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The Metric System

.. 1/10 ths even a caveman can do, save when everything you have is in another measure. Them hands and leagues takes cyphering

Yeah, but if octal rather than decimal was the standard the entire computer industry would be forty years ahead of where it is now, and pints and quarts would seem right, to boot.

Damned Romans.
 
I first heard that line "Keeps a Ten-Bob Note Up His Nose" nearly 50 years ago, and it just occurred to me ...
I wonder if The Beatles were making reference to snorting coke?

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The US drugs and medical devices use metric. Back in the 60's in pharmacy school we had to learn the imperial system as well as metric. For ease and accuracy of calculating doses, volumes, weights, metric has everything beat.
 
I'm still lobbying for octal. Base-8 would have all the advantages of metric, and also make sense of all imperial measurements.
 
With nothing really constructive to add to this discussion, other than I am building my new home using inches and feet as the units of measure, I was wondering is there a relationship that can be plotted over time between the forced conversion by the central government to metrics and the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms for personal protection and defense of the common good.

I don't know.....I'm just saying, you knowwww.. its kind of late but... if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck.....
 
There are 2 types of countries in this world. Ones that use the metric system, and ones that have been to the moon.

As a metrologist by profession, I'm sick and tired of hearing the notion that the US is 'too good' to make the switch, does so just to make a point to the rest of the world, or that the US has been better off without adopting the SI. It's as if some people feel there's a global conspiracy attempting to force the changeover. Green Eggs and Ham, Sam....

The folks at NIST (who are of the same technical calibre of folks who developed the space program) seem to agree that the metric system is the way to go for the US, or it wouldn't fund such programs that encourage its use.
 
If it weren't for the standard system and doing frequent conversions to the metric system, my (poor) math skills would be atrocious.
 
I think it takes a certain desire for mental self-abuse to prefer the mathematical conversion of fractions during basic multiplication, division, addition and subtraction over the simplicity of working in a decimal system where scaling is usually a simple shift of a decimal point.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
With nothing really constructive to add to this discussion, other than I am building my new home using inches and feet as the units of measure, I was wondering is there a relationship that can be plotted over time between the forced conversion by the central government to metrics and the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms for personal protection and defense of the common good.

I don't know.....I'm just saying, you knowwww.. its kind of late but... if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck.....

All the guns will be in imperial, and all the ammo will be in metric ...

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I think it takes a certain desire for mental self-abuse to prefer the mathematical conversion of fractions during basic multiplication, division, addition and subtraction over the simplicity of working in a decimal system where scaling is usually a simple shift of a decimal point.

I'm telling ya, octal. All the benefits of a 10 based system (because 10base8 is eight) as well as it's a boat load easier to roll back and forth to binary.

And the 2^4 oz/LB make it work.
 
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cleanshaved

I’m stumped
All the guns will be in imperial, and all the ammo will be in metric ...
now that is funny but also close to the truth.
No machines will be re tooled as a result of changing to the Metric system. The cost and waste is just too great.
So your Imperial gun and ammo will be the same size it was before no matter what you call it and will still work.
 
The important thing here is not about which option is necessarily better or the advantages of one of the other.

The important thing is that we all agree to keep this thread going until everyone agrees to use the same system of measurement... Heck until everyone on the internet is in agreement. We can work on World Governments right after that.
 
I hate the metric system. False French Cartesian nonsense, purportedly "rational". This from the same guys who invented new months, like "Thermidor." A meter was supposed to be one millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole, or some such nonsense. Then a platinum bar. Now a bunch of atoms emoting...

No, give me feet and inches, bushels and pecks, pints and quarts, miles, pounds, ounces, gills, furlongs, rods.
 
I hate the metric system. False French Cartesian nonsense, purportedly "rational". This from the same guys who invented new months, like "Thermidor." A meter was supposed to be one millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole, or some such nonsense. Then a platinum bar. Now a bunch of atoms emoting...

No, give me feet and inches, bushels and pecks, pints and quarts, miles, pounds, ounces, gills, furlongs, rods.

Good for you. We don't need to deal with your feet and inches, so if you want to keep punishing yourself ... :tongue_sm
 
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