Whine: I got quoted 12 times and not one person understood what I meant.

[Signa]

So, since I can't whine and ***** in the thread that this occurred in as it got closed, I'd thought I'd make a new one so I could say my piece. After all 12 people misread what I said, and I'm sure there are others who will try to misread what I say now, so as far as I'm concerned, I've got a new topic and not a rehash of a recently closed one.

Effectively, this is another metric vs imperial thread (hey, the rules say no repeat threads within a month, and I've not seen a thread dedicated to this that recently, so here goes). In my original post responding to some one accusing America of using a stupid measurement system, I said:

Stop bitching about our measuring system. You don't see us complaining about how dumb the size of the units of the metric system measures are.

See, what I mean by that is NOT that metric is stupid for using multiples of 10 for converting up to larger measurements. That's actually genius. I'm saying that the physical size of the measurements are too small or too large to be of proper use. For my everyday use, the measurements are unwieldy.

Of course that is all a matter of opinion, and what sizes of measurements you are raised with dictate how you visualize certain distances, weights and volumes, but all I know is I want a measurement system that gives me a good number for what I'm trying to measure, with the least amount of fractions, decimals or segments involved. When I want to borrow a cup of sugar, I don't want 230 milliliters, or whatever the conversion is. If I'm off by just a few crystals, I'm suddenly adding 231, a full unit over the intended amount. I'd look like a fool if I added an extra cup, teaspoon or tablespoon of an ingredient while baking cookies. The same goes for temperature. I like to hear that the temperature is a nice even 70F, not a random 21.1C. The boiling and freezing temperature of water is irrelevant when I want data on the climate for my day. Just because they made the scale 0-100 doesn't make it instantly better.

In b4 "QQ some more"

Edit: Optional discussion: Change a common imperial vernacular with a metric one to make it sound stupid. Example: Centimeterworm

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

People are just being silly if you know what you said stand by it.

 

[theComposer]

I see your point and agree with you, but I can see how your original post could have been misinterpreted. No one's at fault here and it doesn't really matter because honestly:

People are just being silly if you know what you said stand by it.

 

[Stammer]

Well, your opinion is your opinion, I'm not going to comment on what was already commented on.

However, I will agree with the basis of this thread and say that it's one of my biggest pet peeves when people argue with me in a thread when they're not even talking about the same thing I'm talking about. Heck, I've actually had people argue the exact same thing as I've said as if I had said the opposite. That's something I call "Disagreeing to Agree".

So far I've made over 1000 posts on these forums without that happening, but I've quit a lot of forums because so many of them out there just have a lot of people who don't even read what they're quoting.

 

[Enigmers]

What I like about the metric system: absurdly easy conversions

What I dislike about the metric system: words are cumbersome and can't sound "cool." When was the last time you heard of someone who got beaten to within a centimetre of his life?

 

[Chamale]

The same goes for temperature. I like to hear that the temperature is a nice even 70F, not a random 21.1C.

You know, metric doesn't have to be super-precise. When it's 21.1 we say "20 degrees", and when someone tells you it's 70 in Fahrenheit it's probably more like 68.3 or 73.1.

I can say I weigh 100 kilograms or that my car has a 50-litre gas tank without worrying that the real figures are slightly different.

Admittedly, in Canada we use imperial measurements in recipes but that's because we import more cookbooks from the US than anywhere else. I don't know about the situation in Europe, probably they use recipes with amounts of each ingredient that are convenient in metric.

What I like about the metric system: absurdly easy conversions

What I dislike about the metric system: words are cumbersome and can't sound "cool." When was the last time you heard of someone who got beaten to within a centimetre of his life?

When we're particularly sarcastic Canadians might refer to someone being beaten within 2.5 centimetres of his life. Usually, though, we use imperial units for things that can't be accurately measured like "football is a game of inches" or "miles off-target."

Speaking of football, my friend said today that Canadians should call hockey "football" just to further confuse the debate between English and American football.

 

[Signa]

The same goes for temperature. I like to hear that the temperature is a nice even 70F, not a random 21.1C.

You know, metric doesn't have to be super-precise. When it's 21.1 we say "20 degrees", and when someone tells you it's 70 in Fahrenheit it's probably more like 68.3 or 73.1.

I can say I weigh 100 kilograms or that my car has a 50-litre gas tank without worrying that the real figures are slightly different.

Admittedly, in Canada we use imperial measurements in recipes but that's because we import more cookbooks from the US than anywhere else. I don't know about the situation in Europe, probably they use recipes with amounts of each ingredient that are convenient in metric.

What I like about the metric system: absurdly easy conversions

What I dislike about the metric system: words are cumbersome and can't sound "cool." When was the last time you heard of someone who got beaten to within a centimetre of his life?

When we're particularly sarcastic Canadians might refer to someone being beaten within 2.5 centimetres of his life. Usually, though, we use imperial units for things that can't be accurately measured like "football is a game of inches" or "miles off-target."

Speaking of football, my friend said today that Canadians should call hockey "football" just to further confuse the debate between English and American football.

thank you!
It's about time some one quotes me and responds with the counter-point message I was expecting.

The "centimeter of his life" comment was something I was going to touch on had the argument gone on. As much good as there is in the metric system, even if you had sizes that pleased me, there are still even linguistic hurdles that must be overcome. Ultimately I think both systems have their place, and calling us Americans out on it all the time is getting annoying. It's petty and stupid (much like this thread) and yet I see the Metric supporters beating their chest like some console fanboy.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

I'm kind of funny this way because sometimes I use the metric system and smetimes I use the imperial system

 

[Chamale]

It's petty and stupid (much like this thread) and yet I see the Metric supporters beating their chest like some console fanboy.

Well, I like the Xbox 360 more than the other consoles, but I think it's way easier to say the names of the other consoles ;P. I try not to be a fanboy and see the advantages of every system (Heavy Rain, Super Mario Galaxy 2, "inch" and "mile" sound better.)

You know, in 18th-century France, the system actually changed every time there was a new King. The length of the king's foot was actually the length used for a foot, and an inch was based on the king's thumb. The meter may be a slightly inconvenient measure, because the French rebels grabbed a bar and declared that its length was equal to one metre. Everything else is based on that - one metric ton is exactly equal to 1,000,000 grams and to the weight of one cubic metre of water, which is incredibly convenient for scientific calculations.

 

[LandoCristo]

I agree with your point, and would like to point out that the reason I didn't quote you in that topic is because I understood your point.

 

[Signa]

Added an optional discussion. I figure it fits, because if us Americans just threw away the imperial system overnight, these rater problematic artifacts of the old system would still be part of our everyday language.

Oh! I have one. "Kilometer-high club"

 

[Judgement101]

So you made a thread to complain about a thread that you were quoted on that got locked? Isn't it getting locked a sign that the people weren't understanding the topic.

 

[spartan231490]

So, since I can't whine and ***** in the thread that this occurred in as it got closed, I'd thought I'd make a new one so I could say my piece. After all 12 people misread what I said, and I'm sure there are others who will try to misread what I say now, so as far as I'm concerned, I've got a new topic and not a rehash of a recently closed one.

Effectively, this is another metric vs imperial thread (hey, the rules say no repeat threads within a month, and I've not seen a thread dedicated to this that recently, so here goes). In my original post responding to some one accusing America of using a stupid measurement system, I said:

Stop bitching about our measuring system. You don't see us complaining about how dumb the size of the units of the metric system measures are.

See, what I mean by that is NOT that metric is stupid for using multiples of 10 for converting up to larger measurements. That's actually genius. I'm saying that the physical size of the measurements are too small or too large to be of proper use. For my everyday use, the measurements are unwieldy.

Of course that is all a matter of opinion, and what sizes of measurements you are raised with dictate how you visualize certain distances, weights and volumes, but all I know is I want a measurement system that gives me a good number for what I'm trying to measure, with the least amount of fractions, decimals or segments involved. When I want to borrow a cup of sugar, I don't want 230 milliliters, or whatever the conversion is. If I'm off by just a few crystals, I'm suddenly adding 231, a full unit over the intended amount. I'd look like a fool if I added an extra cup, teaspoon or tablespoon of an ingredient while baking cookies. The same goes for temperature. I like to hear that the temperature is a nice even 70F, not a random 21.1C. The boiling and freezing temperature of water is irrelevant when I want data on the climate for my day. Just because they made the scale 0-100 doesn't make it instantly better.

In b4 "QQ some more"

Could not agree with you more about metric vs. imperial. Metric is easier to use when your computing, but imperial units are so much more friendly for day to day life, IMO. anyway, it's the internet, of course people will misinterpret what you say, happens to me in almost every thread I post in.

 

[Luke5515]

A miligrahamcracker

 

[Signa]

So you made a thread to complain about a thread that you were quoted on that got locked? Isn't it getting locked a sign that the people weren't understanding the topic.

The topic was started by someone else who was asking if we should invade America and fix them up (metric system included). As an American, I responded and then was quoted a shit-ton without anyone actually realizing what I meant. The thread got locked 11 pages later because... well, I don't know, I didn't read it, but the last pages had nothing to do with measurements.

 

[theklng]

lets choose the system that has more random, organic measurements so that we may sound more cool when we use the chosen words for describing life-changing distance comparisons.

because you know, being cool is so underrated.

the one good argument you have is cultural differences, but the rest is garbage.

 

[Judgement101]

So you made a thread to complain about a thread that you were quoted on that got locked? Isn't it getting locked a sign that the people weren't understanding the topic.

The topic was started by someone else who was asking if we should invade America and fix them up (metric system included). As an American, I responded and then was quoted a shit-ton without anyone actually realizing what I meant. The thread got locked 11 pages later because... well, I don't know, I didn't read it, but the last pages had nothing to do with measurements.

Stuff like that happens to me a lot. I said an rought basic idea for a horror game and apparently people think that means that I have to have everything already figured out.

 

[Canid117]

Don't whine.



Just silently smirk as a superior system of measurement is used.

 

[Chamale]

"Kilometer-high club"

1.6 kilometre-high club.

Inchworm

I think it has that name because it "inches" along the ground.

Imperial might have its uses, but the Marianas trench is 10 kilometres deep. It's only 6.78 miles deep, and we all know that 10 is way better than 6.78.

 

[Signa]

Spoiler: snip

So, since I can't whine and ***** in the thread that this occurred in as it got closed, I'd thought I'd make a new one so I could say my piece. After all 12 people misread what I said, and I'm sure there are others who will try to misread what I say now, so as far as I'm concerned, I've got a new topic and not a rehash of a recently closed one.

Effectively, this is another metric vs imperial thread (hey, the rules say no repeat threads within a month, and I've not seen a thread dedicated to this that recently, so here goes). In my original post responding to some one accusing America of using a stupid measurement system, I said:

Stop bitching about our measuring system. You don't see us complaining about how dumb the size of the units of the metric system measures are.

See, what I mean by that is NOT that metric is stupid for using multiples of 10 for converting up to larger measurements. That's actually genius. I'm saying that the physical size of the measurements are too small or too large to be of proper use. For my everyday use, the measurements are unwieldy.

Of course that is all a matter of opinion, and what sizes of measurements you are raised with dictate how you visualize certain distances, weights and volumes, but all I know is I want a measurement system that gives me a good number for what I'm trying to measure, with the least amount of fractions, decimals or segments involved. When I want to borrow a cup of sugar, I don't want 230 milliliters, or whatever the conversion is. If I'm off by just a few crystals, I'm suddenly adding 231, a full unit over the intended amount. I'd look like a fool if I added an extra cup, teaspoon or tablespoon of an ingredient while baking cookies. The same goes for temperature. I like to hear that the temperature is a nice even 70F, not a random 21.1C. The boiling and freezing temperature of water is irrelevant when I want data on the climate for my day. Just because they made the scale 0-100 doesn't make it instantly better.

In b4 "QQ some more"

Could not agree with you more about metric vs. imperial. Metric is easier to use when your computing, but imperial units are so much more friendly for day to day life, IMO. anyway, it's the internet, of course people will misinterpret what you say, happens to me in almost every thread I post in.

Funny you say that, because I almost read your post as "I couldn't disagree with you more...", but something wasn't fitting right as it read it, so a second pass on the line got me your correct message.