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Comment by anothernerd | Hacker News Reader

Sometimes, american measuring systems make me want to slap myself

I think if America went metric it would be a boon for the economy and trade.

Buying American tools is such a pain in the ass, for example.

You can't multiply by two? The fractional scale is based on reciprocal powers of two. Would it be easier for you if they were denoted in binary? It's the same idea, with the same benefits.

You are conflating two ideas. The fractional scale could be applied to metric units just as well as US customary units. Like how Americans use thousandths of inches in some cases.

Buying "American" tools is no different than buying metric tools. They come in sets with common sizes.

The metric system is in widespread use in the US and has been for decades.

You can choose to interpret the continued use of US Customary units as stubbornness or ignorance but that says more about you than Americans.

I choose to view it as Americans being comfortable using the right tool for the job instead of swinging the same old hammer at every new screw.

Quickly, how many feet in a mile? What about quarter of a mile? Eighth of a mile? How many inches is a half of a mile?

Now try with kilometers, meters, and centimeters. I think this is the point that is being made.

Irrelevant but:

5280. 1320. 660. 2640*12 is 26400+5280 so 31680 inches.

Since we are playing games tell me the last time it was important for you to know that something was 768,342 millimeters away? Or do you just call that 750 meters? You use the appropriate unit for the task.

I know HN commenters get irrationally angry about the US customary system but you missed the entire point here. Fractions aren't unique to US customary units and powers of 10 aren't unique to the metric system. You fell back into that same trap of "everything is powers of 10!" like that's the only thing that matters.

But if powers of 10 are so great why isn't everything base 10?

How many degrees are in a circle? How many hours in a day? Seconds per minute? Days per month? Months per year? How many letters in the alphabet? How many bits per byte?

We all use different bases all the time, without really thinking about it. It's just not a big deal.

What is the actual point you're trying to make here? The parent is right, you cannot answer those questions off the top of your head, even if you can, millions, or some obscure fraction of the population cannot.

Besides, the English invented this stuff and moved on. The Americans cling to it, but it's not some special part of the American culture which requires preserving.

The British did not invent the US Customary System. The US adopted the metric system decades before the British. The US already uses the metric system everywhere it matters so there’s no economic benefit to be gained.

I have been clear here. If you don’t get it that’s your choice. I encourage to you look into the history and reality of metrication globally and the difference between the imperial and US customary systems.

“Lol inches” is a cliche and ignorant take.

Yet most tools I buy in America are still using inches, can you explain why that is ?

I dislike your comments because you seem to just gloss over reality and pretend everything is as you imagine it when it's not.

Every single weather report in the USA today is in Fahrenheit, is this the metric system?

Every single car I drive in America is using miles, is this metric?

You're delusional if you think that America actively uses the metric system.

Somewhat related, the 24 hour clock. It's really handy once you get used to it. But I think a lot of am/pm users just resist the idea of mental math. 12 is much too complex to add or subtract during a mental migration phase.

I set my clocks to 24 hours whenever possible. I started doing this because it is easier for me at work and that just carried over.

I don’t think anyone is resisting the idea of a 24 hour clock. It’s more likely they are just sticking with what they know and have bigger problems than thinking about how they keep time.

I personally don't care about this too much, I just buy a lot more tools and other instruments from China because the metric system is a better and simpler to use and their tools are starting to get better and better all the time.

I've seen plenty of videos of other American craftsmen deciding to go metric voluntarily because dealing with fractions is for chumps and they also want access to a wider range of tools.

I think it's a loss for America...and it is stubbornness just adapt and our whole species can more easily move forwards together.

Weird because all my metric tools were made in America. As you are already aware the US already uses the metric system. I don’t see the problem.

The USA is metric but the units have a wrapper over them to mask it from US citizens.

Example NIST website https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/si-units-length

>The value for the inch, derived from the value of the Yard effective July 1, 1959, is exactly equivalent to 25.4 mm.

I bought a new tape measure for DIY, it still has millimetres as a measurement.

Sure. I am totally going to measure my new bookshelf in mm.

Aren't the marked in between the centimetres? And aren't they useful if you're working with something that was originally measured in inches and you're doing a lot of cuts of 2.54cm etc.?

If you're going to pick one unit for unambiguous measurements for most day-to-day use, you could do a lot worse than mm.

I have never seen a tape measure in the US without both scales.

I have a tape measure in mm and have absolutely no issue using it to measure things up to 5m in length. It’s trivial to convert in your head between mm, cm, and meters and record whatever unit makes the most sense. Or it’s also fine to just work in mm for largish objects - anyone with any experience with metric units should have no trouble visualizing a car, for example, that is 4,555 mm long. And car dimensions are routinely given in mm by manufacturers on websites, pamphlets, etc for use by the general public.

So I think mm should be just fine for a bookshelf, unless it’s 10+ meters long.

BTW I am an American who grew up using feet/inches, and am now a total metric system convert. I too grow tired of the endless snarky remarks every time someone uses a non-SI unit on the internet, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking the US way (and other countries who still use non-SI units for certain applications, the US isn’t the only one although it is perhaps the worst offender) of doing things is somehow better. It’s just the convention that people are familiar with in the US.

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