Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
| [ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: km | |
Author: Joel (UK) | [ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] Date Posted: 15:16:26 01/07/05 Fri In reply to: Jim (Canada) 's message, "UK should ditch miles" on 14:44:53 01/07/05 Fri >Our entire younger generation now thinks exclusively in >metric, including kilometres, and the same is happening >in Britain I can't think of a single time when I've heard anyone (of any age) I know use kilometres instead of miles in conversation. You are correct about younger people using metric for other measurements (temp., mm, cm, metres) although I talk to people who have never been taught imperial units in school that still use them - they part of many common phrases. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| [> Subject: Oh dear. | |
|
Author: Ed Harris (London) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 16:21:14 01/07/05 Fri I agree that our attitude is schizophrenic. We have had this debate about Commonwealth weights and measures before on this forum, and I believe that I mentioned my favourite absurdity: we can only find out a car's performance in miles per gallon, but then, when we buy it, we take it to the petrol station and can only by the stuff in litres. It involves a good deal of mental gymnastics at the pump to work out how many litres one needs in order to do a 200 mile journey if one's car does 35 miles to the gallon. But, as I also said at the time, metric measurements have made very little headway here. I know no-one who knows the distance from home to work in metres, or their height in centimetres, or buy their beer in millimetres or whatever. Even our law-enforced metricisation in shops is a joke: we can now buy milk in units of 0.568 litres, which works out at - you guessed it, exactly one pint. Sweet shops sell sweets in units of 0.938 kilogrammes, which works out as - you guessed it again - exactly one quarter of a pound, as before. Buying shots in bars is also fun: they are now sold in however-many-it-is decilitres which works out at - ooh, what a surprise - exactly a fluid ounce. So what do we have? Stupid numbers for familiar sizes which are so much more easy to express in the conventional, imperial way of measuring (i.e. units of one pint, one inch, one ounce etc, rather than units of 0.0984323452345 of centi-wotsits) that no-one has bothered to make the mental adjustment. We only use these ghastly French measurements when we are forced to, or if we are science students or work in technologies. Never in conversation. The only thing is that people have started to use this celcigrade nonsense when talking about the weather, because of the BBC's forecasts. Even still, many people - and not just older people - can't work in centius. I can't, and I left school only four or five years ago. I know that the Telegraph never gives the weather forecast in anything but Fahrenheit, and if it did I would start getting my weather from the Herald Tribune. I agree that we should have on or the other and not try to have both. But I for one would keep the present system, which others in the Commonwealth would no doubt call the 'old' system. If we ever change, I'm taking the brain drain (ah, self-delusion!) to the USA faster than you can see Green Card. Counting in tens is inefficient, illogical and inconvenient, and I'm not having any of it. Oh, say, can you see, by blah-blah, blah, blah, blah... [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> Subject: We have ten fingures and ten toes, therefore decimal must be the most efficient for counting | |
|
Author: David (Australia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 13:46:40 01/09/05 Sun [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> Subject: Fingers* | |
|
Author: David (Australia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 13:55:15 01/09/05 Sun Australia has gone completely metric and I am part of a generation who has grown up without the imperial system. In my opinion it is the most effiecient system. It is generally much easier to divide by ten (eliminating a zero), than dividing by any other number. There is also no need to operate two different systems for science and general-use. Nevertheless, some elements of the imperial system have remained in Australia, most people still measure their height in feet and inches rather than in centimetres. Over time, you will probably find drink sizes adjust to the change in system. I have never come across a 523.67ml bottle of milk in Australia. Sizes are all nice and tidy in either litres or millilitres. [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> Subject: Fingers... | |
|
Author: Dave (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 16:02:56 01/09/05 Sun Funny you should mention fingers, as each finger (excluding the thumb) has three segments, which I believe is where the imperial base 12 came from... [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> [> [> [> Subject: I don't count on my fingers anyway | |
|
Author: Ian (Australia) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 16:33:02 01/09/05 Sun [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |
| [> [> Subject: Centiheit | |
|
Author: Nick (UK) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 16:29:38 01/13/05 Thu 'many people - and not just older people - can't work in centius. I can't, and I left school only four or five years ago' I left school 15 years ago and I 'learnt' both metric and imperial, which in practice means I am totally confused and don't really understand Imperial once we get beyond simple every day measurements, but tend to talk and think in Imperial much of the time. What I have done quite unconsciously though, I suppose, is to choose the aspects of both systems that best work for me. I therefore count in the following measures: Distance: mm, cm, feet, yards/metres, miles Weight: lbs, stones, kgs Temperature: Centigrade (in winter), Fahrenheit (in summer). (my temperature scale thus jumps about 40 degrees between cold and warm weather!) Volume: pints, litres Say I'm barmy if you like, but it sort of works for me, and I'm not willing to be told by anyone what I must or mustn't use. Particularly not the EU! [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |