Very cold macbook pro

[mac00l]

See, to me the exact opposite is true. It makes no sense to measure every single length with one unit (meter) - how many meters wide is a pencil? Or the distance from home to work, in meters? Yes, you'd probably measure one in mm and one in km - different units. You can SAY it's one unit, but the fact is, people's comfort level is to use different units to measure different things. Using inches for one and miles for the other isn't really any different.

How wide is a pencil??? 30 mm aprox, meaning 3 cms, or 0.03 meters. That took me 2 seconds to calculate.

It is one unit, you just play with decimals, it's the same like saying a hundred, thousands or millions.

Metric make sense, imperial doesn't. Nonetheless it's equally hard for either user to use the opposite system if he's not used to.

 

[Tomorrow]

How wide is a pencil??? 30 mm aprox, meaning 3 cms, or 0.03 meters. That took me 2 seconds to calculate.

It's about 1/4 of an inch wide. No calculations necessary, because I would never measure it in feet, yards, or miles.

 

[EmbraceTheOne]

Your temperature scale is in Celsius. There is nothing wrong apart from your lack of knowledge of the International System(AKA what every country apart from the US uses).

Owned.

 

[oinkcluckmoobah]

I agree that the metric system in general makes more sense for just about everything. In the sciences it's indispensable.

But I do concede that I find imperial terms more poetic. So if I were to write a non-technical, stylistic piece, I'd prefer to refer to things like miles, inches, and leagues. "Leagues" is so cool.

 

[beosound3200]

See, to me the exact opposite is true. It makes no sense to measure every single length with one unit (meter) - how many meters wide is a pencil? Or the distance from home to work, in meters? Yes, you'd probably measure one in mm and one in km - different units. You can SAY it's one unit, but the fact is, people's comfort level is to use different units to measure different things. Using inches for one and miles for the other isn't really any different.



Depends on what we're measuring. We DO actually use millimeters here, or fractions of an inch.



You seriously can't convert ounces to pounds? Really?

why dont you try to be objective? the FACT is that the international system is more logical than the imperial, it isnt a matter of opinion, its the FACT, you were maybe raised up using imperial system, but that doesnt make it more logical and whats more important easier to use. youre an engineer, it shouldn be hard for you to come to that conclusion, you just change the prefixes in international system in EVERY unit, micro - mili - centi - hecto - kilo - mega, etc. why do you think almost the whole world uses it?

everybody should speak english because its easier than 90 percent of the languages in use today, thats the same thing like international vs imperial debate, thats the FACT but people love to keep their cultural inheritance, so be it.

did you know that people from Korea have longer tongue for about 1 cm from the rest of us because of their language, and they cant speak their language fluently until they are 20-22 years old. some people just like to do it the hard way, i say let them be! their problem...

 

[Tomorrow]

why dont you try to be objective?

Who says I'm not?

the FACT is that the international system is more logical than the imperial, it isnt a matter of opinion, its the FACT

The flaw in your statement is that you haven't outlined what makes one system more logical than another. Neither has anybody else. Read on:

you were maybe raised up using imperial system

Again, I've been raised using both systems - depending on what's being measured. I've never once used an Imperial unit to measure electrical potential, or current, or resistance, because the convention in this country is to use SI units. I've used metric units my whole life to measure CPU temperatures, because that's the convention used in this country. Automotive engines' displacement is measured in both metric and Imperial units. And the track I ran in high school was marked in meters.

youre an engineer, it shouldn be hard for you to come to that conclusion, you just change the prefixes in international system in EVERY unit, micro - mili - centi - hecto - kilo - mega, etc.

I'm fully aware of how it works, I've been using it for nearly 40 years now.

Your rationale for using metric units is that converting one to another is as simple as moving a decimal point and changing its name. Yes, on the surface that sounds quite convenient. I also agree that the math is easier than converting, say, inches to miles.

The flaw in your "logic," as you claim it to be, is that in my whole life, I've never run into ANY example (outside of a textbook) where I've ever needed to convert units on that type of scale. I've never been asked to give the distance from the Earth to the Moon in inches. I've never been asked to give the size of my house in square miles. Nobody has ever asked me to weigh myself in grains, and I've never measured the length of my fence in light-years. Extending this to metric (or SI units), something that would typically be measured in centimeters - say, a person's height - would never be measured in kilometers. There's simply no need to be able to convert centimeters to kilometers, so making the math easier is solving a problem that doesn't exist.

No, the REAL benefit behind SI units is in deriving units from each other - for example, the SI unit for pressure (Pascal) is one Newton per square meter, with no conversion factor like there is in the Imperial system. One Watt is one ampere times one Volt.

If you're going to make an argument, at least make the "logical" one.

 

[phyrexia]

The metric system doesn't have one unit. It has one base, and that is logically why it is better than the imperial system.

SI uses base-10 for all levels of graduation of measurement. Base ten is also the base we as humans use in our day to day lives, since we have ten fingers.

As someone mentioned, water is inherent to the metric system and as it is the most abundant liquid on the planet that makes logical sense as well.

Standardization = Logical



Also, a meter used to be 1/1000000 the diameter of the world or something arcane like that until it was switched to its relation to the speed of light (equally arcane but measurable everywhere in the universe)

Here it is: The other approach suggested defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the length of the Earth's meridian along a quadrant, that is the distance from the equator to the North Pole.
(via wikipedia's metre article)

Who says I'm not?



The flaw in your statement is that you haven't outlined what makes one system more logical than another. Neither has anybody else. Read on:



Again, I've been raised using both systems - depending on what's being measured. I've never once used an Imperial unit to measure electrical potential, or current, or resistance, because the convention in this country is to use SI units. I've used metric units my whole life to measure CPU temperatures, because that's the convention used in this country. Automotive engines' displacement is measured in both metric and Imperial units. And the track I ran in high school was marked in meters.



I'm fully aware of how it works, I've been using it for nearly 40 years now.

Your rationale for using metric units is that converting one to another is as simple as moving a decimal point and changing its name. Yes, on the surface that sounds quite convenient. I also agree that the math is easier than converting, say, inches to miles.

The flaw in your "logic," as you claim it to be, is that in my whole life, I've never run into ANY example (outside of a textbook) where I've ever needed to convert units on that type of scale. I've never been asked to give the distance from the Earth to the Moon in inches. I've never been asked to give the size of my house in square miles. Nobody has ever asked me to weigh myself in grains, and I've never measured the length of my fence in light-years. Extending this to metric (or SI units), something that would typically be measured in centimeters - say, a person's height - would never be measured in kilometers. There's simply no need to be able to convert centimeters to kilometers, so making the math easier is solving a problem that doesn't exist.

No, the REAL benefit behind SI units is in deriving units from each other - for example, the SI unit for pressure (Pascal) is one Newton per square meter, with no conversion factor like there is in the Imperial system. One Watt is one ampere times one Volt.

If you're going to make an argument, at least make the "logical" one.

 

[beosound3200]

Who says I'm not?



The flaw in your statement is that you haven't outlined what makes one system more logical than another. Neither has anybody else. Read on:



Again, I've been raised using both systems - depending on what's being measured. I've never once used an Imperial unit to measure electrical potential, or current, or resistance, because the convention in this country is to use SI units. I've used metric units my whole life to measure CPU temperatures, because that's the convention used in this country. Automotive engines' displacement is measured in both metric and Imperial units. And the track I ran in high school was marked in meters.



I'm fully aware of how it works, I've been using it for nearly 40 years now.

Your rationale for using metric units is that converting one to another is as simple as moving a decimal point and changing its name. Yes, on the surface that sounds quite convenient. I also agree that the math is easier than converting, say, inches to miles.

The flaw in your "logic," as you claim it to be, is that in my whole life, I've never run into ANY example (outside of a textbook) where I've ever needed to convert units on that type of scale. I've never been asked to give the distance from the Earth to the Moon in inches. I've never been asked to give the size of my house in square miles. Nobody has ever asked me to weigh myself in grains, and I've never measured the length of my fence in light-years. Extending this to metric (or SI units), something that would typically be measured in centimeters - say, a person's height - would never be measured in kilometers. There's simply no need to be able to convert centimeters to kilometers, so making the math easier is solving a problem that doesn't exist.

No, the REAL benefit behind SI units is in deriving units from each other - for example, the SI unit for pressure (Pascal) is one Newton per square meter, with no conversion factor like there is in the Imperial system. One Watt is one ampere times one Volt.

If you're going to make an argument, at least make the "logical" one.

and here we go again, no one asked you so what? its easier isn't it?

is it or not?

you think it isnt?
think again

is it or not?

yes - my thoughts exactly

its easier and thats all that matters, get it now?

you can say all you want, but its easier, and thats the FACT, again...

40 years? start thinking outside of the box, because of the people like you, we have to do things the hard way

and really? no one has ever asked you or you never had to (outside of the textbook) convert inches to yards or feets or whatever, really? i really cant believe you, sorry, one example at 3 am - car dimensions, so i dont need a converter to understand the length of a car, and be precise, how long is your car but with the precision of 1cm in imperial units? 1600 inch? and how many yards is that? just to complicated if you ask me, but it seems to be just the matter of opinion. or not?

and to use fractions to show lengths below one inch? i mean come on... 1/254 inch 1mm? i just cant believe this argument

 

[mrsir2009]

Lol... Some Americans forget that there's a world outside America.

 

[DWBurke811]

No, a car would be something like 16' 3" Pretty simple.

But fwiw, it takes all of a quarter of a second to convert yards to inchs, or cups to gallons, or any conversion that ever happens in real life.

 

[Wombert]

No, a car would be something like 16' 3" Pretty simple.

But fwiw, it takes all of a quarter of a second to convert yards to inchs, or cups to gallons, or any conversion that ever happens in real life.

It's not simple. It's a length measured in two different units. That's the opposite of simple, and close to the definition of stupid.

Now, please be so kind and convert 17.9173182 yards to inches for me. In a quarter of a second. Thanks.

----------

See, to me the exact opposite is true. It makes no sense to measure every single length with one unit (meter) - how many meters wide is a pencil? Or the distance from home to work, in meters? Yes, you'd probably measure one in mm and one in km - different units. You can SAY it's one unit, but the fact is, people's comfort level is to use different units to measure different things. Using inches for one and miles for the other isn't really any different.

Yes it is, because inches and miles do not have the same base unit. And that's the whole point. For any mildly complex conversion in the imperial system you inevitably need a calculator.

 

[andy.barron]

without yards I would really struggle on those par 3's...

 

[orfeas0]

Who says I'm not?



The flaw in your "logic," as you claim it to be, is that in my whole life, I've never run into ANY example (outside of a textbook) where I've ever needed to convert units on that type of scale. I've never been asked to give the distance from the Earth to the Moon in inches. I've never been asked to give the size of my house in square miles. Nobody has ever asked me to weigh myself in grains, and I've never measured the length of my fence in light-years. Extending this to metric (or SI units), something that would typically be measured in centimeters - say, a person's height - would never be measured in kilometers. There's simply no need to be able to convert centimeters to kilometers, so making the math easier is solving a problem that doesn't exist.

If a car is some feet long and you need to know how many cars can park in a certain parking lot that is a mile or more, you need to convert feet to miles.
With meters it's extremely easy. With the imperial system, not so much.
I understand that inches-feet-miles are used for different items or measurements but you do need to convert sometimes, it's not an unexistent problem.

 

[gngan]

Some people here prefer the Imperial system because they are brought up learning that. I am sure if you teach a child with the same IQ then the metric system will be easier to learn. Not that it's better but it's definitely easier. I am used to drive on the right side of the car and finds it weird to be on the left of the car where most of the world is. Does that mean it's better? No, but at least it won't be easier to learn to drive on the left.

 

[Tomorrow]

and here we go again, no one asked you so what? its easier isn't it?

is it or not?

you think it isnt?
think again

is it or not?

yes - my thoughts exactly

its easier and thats all that matters, get it now?

you can say all you want, but its easier, and thats the FACT, again...

What are you, eight?

...please be so kind and convert 17.9173182 yards to inches for me. In a quarter of a second. Thanks.

You just illustrated my point. In the Real World, anything you would measure to that much precision would have just been measured in the correct units to start with, and anything that's nearly 54 feet long wouldn't need to be measured in inches.

If a car is some feet long and you need to know how many cars can park in a certain parking lot that is a mile or more, you need to convert feet to miles.
With meters it's extremely easy. With the imperial system, not so much.
I understand that inches-feet-miles are used for different items or measurements but you do need to convert sometimes, it's not an unexistent problem.

Actually, the surveyor would measure and report the dimensions in feet, and the engineer would divide that by the width of a parking space, 9 feet. You'd have the same amount of math if you used meters.

 

[beosound3200]

What are you, eight?



You just illustrated my point. In the Real World, anything you would measure to that much precision would have just been measured in the correct units to start with, and anything that's nearly 54 feet long wouldn't need to be measured in inches.




Actually, the surveyor would measure and report the dimensions in feet, and the engineer would divide that by the width of a parking space, 9 feet. You'd have the same amount of math if you used meters.

no, four and a half

its like i need to explain stuff to a child, a pretty stubborn child

just to make things clear, is this fun to you or you just cant see valid point from couple of fellows here?

because if it is fun to you, then ok we can continue because its fun for me too, but if you cant see that the international system is easier than you have a problem

its not easier to use the system where you have only one unit (lenght - meter) and one base (10) and prefixes to avoid too much zeroes but thats only to make it more simpler and efficient than it already is than to have a system that has pretty much random base (league - 3 miles, mile - 8 furlongs, furlong - 10 chains, chain - 22 yards, yard - 3 feet, foot - 12 inches)

really, are you making fun of us or what?

because for a moment i thought that you really mean what you say

lets try this, youre trying to learn a kid how to measure, he is 10 years old and he doesnt know how to do it in both imperial and international system, which would be easier for him to learn? i mean really, be serious this time so we can end this circus

 

[orfeas0]

lets try this, youre trying to learn a kid how to measure, he is 10 years old and he doesnt know how to do it in both imperial and international system, which would be easier for him to learn? i mean really, be serious this time so we can end this circus

Well said

(league - 3 miles, mile - 8 furlongs, furlong - 10 chains, chain - 22 yards, yard - 3 feet, foot - 12 inches)

Oh my God!!!

 

[andy.barron]

Could we not agree both systems are used & move on?

Lets face it, no one is going to change the system they use so there is no 'better' one, they are just different.

 

[Tomorrow]

really, are you making fun of us or what?

No. You're the only one behaving as immaturely as you are. I can disagree with the others, but they're at least coming across as grownups.

If you'd like to debate whether Spongebob or Patrick is the funnier character, I'll let you hash it out with my son. I'll debate the grownup topics with the folks who can come up with a better argument than "its easier and thats all that matters, get it now?".

 

[beosound3200]

No. You're the only one behaving as immaturely as you are. I can disagree with the others, but they're at least coming across as grownups.

If you'd like to debate whether Spongebob or Patrick is the funnier character, I'll let you hash it out with my son. I'll debate the grownup topics with the folks who can come up with a better argument than "its easier and thats all that matters, get it now?".

thats all you can think of?

when i said why it was easier it was the most simple and obvious argument which every normal man (i say normal, regardless of the years, knowledge etc.) would accept right away, then i offered you another one a bit more complicated, i even put some numbers in it (mile-yards-feet-inch) you havent accepted that one either

when you have an debate with someone you need to try to speak to them in a way they could understand, i tried, i didnt succeed

you dont know how old i am, you dont know what i do and you dont know what i know, and you dont need to because the only thing that should matter to you is what i wrote in my posts

lets talk about kids then. believe me, from my own experiences, i tend to listen to kids to see what they have to say, because they are not corrupted with the world around them (yet), they can be very objective with simple things they can understand, so do your self a favor, ask your kid what does he think is easier, after you show him miles-yards-feets-inch, km-m-dm-cm comparison, he will tell you because you obviously cant comprehend such simple and straightforward things

the grownups? they had this debate (nations of the former british empire) to what conclusion did they get? to what conclusion did the most and i mean large, pretty large majority get?

the only reason i talk to you is because this debate i wouldnt have with a 4 year old baby because he would see it right away, so i was curious where this will lead to

and frankly i dont give a **** what your 'real world' is, everybody has their own 'real world' and the things they use or not, but that shouldnt be important at all, because i wasnt asking you for your opinion, i dont give a **** about it, i was asking you to be objective which you obviously cant or you have been too corrupted by the world around you, the way you were brought up, your education, your job that you cant see the simplest things any more such as the difference between 10 and 12, 10 and 3, 10 and 22 and so on

just try to be more objective

and yes, the argument that something is easier hence better, and in a lot of thing thats all that matters, is pretty good actually, lack of imagination or just plain stupidity?

dont complicate things unnecessary, you should be doing the exact opposite, but thats the known trait of you so called 'grownups'

 

[saberahul]

Imperial system is so backwards;
1 inch = 2.54cm
1 foot = 12 inches
1 yard = 3 feet
1 mile = 1760 yards


Who the hell came up with such a assbackwards system? Here, look how easy and obvious the metric system is;

1cm = 10mm
1m = 100cm
1km = 1000m

Holy crap! Did you see that?! A monkey just figured it out.

Technically, an inch used to be the size of the kings pinkie, a foot the size of his foot, a mile the size of the army (I forgot this one).

 

[DWBurke811]

It's not simple. It's a length measured in two different units. That's the opposite of simple, and close to the definition of stupid.

Now, please be so kind and convert 17.9173182 yards to inches for me. In a quarter of a second. Thanks..

again, something that would happen in real life. If something had to be accurate to inches, why would someone express it in yards?

Expessing something that need to be in kilometers in micrometers or something, while "easy," serves no practical purpose in life.


Regardless, I'll continue to happily use imperial(AKA very grand) units, and google has the rest covered for any wrong units...

 

[snaky69]

Wow, my post sparked quite the debate!

Tomorrow, your arguments are good, albeit a bit flawed in the sense that sometimes your instrument of measure will not have the units you want it to have. That's where conversion comes in. I've had to do some conversions out of a textbook context during my internship this summer, in the imperial system, and since this system isn't what I grew up with, I did have to resort to Wikipedia and my trusty Machinery's Handbook to correctly convert my stuff into usable form.

Both systems have their pros and cons, the Metric system has one clear advantage when it comes to base units and conversion between units(when doing large thermodynamics equations, finding the base units and cancelling them out helps finding exactly what comes out the other end, for example).

On other things, such as cars, giving me the power in kW just doesn't speak to me, I speak horsepower in cars, because that's the way I've always been taught. Same goes for my height, my parents are older and learned the imperial system, so I've always known my height in feet and inches. Same goes for my weight. Since I'm a car enthusiast, pressures in psi(boost pressures, vacuum) have more meaning to me. When cooking, most recipes quote the oven temp in Fahrenheit, even here in metric Canada.

Let's simply say that until the US finishes converting to the international system and the old guys let the new ones take over, such a debate will be history and will be laughed at in front of a nice fire with a cold beer in hand.

Thanks for the entertainment though, it's nice to see a good debate go on, even though there were a few childish responses.

 

[beosound3200]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to determine the United States measurement challenge once and for all.

In the blue corner we have our current US champion for many years, weighing in at 220.4623 pounds, our hero: Igor Imperial.

In the red corner we have, weighing in at 100kg all the way from France, and currently storming the world wherever he goes, our challenger: Mean Mr Metric.

It will be a great fight today and one that may change the course of history. Can Mean Mr Metric defeat Igor Imperial and change US life forever, or will Igor outwit the classy opponent and maintain his place in history.

We are about to find out.

Gentlemen, I want a clean fight. Shake hands and come out fighting on the bell.

Round 1: "DONG"

They both approach each other and meet in the middle of the ring. Metric has trained well and opens with the first punch:

How many feet in a mile?

Imperial answers after a moments hesitation with:

5280

"Good exchange there Bob, hasn't worried either of them."

"No Bill, it's still neck and neck, although Imperial took a fraction of a second to divert that question."

Imperial decides to attack with a similar strategy: How many metres in a kilometre?

Instantly, Metric flashes back with: 1000

"Wasn't that a great counter by Metric eh Bob - so quick. He's looking good tonight"

"Sure is Bill"

Imperial goes on the attack again with a curly one: How much does a litre of water weigh?

Metric comes back quickly with: 1 kilogram

"Great offense from Imperial there Bob. Combining both measurement of mass and volume - well thought out."

"Sure thing Bill, but I think he may have left himself a bit vulnerable here. If I can guess, Metric should follow up with..."

How much does a pint of water weigh?

Imperial reels back with such a tough one. He hesitates.

"Thought he'd do that Bill, he's looking shaky. I wonder how he's trained for this?"

Suddenly, Imperial's eyes light up and he comes back with:

1.0431758 pounds

"Well Bob, our champ got out of that one but it was a bit messy eh?"

"It was Bill. I think he was lucky there. Metric should come back with a tough one here if he's got it in him."

As Metric prepares for an offense, the champ Imperial slips in a sneaky one:

If 1mm of rain falls on 1 square metre of roof, how much water is collected?

"What a shot Bob! That'll hurt him."

Metric defends without a flinch:

1 litre

"No Bill, Metric has trained too well and has got too much ability. That reply was instananeous. You know, I think he should follow the same strategy as before and follow up with..."

If 1 point of rain falls on 1 square foot of roof, how much water is collected?

"Imperial is down!"

1 2 3 4 5 6 7...

7.97922 fl oz

"What an answer! Our boy's still got guts!"

"DONG"

End of Round 1.

"Bill, that bell came just at the right time. This fight shouldn't last the next round."

"You're right Bob, but that guy from France is just too good.

Round 2: "DONG"

Imperial comes out and slips in a gentle offense:

How many grams in a kilogram?

Metric defends:

1000

"Playground stuff there Bob."

"Yeah Bill"

Metric goes for the kill:

How many grains in an ounce?

"Uh oh. I think this is it Bob."

Imperial stutters:

uuuhhhhmmmmmmm. Which system?

"Oh Bill, he's answered with a question. That's not following the spirit of the game!"

Metric replies:

All three.

"Curtains Bill. I'm sure."

Imperial responds:

Well in Avoirdupois its 437.5, in Apothecary its 480 and the other one is... What other one?

Metric jabs:

You tell me.

Imperial falls to the floor.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

"Knocked out Bob!"

"Yeah Bill. I guess we have to get used to the idea of a new system here in the US of A. This guy is a mean lean measuring machine."

"Just let me interrupt you Bob, our man Leroy is down in the ring talking with Mean Mr Metric."

"Mean Mr Metric that was an incredible last blow there. Tell me what is that other system"

Tell you the truth, Leroy, I don't know nor care. I just know there are three and they are all stupid.

"Interesting response there from Mean Mr Metric, Back to you Bill"

"We've just got word that the judges are going to make an announcement..."

After final discussion, the judges have decided to declare the fight null and void due to the fact that the win by Mean Mr Metric would mean that some politicians might lose the next election.


Fact: The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't use the metric system as its predominant system of weights and measures. Today only the USA, Liberia and Myanmar still use the old English Imperial system. The rest of the world is metric.

 

[titatom]

Your temperature scale is in Celsius. There is nothing wrong apart from your lack of knowledge of the International System(AKA what every country apart from the US uses).

awesome reply ! +1