Americans can't handle the metric system

[uclaLabrat]

It's like a czech, except with different letters and a different meaning.

what you call an abortion in prague?

 

[Jeff7]

its funny that we have metric money but we refuse to consider metric measurements.

Nickel: 5 cents
Quarter: 25 cents
2 bits: 50 cents
A buck: One dollar
'Bout Tree Fiddy: Undefined



And we do some metric anyway.
Power consumption for lightbulbs is given in watts, not horsepower.
Pills are typically measured in milligrams.
Liquid medication is dispensed by milliliter.
Soda is commonly sold in 2-liter bottles.

 

[Belegost]

Doubtful. Those jackasses who designed my computer had to work with on/off switches.

Someone just really liked to halve things with inches.

So if you're going to represent values on [0,1], and all you have are on/off switches how do you do it? Well, you say everything past a certain on/off switch (the radix point, a decimal point is a radix point for base 10) is the fractional part. The first switch is 1/2, the next switch is 1/4, then 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, etc...

This is fundamental to all fixed point computation on binary machines, and a necessary part of floating point as well, though the handling and representation are different. If the people who designed your computer were not quite familiar with negative powers of 2 then your computer would be massively less functional and some things like smartphones would not be functional.

 

[Imp]

You blinded me with science.

 

[IronWing]

what you call an abortion in prague?

The czech's in the pail?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Nickel: 5 cents
Quarter: 25 cents
2 bits: 50 cents
A buck: One dollar
'Bout Tree Fiddy: Undefined

2 bits is 25 cents

Just like in computers a "bit" was an eighth of a larger monetary unit, that's where pieces of eight came from. An eighth of a dollar was one bit, 12 1/2 cents and 2 bits was a quarter.

 

[MongGrel]

Redoing all those MilSpec standards from over the last 50 years into metric might have something to do with it.

Not sure.

25.4

 

[kage69]

I grew up with both systems and hate metric. I guess that is my American half talking.

I grew up with both and find myself switching between them all the time.

 

[kage69]

If you have tasks where you need to do complicated math, then you use metric. Most people wouldn't drive around the world and most people wouldn't fly to their next-door neighbor's house. Use the right tool for the job.

This.

 

[uclaLabrat]

The czech's in the pail?

Close, a cancelled czech.

 

[Spacehead]

We still get the occasional metric blueprint at work. Last one i worked on a few weeks ago was already converted to inches by whoever drew it up so i didn't have to. And they were generous on rounding too

 

[Jeff7]

2 bits is 25 cents

Just like in computers a "bit" was an eighth of a larger monetary unit, that's where pieces of eight came from. An eighth of a dollar was one bit, 12 1/2 cents and 2 bits was a quarter.

See? I messed up a units conversion already.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Maybe the same jackasses that designed the computer you wrote that on...

I would be a lot happier moving to metric if it had used a dexonal (base 12) or sexagesimal (base 60) system. Decimal having only 2 and 5 as non trivial prime factors is grating when one wants to split something into thirds. I honestly think deciding on a numeral system based on how many fingers an average person has is ridiculous, perhaps it made a lot of sense for medieval Arabic scholars, but it's laughably archaic at this point.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Jeff7]

Maybe the same jackasses that designed the computer you wrote that on...

I would be a lot happier moving to metric if it had used a dexonal (base 12) or sexagesimal (base 60) system. Decimal having only 2 and 5 as non trivial prime factors is grating when one wants to split something into thirds. I honestly think deciding on a numeral system based on how many fingers an average person has is ridiculous, perhaps it made a lot of sense for medieval Arabic scholars, but it's laughably archaic at this point.

I want a number system base that's a prime number, just to screw with people.

 

[Belegost]

I want a number system base that's a prime number, just to screw with people.

You mean like binary?

 

[destrekor]

Americans don't even know their own supposedly "superior" system. They're idiots to think it's better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7x-RGfd0Yk

And, that's just units of length.

I never knew the majority of that.

I enjoyed it! :awe:

 

[brianmanahan]

i want the US to switch to metric

just wait until i die to do it :awe:

 

[Jeff7]

You mean like binary?

2 is the cheapest, wimpiest prime number.

Base 11 or base 17.

 

[K7SN]

Just because it is better doesn't mean we use it; When I was a kid, working as a mechanic, you needed 3 different kinds of wrenches. The one no one uses today makes the most sense; Whitworth wrenches.

I use both meters and yards; always buy a meter-stick because the back side hads inches. I agree; hogsheads, rods and even furlongs don't make sense if you can count past 100. If you work with both you understand a what a ton and a long ton are. If we teach both in our schools, the best will win out but then we don't measure the speed of light as furlongs per fortnight.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Americans don't even know their own supposedly "superior" system. They're idiots to think it's better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7x-RGfd0Yk

And, that's just units of length.

Americans understand some units of length very well. Like "our missiles fly farther than your missiles and if you don't like our system of measurement we can fly them 10 feet up your ass". Wanna know why we don't care how many centimeters that is? Because it's not our ass.

 

[mikeford]

We don't have to use metric, so some do, some don't, its OUR choice as we don't allow the government to run our lives.

 

[MongGrel]

Americans understand some units of length very well. Like "our missiles fly farther than your missiles and if you don't like our system of measurement we can fly them 10 feet up your ass". Wanna know why we don't care how many centimeters that is? Because it's not our ass.

:sneaky:

 

[Griffinhart]

Best comeback I've seen yet has been "There are two types of countries. Those that use the metric system and those that have walked on the moon."

 

[DrPizza]

I never knew the majority of that.

I enjoyed it! :awe:

Americans understand some units of length very well. Like "our missiles fly farther than your missiles and if you don't like our system of measurement we can fly them 10 feet up your ass". Wanna know why we don't care how many centimeters that is? Because it's not our ass.

What's even funnier is that Americans don't even know that their system of measurement is now based on the metric system. How long is an inch? What's the standard for an inch? Answer: Exactly 2.54 centimeters.

 

[brianmanahan]

Best comeback I've seen yet has been "There are two types of countries. Those that use the metric system and those that have walked on the moon."

lol, i like it

but wait, that would mean that liberia and myanmar walked on the moon :hmm: