Metric system

[Swampcat]

<font color="yellow">"Even the plane survived, and remains in service today."</font><br /><br />The Gimli Glider was retired on January 24, 2008 and now sits at the Mojave Airport. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[honeyjones]

I guess it just goes to show that we Americans don't play well with others...

 

[Testing]

Anything more than a mouthfull is a waste. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mithridates]

I do that all the time. I'm 194 cm tall, 3000 won is a cheap meal, coffee at Starbucks can cost up to 5500 won or more, an average apartment is 12-20 pyeong but I used to live in one with 25 jo, I drove on the right side of the street in Canada and the left in Japan, voltage is 220V here, 110 in Japan, 120 in Canada, etc. etc. And I use the Dvorak keyboard after some 20+ years of qwerty. It's not that hard to get yourself used to a new system, and if that system happens to be used by all but three countries around the world, it's probably time to start using it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>----- </p><p>http://mithridates.blogspot.com</p> </div>

 

[propforce]

Well... I'd suppose one <i>can</i> adjust if one <i>has to</i>.... <br /><br />Look, you can train an italian to eat chinese food when he's hungry, but given the choice he's going back to pasta and ravioli.<br /><br />For a manufacturing shop to "adjust", you're talking a complete re-vamp of his machines, equipment, and re-train his machinists & designers to think in term of "metric". That's an expensive proposition. There're just too much inertia for the U.S. to change to the "ex-communist (SI) system".<br /><br />As far as you being 194cm tall who talks wons but not yens or yuans, you are just one weird "gai-gin", "kuai-lo". Better get used to kim-chee with your wons cause 2,000 won is not same as a won-ton. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />BTW, Tofu-house is one of our favorite Korean restaurants that we frequent. I can't stomach too much spicy stuff but my wife loves it. <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

>Anything more than a mouthfull is a waste.<br /><br />Is that a standard or metric mouthful? Any volunteers to become the 'standard mouth'? <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />

 

[rocketwatcher2001]

<font color="yellow">Anything more than a mouthfull is a waste.</font><br /><br />Negetive on that one. That's sort of like saying, "your airplane should just have enough fuel to get to it's destination." To me, more is better, within reason. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> A good flight is well proprotioned, enough freight in the back, but not too much to make her tail heavy, and enough fuel up in the forward tanks to keep the CG easy on the trim, so she feels smooth in the pilot's hands.<br /><br />The tooling in the U.S. aerospace industry is mostly set up for SAE, it would cost a lot to change it, plus for me, and most other folks, it works just fine....because we are used to it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[honeyjones]

<br />For a manufacturing shop to "adjust", you're talking a complete re-vamp of his machines, equipment, and re-train his machinists & designers to think in term of "metric".<br /><br />Same argument England uses for driving on the left. Sweden changed overnight.

 

[askold]

12 has more integer divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 6) than 10 (1, 2, 5).

 

[josh_simonson]

But base 16 would let us natively work in binary, which is what the computers that do all this work think in anyway and will for the foreseeable future. Metric is thus obsolete and we should all switch to 'hextric'. Sure in decimal you can switch scales just by shifting the decimal point, but in hex a kilometer is 3E8h meters. Think of all the performance we'd gain if unit conversions just involved a binary shift rather than a binary multiplication.... Division is worse since 1/10 in hex is 0.16666666666666....h, or 0.00010110011001100110011...b in binary. Thus a centimeter cannot be precisely expressed as a floating point number of meters. <br /><br />Someday artificial intelligence will call the metric system an irrational, antiquated, pain the (shiny metal) arse.

 

[MeteorWayne]

I like it!<br />Might as well work with the future rulers. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[no_way]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>But base 16 would let us natively work in binary, which is what the computers that do all this work think in anyway<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Quantum computing will knock a gaping hole in that argument.

 

[josh_simonson]

I doubt that. Quantum computers are only useful for solving certain problems that conventional computers find difficult (say taking n steps rather than n! steps to a solution). 99.9% or so of ICs don't need to solve these types of problems so there is only a niche market for them, certainly not something that will shake the foundations of the electronics industry - though it will be quite disruptive in some areas (cryptography, ect).

 

[no_way]

I guessed that the response would be something like that, but , Zuse Z3 and Colossus were originally built for only "certain" types of problems as well..

 

[josh_simonson]

Certain transistors might become obsolete someday, but binary won't. And, Or, on, off - those are very fundamental. You can't push a button to produce a quantum state, neither can you illuminate an LED with one. <br /><br />The vector processors found in video cards and supercomputers are similar to quantum computers in that they're made for solving certain types of problems but aren't useful for other applications - resulting in them only being used in niche applications.

 

[bdewoody]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Well... I think the good 'ol "English" unit works just fine. But I am old and set in my ways. You developed a "feel" of magnitude when you work with a convention of units. Most of us here in the U.S. knows how fast is 80mph is (some of us do drive that fast ), but heck do I know what is 120 km/h ??? Oh you think it is easy to change the mindset? Wait till you drive on the "wrong" side of street ! Travel to another country and keep trying the currency conversion ratio everytime you ask "how much"? Now for those of you "foreigners" say the rest of world uses the SI unit and so should the U.S., I'd say "hog wash" !! May I remind you that it is the rest of world that should follow the U.S. standard & conventions. Afterall, we went to the moon, brought you the refrigerator, automobiles, airplanes, computers, got rid of communism, and introduced Pamela Anderson !!. We did all these just fine with the good 'ol English unit, what have you done for us lately? OK, I've done enough damage. Discuss among yourself <br />Posted by propforce</DIV></p><p>No argument here, but I wouldn't have had the nerve to write it. You might have added that we feed the world too.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[neilsox]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>No argument here, but I wouldn't have had the nerve to write it. You might have added that we feed the world too. <br />Posted by bdewoody</DIV><br />I'm old too, but try not to be set in my ways. Metric is easier and less prone to error, but&nbsp;I wish they would stop honering the names of scientists of old by changing the names of units. How many hectopascals in an inch of mercury?&nbsp;Lots if there are 1000 hecto in a fento? A million fento in a pico?</p><p>How many lines of force in a gause?&nbsp; Neil</p>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I'm old too, but try not to be set in my ways. Metric is easier and less prone to error, but&nbsp;I wish they would stop honering the names of scientists of old by changing the names of units. How many hectopascals in an inch of mercury?&nbsp;Lots if there are 1000 hecto in a fento? A million fento in a pico?How many lines of force in a gause?&nbsp; Neil <br />Posted by neilsox</DIV></p><p>Actually, most meteorological pressure measurement&nbsp;is done in Millibars, which is a factor of 10 different from Pascals.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>