We do such a shit job at teaching our own actual measuring system that nobody has an intuition what a pound feels like, what an inch and a foot look like and how to scale those up. So we resort to objects and comparisons instead of actual measurements.
Ehhhhh… measurements aren’t that hard to learn. They’re still measuring the same kinds of things. All measurements are still arbitrary to a human.
Basically the ONLY thing the metric system has over imperial is it matches our number system by being base-10. I know I know, it’s a BIG difference for a lot of calculations to not have to throw in non-matching unit conversions, and the metric system is ultimately based on absolute values pulled from the universe. At least by definition, as meaningless as that fact is to humans just looking at a length and going, “yup, that’s about 1 1/2 meters.”.
Anyone who failed to build an intuition simply didn’t use units enough. A lot of US carpenters like imperial units for a similar reason most like the metric system: The ratios match up to what they work with. Most people work with base-10 numbers A LOT more than base 8, 12, or 16. Though for woodworkers, when boards come in feet, blades are clean fractions of inches in size, and buildings are sized 8’ tall, etc, etc, it all lines up nicely to reduce a worker’s mental load.
I still think metric is superior, but imperial very much is not “senseless”. The biggest reason we’ll never switch is because so many industries have their ratios set for imperial units or interact with other American construction based on those ratios. Not to mention maintenance on things already built. It’d be a huge headache of a transition for many industries.
It’s not that it’s hard to learn, it’s that we don’t have a strong intuition. It’s not that difficult to know there are 12 inches in a foot and 3 feet in a yard or that metric is entirely based around factos of 10. But its the intuition of what an inch looks like, what a pound feels like to hold in you hand. Most people wouldn’t be able to pick up an object and say, “that weighs about a pound” or look at an object and say “that’s about 3 feet long” but a lot of people do have an intuition what an energy drink can looks and feels like and can imagine getting hit by one, a lot of people have picked up a pineapple at the grocery story, people have the intuition of how big a football field is or how big a city bus is.
I agree, that’s why I said, “… they simply don’t use the units enough.”
I know imperial VERY well, but that’s because I lift weights listed in lbs and craft things all the time, which takes measuring. I also do 3d printing in metric, so I have a solid feel for millimeters, centimeters, and decimeters, but less so full meters because I seldom work on that scale.
Considering I had an intuition for lbs as a child, though… I don’t really buy that people suck at their native units as adults. If they do, they’re simply not paying attention.
We do such a shit job at teaching our own actual measuring system that nobody has an intuition what a pound feels like, what an inch and a foot look like and how to scale those up. So we resort to objects and comparisons instead of actual measurements.
I don’t blame anyone for failing to teach imperial. It’s surreal.
I grew up with both (gen x Australian), and when I lived through the transition, metric is a godsend.
Feet. Pound. Stone. All I see are objects. But they are easily objective to the imagination.
There are now only 2 countries left I believe, dragging their heels, and officially using Imperial
Our measuring system is so shit I rather use hamburgers as a distance than miles.
Ehhhhh… measurements aren’t that hard to learn. They’re still measuring the same kinds of things. All measurements are still arbitrary to a human.
Basically the ONLY thing the metric system has over imperial is it matches our number system by being base-10. I know I know, it’s a BIG difference for a lot of calculations to not have to throw in non-matching unit conversions, and the metric system is ultimately based on absolute values pulled from the universe. At least by definition, as meaningless as that fact is to humans just looking at a length and going, “yup, that’s about 1 1/2 meters.”.
Anyone who failed to build an intuition simply didn’t use units enough. A lot of US carpenters like imperial units for a similar reason most like the metric system: The ratios match up to what they work with. Most people work with base-10 numbers A LOT more than base 8, 12, or 16. Though for woodworkers, when boards come in feet, blades are clean fractions of inches in size, and buildings are sized 8’ tall, etc, etc, it all lines up nicely to reduce a worker’s mental load.
I still think metric is superior, but imperial very much is not “senseless”. The biggest reason we’ll never switch is because so many industries have their ratios set for imperial units or interact with other American construction based on those ratios. Not to mention maintenance on things already built. It’d be a huge headache of a transition for many industries.
It’s not that it’s hard to learn, it’s that we don’t have a strong intuition. It’s not that difficult to know there are 12 inches in a foot and 3 feet in a yard or that metric is entirely based around factos of 10. But its the intuition of what an inch looks like, what a pound feels like to hold in you hand. Most people wouldn’t be able to pick up an object and say, “that weighs about a pound” or look at an object and say “that’s about 3 feet long” but a lot of people do have an intuition what an energy drink can looks and feels like and can imagine getting hit by one, a lot of people have picked up a pineapple at the grocery story, people have the intuition of how big a football field is or how big a city bus is.
I agree, that’s why I said, “… they simply don’t use the units enough.”
I know imperial VERY well, but that’s because I lift weights listed in lbs and craft things all the time, which takes measuring. I also do 3d printing in metric, so I have a solid feel for millimeters, centimeters, and decimeters, but less so full meters because I seldom work on that scale.
Considering I had an intuition for lbs as a child, though… I don’t really buy that people suck at their native units as adults. If they do, they’re simply not paying attention.