Tory party to change back to imperial measurements
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Captain Nemesis
Unfortunately you are also making the point that the alternative to the metric system is ridiculous-number exact equivalent sizes for everything.
I dont imagine that many people in America would set out an area to be paved that measured 17’ 8 3/16” x 22’ 4 7/8”, any more than someone in France would do one 5.3895625m x 6.829425m.
I agree absolutely that a system where units are divided into 5280, or 1760, or 3, or 12, or 16 etc is awkward to use, but 17.6822917 x 22.40625 isnt any friendlier than 17’ 8 3/16” x 22’ 4 7/8”.
Nobody does the argument in favour of the metric system by making out that the alternative is having to buy/sell/use things in multiples of 39.37".
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I don't suppose anyone would, but frequently areas to be paved are set out according to some confining detail, not set out with a total free hand, as to the dimensions.
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Captain Nemesis
In which case no system there has ever been or ever will be is guaranteed to always produce neat, easily manipulated, numbers.
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True, but a decimal system is easier to calculate for areas, etc, than a system based on 3, 12, 36, etc., especially when one is converting metres into metres², or feet and inches into yards², etc.
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Captain Nemesis
How much easier is 5.3895625m x 6.829425m than 17’ 8 3/16” x 22’ 4 7/8”?
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The former can be done on a calculator.
=38.8076128765625
I've just done it on my phone.
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Then if I add 10% for waste, it's just over 42.
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Captain Nemesis
So (using an Android/iOS app) can the latter these days.
And returning to nosealls scenario, the reality is that if you were working out materials for paving an area, if you had a normal calculator youd do 17.75x22.5, add 10% and round up to the next whole number of sq ft or sq yds depending on what your materials were sold in.
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Is the app free?
Also imperial tape measures don't normally have tenths of inches. So you're having to convert fractions of an inch into a decimal anyway.
But why have the need for a specialised app when calculators are ubiquitous?
Additionally, when teaching, it's far easier to teach, there's ten of those in that, 100 of those in that and 1000 of those in that, than it is to teach, there's 2 or 4 or 8 or 16 (ad infinitum) of those in that, 12 of those in that, 3 of those in that, 1768 of those in that, 9 of those in that, etc.
Then, as noseall pointed out, you have to convert it to order your materials, anyway, so why not measure, multiply and order in metric.
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Actually, American tape measures do have decimal imperial measurements (not metric)
The point is that nobody under 40 is schooled in imperial, nearer 50 probably.
Anyone over 65 is more likely retired than not
Returning to any form of previous system would confuse the majority of the population
Granted, at the time of metrication/decimalisation pocket calculators didn't exist, and in the heyday of dedicated calculators only specialised ones could calculate in other than base ten. Today it would be easier to have hand held devices or web devices to calculate imperial length by metric width.
But why? To satisfy a few people who can't understand the difference between 250g and 8oz?
The whole world is metric and the USA customary units aren't the same as Imperial
Surely to god we have more important things to worry about?
The point is that nobody under 40 is schooled in imperial, nearer 50 probably.
Anyone over 65 is more likely retired than not
Returning to any form of previous system would confuse the majority of the population
Granted, at the time of metrication/decimalisation pocket calculators didn't exist, and in the heyday of dedicated calculators only specialised ones could calculate in other than base ten. Today it would be easier to have hand held devices or web devices to calculate imperial length by metric width.
But why? To satisfy a few people who can't understand the difference between 250g and 8oz?
The whole world is metric and the USA customary units aren't the same as Imperial
Surely to god we have more important things to worry about?
What is that in sq metres.23 grammes.
Yes, yesterday 2⅚ dozen people died with covid in the UK
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Captain Nemesis
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Captain Nemesis
Its either 1½ olympic swimming pools or 17 double decker buses.
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