this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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cross-posted from: https://piefed.ca/post/241259

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[–] Geodad@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

I prefer metric for anything I do, despite living in the US.

My coffee recipe is in mL. I use g and mL while cooking.

Metric is the superior system.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Imperial system not even make difference between weight and mass, it is the most outdated system worldwide and the cause of a lot of desastres with even victims, because due to calculation errors, inherent in this system.

[–] F_State@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

For day to day life, weight and mass might as well be the same. I love science and astronomy but I'm not buying a pound of lunch meat at the deli counter to take into space.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 1 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Well, when I buy a pound of lunch meat in the EU, they give me 500 g of lunch meat, because this is what for us is a pound. The SI system are round clear and related numbers which make it easy to calculate, the Imperial system isn't, nothing to do with going in space or building a quantum computer, but simply calculating the amount of plants with a distance of 2 inches in a garden with 20 feets.

[–] F_State@midwest.social 1 points 13 hours ago

I was talking about weight vs mass

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I remember reading somewhere that NASA adopted the metric system precisely because of that happening to them once.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

Yes, too expensiv crashing two Marsprobes because a crappy Unitsystem

[–] Global_Liberty@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I grew up with metric and moved to an imperial country as an adult. I now have a different view of the systems and honestly prefer imperial. Hear me out.

Imperial organically evolved over centuries to better match the lived human experience. The major units used now are more useful to the average person. The fact they are not base 10 is due to the fact that the main uses for each aren't related in that way.

For temperature, 1 degree Fahrenheit is the minimum I can feel. 50 F is a middle temperature outdoors for many temperate climates: 0 F is very cold and 100 F is very hot. The temperature at which water boils or freezes at sea level is not as useful to my daily experience and the difference in a degree Celsius is too large.

I like inches, yards, and miles. I prefer ounces and pounds. Pints, quarts, and gallons now make more sense to me. I am not a scientist or engineer (who absolitely should use metric), but a guy trying to deal with weather, get places, and buy things to eat/drink.

Of course, if I learned an aircraft type was designed in imperial only, I wouldn't get on it. Metric has its purpose. It's just not as good for daily life.

[–] F_State@midwest.social 1 points 1 day ago

To me, kilometers and miles are in a similar class; I don't have a reason to prefer one over the other. Same with kilos/pounds. Even though a kilo is more than double a pound, it's used to measure the same kinds of things. As with Centimeters/inches, quarts/liters, yards/meters.

Metric seems to do better at measuring very small things, or very precise things, but lacks middle measures that help with day to day life like Ounces and Feet. If there was a metric foot, like a quarter or third of a meter, it would be more useful. Same if there was a metric ounce, lets say 25 grams (an actual ounce is slightly over 28 grams).

[–] lemmus@szmer.info 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You just used to use imperial system and thats why its convenient to you. If you used metric the whole life you would also feel it suits you. Its just the matter of remembering key temperatures and have a feeling of it. The key difference in metric is, you can do the conversion easily if you ever have to, but in the normal use its no different than imperial. If you feel (have memories related to) the unit, like 1kg - 1L of water, 0 celsius - water frozen, 1000L - 1m3. I tell you, if you used to use metric and have a feeling of it, you would never ever want to go back to imperial

[–] Global_Liberty@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

Did you read the first words I wrote? I grew up and lived in a metric country. I didn't know imperial at all.

[–] Krimson_Klaww@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And all because of British pirates.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yes, but even those had changed to the SI system decades ago. Apart the US don't use even the same Imperial system of the british pirates, the units are different.

[–] eingemaischt@chaos.social 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

@Confidant6198 speaking about time... How should we measure it?

Currently it is 60/60/[12,24]/7/[28,29,30,31].

Plus Timezones, plus Leap seconds + days.

[–] Jentu@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Just convert to decimal time. Easy! Though you'll have to find a different solution for days/months/timezones/leap days. https://www.decimal-time.com/

[–] eingemaischt@chaos.social 1 points 2 days ago

@Jentu thank you for that hint!

Didn't know it was proposed with the other decimal units but not adepted by the people....

[–] ExotiqueMatter@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The imperials took inspiration from their family tree to make their system I see.

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Could have used more than 1 measurement 1g = ml = 1x1x1cm cube of water

Meter can be divided by 100 to make cm or multiplied by 1000 for km, a cm can be divided by 10 to get mm.
A 100x100m square is a hectare

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Wait. Shouldn't it be 1g = 1 ml = 1x1x1 mm cube of water?

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

1g = 1ml = a 1x1x1cm cube if pure h2o

g = weight
mL = volume (3d)
cm = distance (2d)

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Woosh. Yeah, it keeps feeling counterintuïtive to go from mili to centi

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Just move the decimal place, how hard is that?

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I know.. But from square to cubic

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 hours ago

How a 1x1x1cm cube = 1ml of h2o?

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

g isn't the unit of weight, it's the unit of mass, the unit of weight is N(ewton) and depends on the gravity, only the mass of an object is always the same, not the weight. Your weight on sea level is higher than on the Mount Everest. This is one of the biggest fail in the imperial system, there isn't a difference of weight and mass and the cause of even deathly accidents.

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 2 points 15 hours ago

Nah, weight

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I don't care what Shrek thinks

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

I zoomed in on the flowchart. I want it to be legible.

[–] letraset@feddit.dk 3 points 4 days ago

Happy cake day 🎂

[–] Jentu@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

Brits need to stop implementing inferior (though accessible) standards, then after abandoning them when realizing their mistake, make fun of others using the previous standard. Don't let anyone find out you used to call association football "soccer" to be distinct from rugby football or still measure some things in imperial stones.

Non-brits, this isn't directed at you lol. I know imperial measurements suck