Should the USA convert their system of measurement to Metric?

[Alacion]

Another topic inspired from work today at Tommy Hilfiger.

So, you guys know that many of our customers at Tommy are immigrants. Europeans and Asians use a different system of measurement than we do in North America. This leads to confusion to all parties since we are used to different sets of standards.

This brings me on to the USA. I always wondered why the USA uses the Imperial system still. Some of it has leaked into Canada. In terms of bodily measurements (in casual situations), the Imperial system is used. Also, many cooking recipes come from the USA so measurements are also in Imperial.

So once again, I'll just rant on with some of my views for and against the idea, hopefully in a nice, easy to read list. It's going to be shorter than the other thread

For changing the Imperial system to Metric

1) Standardization. The rest of the world (minus two) uses the Metric system. Americans who involve themselves with the sciences need to learn the Metric system also (Systeme Internationale). Many discrepancies wouldn't exist, and more people would be able to understand the measurements,

2) Communication. Talking with non-Americans about measurements leads to confusion. For example, it's 100 degrees F outside. I have absolutely no idea how hot or cold that is. One would have to know the correct way to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa. There's also British people who use stones. I remember some girl saying she weighed 6 stones and I had no clue what that meant.

3) Ease. The Metric system is easy to learn and convert. 1 kilometre = 1000 metres. First of all, multiplying or dividing with 1000 is not too difficult. The "kilo" is also a dead giveaway as "kilo" means 1000. For the Imperial system, the conversions aren't so obvious. It's 8 pints to a gallon but 5280 feet in a mile? In short, the ratios for the Metric system are easier to calculate and remember.

4) Business. Importing and exporting would be easier for everybody. All units would be the same. How about corporations that cater to all people of this planet. One bottle of water could say 1 gallon, and the other 3 litres. Imagine if we all used the same units? Would not production be easier, and more efficient?

Against changing from the Imperial system to Metric.

1) Accustomed. The entirety of the USA is used to the Imperial system. Why change something that's already set in stone? Some people may need a long time to get used to Metric and some may be totally resistant to change.

2) Expensive. The price of changing a standard will be costly. Companies will have to change labeling and whatnot in accordance with the change. The government would have to focus on educating all 300+ million of its citizens.

3) Replacement All imperial units would have to be replaced. Is it possible to replace all road signs with their Metric counterparts? Businesses would have to retrain employees. It will also take time since schools would have to teach both systems of measurement and let the Imperial slowly die down. How about cars, where their speedometres are in Imperial units?


So, what do you guys think? Do you support a change to the Metric system or is everything just fine the way it is ?

 

[1048576]

I think we need to go about changing the culture first. A "flag day" where we change all the signs and stuff would lead to confusion and resistance. So do like they do in Miami. Keep signs with imperial units (English) but also have signs with both (English and Spanish) so people who are new to the system can begin to learn naturally. Then maybe later you can go wholesale metric.

I hear this as a critique for the US a lot, and I think it's comparable to how Europe still has dozens of different languages despite the inconvenience. Change is hard.

 

[Battlecow]

Converting the US and everyone in it to Metric is hard. Converting from Imperial to metric on a case-by-case basis is easy. There's no real disadvantage to Imperial as opposed to Metric; I say leave it as is.

 

[Lord Chair]

There are enough disadvantages, the most prominent one being the fact that recalculation tends to be required during trade.

 

[Battlecow]

Trade between US and other nations can be mostly conducted by people who've got the conversion formulae down pat. That recalculation can be done in a snap with no real inconvenience to anyone.

The Euros always want like a cookie or something for having a marginally better system. It doesn't matter in the least, guys. Get over it.

 

[Lord Chair]

Practicality is overrated.

k

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

Does it really make a difference? IIrc (And from looking on the side of a goldfish carton next to me), aren't most metric measurements printed next to the imperial label, most thermometers have both fahrenheit and Celsius listed, and metersticks are around the same length as yardsticks (just a bunch of examples to show)

 

[ballin4life]

A meter is too big for many day to day uses, while a centimeter is too small. I either have to say something is 3 or 4 meters and be very imprecise or go into centimeters and start talking about 300 or 400 of them - a huge change in significant digits, to the point that it's now too specific. A foot lands just in the middle and feels more natural. Example: how big is the door to your home? In metric, you have to say well it's probably somewhere between 1.8 and 2.2 meters. In Imperial you can say it's about 6-7 feet.

Farenheit temperatures also just tend to work out well. 50s are cold, 60s are moderately cold, 70s are pleasant, 80s are warm, 90s are hot.

The only time conversions are really annoying are when they use the same name for different measurements. For example, IIRC a pint of beer in the US is about 25% smaller than a pint of beer in the UK. This can create some problems if someone doesn't realize how much they are drinking.



Also I'm eagerly awaiting OPs post on how England should switch to driving on the right side of the road.

 

[Battlecow]

Practicality is overrated.

k

I didn't say or imply that. You're really starting to annoy me. Argue right or don't argue.

 

[1048576]

A meter is too big for many day to day uses, while a centimeter is too small. I either have to say something is 3 or 4 meters and be very imprecise or go into centimeters and start talking about 300 or 400 of them - a huge change in significant digits, to the point that it's now too specific. A foot lands just in the middle and feels more natural. Example: how big is the door to your home? In metric, you have to say well it's probably somewhere between 1.8 and 2.2 meters. In Imperial you can say it's about 6-7 feet.

Farenheit temperatures also just tend to work out well. 50s are cold, 60s are moderately cold, 70s are pleasant, 80s are warm, 90s are hot.

The only time conversions are really annoying are when they use the same name for different measurements. For example, IIRC a pint of beer in the US is about 25% smaller than a pint of beer in the UK. This can create some problems if someone doesn't realize how much they are drinking.



Also I'm eagerly awaiting OPs post on how England should switch to driving on the right side of the road.

Use decimeters. That's what they're for. The system of 10 ensures you won't ever have to use a unit that's too vague or specific.

The temperature thing is nothing more than your opinion. I disagree. I think ~55 - 75 is "pleasant." You're prolly just not used to metric conventions.

 

[-Jumpman-]

The metric system in itself is worthless. I think the term you are looking for is SI.

 

[Alacion]

The metric system in itself is worthless. I think the term you are looking for is SI.

Well yes but in modern language, the Metric and Systeme Internationale are interchangeable right? It's like saying "How much do you weigh?". "Actually, you should have asked what my mass was."

Also I'm eagerly awaiting OPs post on how England should switch to driving on the right side of the road.

Changing the position of the driver's seat would just affect those who have the wheel on the right. The change from Imperial to Metric, or Systeme Internationale, is greater.

When posts start deviating from the actual point of the thread so quickly, you know it's a badly done thread. My bad, and I'll let you geniuses make new threads in my place since I can't "foster intelligent discussion" at all.

 

[ballin4life]

Use decimeters. That's what they're for. The system of 10 ensures you won't ever have to use a unit that's too vague or specific.

The temperature thing is nothing more than your opinion. I disagree. I think ~55 - 75 is "pleasant." You're prolly just not used to metric conventions.

I've literally never heard of anyone using decimeters before. Also in my example I'd still have to say 18-22, which is a bit more cumbersome than 6-7.

I think most people would say 55 is cold. Maybe it's just that I'm from California though.

Changing the position of the driver's seat would just affect those who have the wheel on the right. The change from Imperial to Metric, or Systeme Internationale, is greater.

When posts start deviating from the actual point of the thread so quickly, you know it's a badly done thread. My bad, and I'll let you geniuses make new threads in my place since I can't "foster intelligent discussion" at all.

You're really confusing me here. First of all, changing which side of the road you drive on has a much higher cost than changing measurement system. So I have no idea what you mean by saying the change from Imperial to Metric is greater.

Second though, I don't know what you mean by posts deviating from the actual point of the thread. You're making this comment in reply to ONE throwaway sentence in ONE post. I don't see what the problem is.

Also, if you think about it a little, that sentence actually was related to the topic at hand. My point was that there are costs to switching from one system to another. Even though the UK is one of a handful of countries that still drives on the left, they probably aren't going to change any time soon because costs are too high. Similarly, it isn't a strong argument IMO to say that the US should switch off of Imperial simply because only a handful of countries use Imperial. I was drawing the analogy to illustrate transaction costs of switching.

 

[Battlecow]

55 ain't cold, cali boy.

 

[1048576]

I've lived in FL my whole life ...

 

[Alacion]

Lol, I'm sorry I had a terrible day yesterday. When customers complain about you to the manager, you just feel like trash and I was more sensitive than I should have been in this thread. I made triple my sales goal though, so I must be doing something right!

But yes, I agree with you ballin4life. Everything in the world is all right and countries have adapted already to the USA using Imperial units.

Nobody uses decimetre, while plausible, it just seems kind of strange. I could never wrap my head around all the conversions and I hope certain units like the mile was actually created based on 1000 soldier's steps.

Guess this topic wasn't that difficult to settle.