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Metris vs Imperial, Celsius vs Fahrenheit, AM/PM vs 24h ... what's up ?

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by Spear, Oct 28, 2009.

  1. Spear

    Spear New Member

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    Hi,

    I'm not sure i'm posting in the right section, but it might have something to do with politics.

    Some friend of mine, from UK, told me that at school, she learned metric system, but still uses " feet ", " ounces ", " lbs " as measurement units.

    I'm wondering : from the decision a country takes to move to another scale, what makes that it " works " or not to have people move to the new measurement system ?

    I guess it's part of the " uses ", if you learn at school " metric " but at home your dad & mom use and talk to you in " imperial ", i think imperial will rule.

    An american sister who works in the US Navy told me that she uses AM/PM at home, but in the army, she uses 24hours scale.

    A few mins ago (the origin of this post), i read that american scientists use Celsius degrees, but common people use Fahrenheit degrees at home in USA.

    I don't know exactly where people are in these scales, except from my UK friend : in your country (no matter where it is), do you learn metric at school and use imperial at home ? I've checked a few UK recipes, and see most are in imperial (those yummy scones :)).

    From your point of view, if you're in such a case, how long will it take to have the " official system " adopted ?
     
  2. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    They have tried and have failed. I don't think it will happen anytime soon. I think in feet and inches, yards, and miles. The metric system while supposedly much easier to use is foreign to me and it would be hard for me to change.
     
  3. Winman

    Winman Active Member

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    Where I work we make precision ball bearings, mostly for aircraft and military applications. We measure down to the millionth of an inch, the decimal system. When you work with it every day it just comes to you after awhile. I have many of our fractions of an inch memorized. For instance, 3/16 of an inch is 0.188", 5/32" is 0.156", 7/16" is 0.438"... you get used to it.

    But you have to use it every day for it to kick in.
     
    #3 Winman, Oct 28, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 28, 2009
  4. Robert Snow

    Robert Snow New Member

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    I have been a machinist since 1972. Even back then we were told about a switch to the metric system. It never happened. There have been a few times we have had metric blueprints, but we converted them to the English system.

    I as so familiar with the English system it would be difficult to change now.
     
  5. NiteShift

    NiteShift New Member

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    Now and then some government bureaucrat decides to once again push the metric on the public. It never really took. In the military I had to use metric and 24 hour clock as you mentioned, but it didn't feel normal.
    So what do you use in France?
     
  6. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

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    In the US, we dont' have an "official system". Our standard of measurement is decided by the marketplace. Here, the marketplace has chosen to use SAE measurements in most areas, and metric in others. It works for us, and there's no need to alter it at this time. I see no forseeable need in the future to alter it.
     
  7. NiteShift

    NiteShift New Member

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    Remember when a 305 cid engine became a 5L? I assume that was a result of doing more business internationally. Recall how the highway signs were displayed in kilometers for awhile and everyone complained so much that they reverted to miles. In the 70's IIRC.
     
  8. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

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    I recall likewise. Yep, they're all results of the marketplace, and it has worked quite well for us.
     
  9. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    >Yep, they're all results of the marketplace, and it has worked quite well for us.

    Who is "us," Kemosabe? It has worked out well for hand tool manufacturers.
     
  10. Spear

    Spear New Member

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    Sorry, was away for some time.

    We use metric. Honestly, the AM/PM is simple, and not annoyng when i travel, it's mostly in recipes that it annoys me, between ounces, lbs (which are not exactly the same weight that we use as half of a kilogram), but some said, you get used to, as some translation. The only system i NEVER got used to, is Fahrenheit degrees (we use Celsius). On that last point, even if there's an easy & approximative formula, i never have it easy :D
     
  11. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Ireland has mostly gone metric, but you ought to try recipes that use ounces when US and British liquid ounces are not the same, but you don't know it toill you see the source of the recipe :)
     
  12. windcatcher

    windcatcher New Member

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    In medical, I used imperial measurements, generally in dosing.... but there are several 'odd' measurements still used in medical which requires a lot of attention to the abreviations and the alternative measures.... grains, drops, come quickly to mind. That is true even with metric where the difference is quite large and in error if one ever mistakes or mis writes mg when mcg is intended. Example..... one doctor writes a synthroid for 125 mcg and another writes the same order as 0.125 mg'(which btw are equivalent).

    Sometimes that meant mathmatical conversions from imperial such as ounces to the metric.... cc or ml. Temperature, however, is commonly recorded in Fahrenhiet.

    Lengths or distance, weights, kitchen measurements, automotive tools.... like sockets sizes... used imperial, generally.... but our automotive industry was largely American and based upon parts and connections made and supplied under imperial measurements. As foreign cars and foreign made parts used metrics in much of their engineering... and some foreign made parts became supplys for American made automobiles.... mechanics had to add metric to their tool chest as they could be working on the same car but imperial worked in some applications and repairs which metric sets were required for others.

    When I was trucking....... what a confusion it could have been. My log book was Am and Pm and I had to log all changes in terms of the time zone of my home base. However, if i received a dispatch offer for a run through several time zones.... The time of the pickup on the order started in the time zone of that pick-up and the delivery time was given in the time zone of delivery. I had to know the time zone as the planners and the dispatchers disregarded that information. I could be passing to or through up to 4 time zones on one order. As one travels west and passes through a time zone.... they gain an hour but on return to the east.... every zone crossing means they lose an hour. The problem I frequently found was that the planners and dispatch either were stupid or acted like they were stupid in recognizing the schedules which they accepted and tried to put on a driver. While many rose from the ranks of driver, themselves, its like they never saw or used a log book. Anyway.... frequently the orders would be written in terms of the 24 hour clock.... which is called here locally as 'military time' (I live where a large population of military and ex-military are), and which prevented confusion over AM vs PM.... but had no regard for time zone. This left it entirely for the driver to figure out against what hours he had left available that week to drive....what distance he could drive in a day typically vs the traffic patterns and slow downs within the given route at the times he would be passing through and whether the zones would crunch his time relative to the order given.... though the hours on the log book would remain constant.

    I think having a standard and sticking by it is best. But we have accusomed ourselves to traditional..... make that imperial or 'commonly understood' weights and measures, that unless a person is involved in fiels like medicine, engineering, mechanix, the imperial works well for general life skills as it is both historical in the literature.... such as cook books, patterns and dress making and dry goods, carpentry measurements and supplies and drawings, and common/contemporary in use.
     
    #12 windcatcher, Nov 26, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 26, 2009
  13. MrJim

    MrJim New Member

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    1972 was about when I was in the 1st grade and I can remember the teacher saying the USA would be converted over to the metric system very soon and that's why she was teaching it:tonofbricks:
     
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