Tosh.... Been there, done that, having grown up in a country that changed currency as well as weights and measures from imperial to metric (NZ), and spent quite a bit of time in another that made the same change (UK). Two or three weeks (if not days) is all it takes for most folks to adapt. Only a problem for the ignorantly intransigent few, and the odd senior citizen.
There is no way for a child attending school to learn a new measuring system for gasses, liquids, distances, and so on. For an adult not even a new language can be learned in two or three weeks. Why would a person who can leanr that fast spend years attending school?
Speaking as a bilingual teacher of English as a second language for a couple of decades, there is no way that adapting to a different (simpler) system of weights and measures compares with learning a new language. In my experience the former is easily achieved in a few weeks, if not days, for all but a bloody-minded few. The latter does indeed take years for most who have not grown up in a bi/multilingual environment.
I agree. My wife is from Ireland where a similar transition happened smoothly.
It is not easy for a child nor an adult to learn a different measuring system, metrics in this case, in two or three weeks. The same can be said for learning a language in two weeks. The points I was trying to make is that in the US it will take a long time for the population to adjust to the metric system, because it is not taught at home and school. The fact is that most US consumers don't pay attention to the "500 mL" on the label of a 16.9 FL OZ bottle of water. Both measuring systems are being used in the US, but in order for Americans to use only one system, they would have to learn it. As I said before, I immigrated from a place where the metric system was used.
True, but I don't think the US government can force the people to change. It can be taught as a school prerequisite starting in primary school, and continued through HS and college. But to have millions of workers to all of the sudden switch from one system to the next would create a lot of problems in the construction business and all the trades. For example, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, bricklayers, and so on have learned our measuring system from childhood for generations already. If you already know enough about these trades, you could understand how difficult it would be for a craftsman to change from one system to another in a short period of time.
Except the rest of the world has figured out how to do it.True, but I don't think the US government can force the people to change. It can be taught as a school prerequisite starting in primary school, and continued through HS and college. But to have millions of workers to all of the sudden switch from one system to the next would create a lot of problems in the construction business and all the trades. For example, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, bricklayers, and so on have learned our measuring system from childhood for generations already. If you already know enough about these trades, you could understand how difficult it would be for a craftsman to change from one system to another in a short period of time.
A lot of hand tools, including powered ones, are market in inches and fractions of inches, and the lumber cuts are done in foot/inch/fractions of inches. Wrench and socket sets often include metric and US customary numbers (I have both mechanic tools, and switch back and forth).
Like it or not, the first sentence in the article below says it all:
Why Doesn’t the U.S. Use the Metric System? | Britannica
In a metric world, why does the U.S. choose to be different?www.britannica.com
I see...you haven't realized that the US hasn't done it for economical reasons
More tosh….. The decimal metric system was conceived in 1790, fourteen years after the USA came to be.I see...you haven't realized that the US hasn't done it for economical reasons
The first paragraphs of the Brittanica article, not the quoted text I posted, should make it clear for you. Most nations have been using the metric system from the beginning, including the place where I was born at. Canada chose the measuring system used in France. Our "founders" did not.
Please understand that I am not trying to change anybody's mind about this issue. Like it or not, "it is what it is." If you want to use the metric or any other measuring system, go for it. I do without any issues.
Yes, the metric system became practical during the French Revolution. After the US Independence, some Canadians adopted the measuring system used in France (keep in mind that French was spoken in Canada back then), but the US did not. Full integration of the metric system in Canada hasn't taken place (it began in 1970), and the Imperial measuring system is still used by lots of Canadians in their daily lives. In the US the metric system is being used in the medical and engineering fields, space (NASA), the military, and so on...along the US customary measuring system that derives from the Imperial system.
Wow, impressive.... multi-metric! Can't be too difficult to go full SI (aka metric). A child could do it, for sure. Difficult for obdurate old codgers to accept, I guess.
Truth is that all nations have not been not using metric from the beginning. Most have made the change, except for Burma / Myanmar, Liberia and the USA.
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We hit 109ºF today in Phoenix (it was a cooler day). I wonder if using Celsius would help all us Phoenicians to feel cooler. 42.7º sounds a lot cooler than 109 I think
There is no need to be offensive.
www.cuemath.com
What’s wrong with cherry coke? It’s great for cleaning your toilet or offering people you want to leave your house.
42 sounds horrendous. I grew up with Fahrenheit but switched to Celsius when the weather men did. Easy enough to get used to. I still know what both mean.We hit 109ºF today in Phoenix (it was a cooler day). I wonder if using Celsius would help all us Phoenicians to feel cooler. 42.7º sounds a lot cooler than 109 I think
…but certainly not the only. The 24-hour clock has always been used in aviation, and my first exposure to it was flying lessons at age 14 back in the early ‘60’s, long before I entered the military. It’s also used in emergency rooms for identifying time of death despite what you see on TV. Just two examples.
I never got far enough with flying (student pilot license only) to solely be using the 24 hour clock. I will admit the whole Zulu thing was confusing to me.
