurement than sq yds though. Yet that is what metrics sticks you with. So the average US home is 213.68 sq m, with an average price of $1830/sq m instead of 2300 sq ft at $170/sq ft.

For small measurements in science, metrics are far more useful. E.g., mg,µg,ng or mm,µm,nm. Again, no accident. The Imperial system was not designed with such miniscule measurements in mind.

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dk about all that carpenter and tailor bs but a meter can be divided by 100. It's called a millimeter.

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Metric is definitely fool proof.

Having lots of experience with old cars... I'll also say imperial bolts are easier to work with. I can look at a nut and tell if it's 7/16" or 1/2" or 5/8". But if its 10mm or 11mm... gotta guess. Seems like 80% of the time I grab the wrong socket or wrench with metric cars.