METRIC vs. IMPERIAL measurment system (schools, university, move to)
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Watch this: 12m is divisable by 2,3,4 and 6 while 10 inches is only divisable by 2 and 5. Here is another trick: A millimeter is a wonderful thing. It can be divided into 1/2,1/4,1/8,1/16,1/32/1/64....it's binary!
I'm not trying to argue for or against the metric system here, I just think your rational for why the imperial system is more user friendly has absolutely nothing to do with either system . All you are talking about is simple mathematics, which will be the same regardless of which system you use.
If this was just a joke post, then I'm sorry I couldn't tell.
LOL, AYRTS? I challenge you to even see a half mm. The FACT is, inches are routinely divided in a BINARY way. CMs are not, EVER.
I went to high school in Canada after going to school in the States for eight years and I have to say that the metric system is far superior to the imperial system.
I've found the metric system as a far more accurate and dependable system. It's also actually easier to understand. I have worked in the technical field for decades and have found the metric system to be sound.
LOL, AYRTS? I challenge you to even see a half mm. The FACT is, inches are routinely divided in a BINARY way. CMs are not, EVER.
So not a joke then? Ok, so you really just don't understand the difference between "numbers" and "units".
Agreed, cms are not divided in a binary way, but it is not because they cannot be it's just that it is unnecessary to divide them as such.
Fractions, in fact all mathematics, works exactly the same in both the imperial and the metric systems, that was the point I was trying to make.
There are many good arguments on both sides of the metric versus imperial debate, but imagining that fractions will stop working in one of the systems is not one of them.
It wouldn't be that hard. Just teach kids metric, use it in schools and text books, and eventually they would change. When I was young, they gave a half-*ssed attempt at teaching metric. If they would just follow-through, everyone my age would understand metric.
Anyone who works in math, science, and engineering knows things would be easier if everyone understood metric. Partially because everyone else uses it (is it really necessary to declare your patriotism even through your measurement system?!), but even more so because the system MAKES SENSE! It is based on 10's, not 2's. It makes so much more sense. Calculations are so much easier, etc...
There's a reason the US educations sucks at math and science. This is an analogy for US education as a whole. We refuse to look outside our own border for comparisons to keep what works, but also adapt what does.
I like Imperial because it is easily divisible. You can chop it, slice it, dice it and massage it to your heart's content. You can chop up a foot into the whole numbers: 1,2,3,4,6,12. In metric you can only chop up 10 into whole numbers: 1,2,5,10.
Who gives a crap about the metric system.. we went through millenniums with hundreds of different languages, i think a couple countries can deal with the already set Imperial system we all grew up into.
This shouldn't be about "trying to deal with it," we are trying to make the change because it is a standardized system. We as Americans are trying to sell our product to other countries. The metric system units are realized through their SI units to international standards.
Say an American company that makes a 50 mm widgit with a tolerance of ±0.5 mm. To make sure this product was made correctly you must measure it. To make sure you don't make a false measurment (pass OR fail) you need tools more accurate than what you measure. The industry standard is 4:1 accuracy ratio for minimal false readings. The tool must also be calibrated using the same type of procedure. It goes back to international standard to make sure you have the same number no matter where the part is made, no matter where the part is going and no matter what machine the part was designed for across the globe. It works like a chain that everyone, everywhere comforms to.
By using our own standard and our own measuring system we are basically inhibiting foreign trade. The international community would not know if we made the part correctly because we would be using a different set of standards than the rest of the world, so why buy from an American company? If their standards are not the same, can we further trust how well the product was made?
It wouldn't be that hard. Just teach kids metric, use it in schools and text books, and eventually they would change. When I was young, they gave a half-*ssed attempt at teaching metric. If they would just follow-through, everyone my age would understand metric.
Anyone who works in math, science, and engineering knows things would be easier if everyone understood metric. Partially because everyone else uses it (is it really necessary to declare your patriotism even through your measurement system?!), but even more so because the system MAKES SENSE! It is based on 10's, not 2's. It makes so much more sense. Calculations are so much easier, etc...
There's a reason the US educations sucks at math and science. This is an analogy for US education as a whole. We refuse to look outside our own border for comparisons to keep what works, but also adapt what does.
This is true, one would think, an easier system to use, would be an easier system to learn. Lets be patriotic and build the part better than everyone else, we cannot build a better product if when the specifications are different in every country.
Last edited by cheese9988; 06-22-2009 at 06:11 PM..
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. All you are talking about is simple mathematics, which will be the same regardless of which system you use.
