Tomorrow
May 3, 12:59 PM
SI is superior in conversions only
Imperial is superior as I actually have a feel for the numbers
It's also easier in calculations - each unit is a derivative of the seven base units, each with a conversion factor of 1.
Yes, let's not change it because YOU actually have a feel for the numbers.
As for having a feel for the numbers, he's not alone. I have nearly 20 years of professional experience using Imperial units as a mechanical engineer, as does every mechanical engineer in the U.S. Switching systems (or, rather, making it mandatory) will require all of these engineers to re-learn the formulae they've known and used for decades. That's the equivalent of millions of man-years of engineering experience down the drain. That isn't progress, no matter how much you might want want to believe it is.
We need to switch to the metric system, what we have now is ****ing crazy when looking at the rest of the world...this is coming from a bio major who has to deal with SI units daily
SI != metric.
I deal with both daily - our electrical system (Watts, Amperes, Volts, Ohms, etc.) are all metric and SI. Using Imperial units doesn't make understanding those SI units any harder.
For the love of your education system, do make the switch! I'm an engineering student from Canada. So I have to learn both imperial and SI. Imperial is such a pain in the ass.
I was an engineering student in the U.S., and I learned to use both systems - and yes, calculations using SI units were simpler. But the reality is that mechanical engineers here do not measure refrigeration in Watts, they use Btuh or tons of refrigeration. We don't use degrees Celsius, we use degrees Fahrenheit. We don't measure airflow in liters per second (which isn't even an SI unit; the proper convention would be cubic meters per second), we use cubic feet per minute. And as such, that's the system I've grown comfortable with as a professional.
Really, most opinions I see in the US to keep the imperial system is because you're not accustomed to it.
Which translates to an incredible cost of switching, and a near-certainty of an avalanche of errors.
...the difference between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, hardly a noticeable difference when it comes to weather forecasts.
You'd make a great point if weather forecasts were all we used temperature measurements for.
For chilled water, a 12 degree (F) temperature differential equates to 2 gpm per ton of refrigeration. Every mechanical engineer knows that. Force him to use SI units, and the game changes completely; calculations that could once be done in your head now require a calculator. You would achieve the opposite effect.
I'm not so sure. If a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons, is it not just as easy to measure out 30ml?
Measuring or counting out two is always easier than measuring or counting out thirty.
Are there really any benefits to the Customary scale, or do we just perceive benefits because it's what we're used to?
I don't know that there are benefits to using customary units; but there are indeed benefits to not switching units. Not the same thing.
Metric is just easier to learn. Period.
That's one opinion. Period.
If it were so damn easy, everyone would know it, now, wouldn't they?
Imperial is superior as I actually have a feel for the numbers
It's also easier in calculations - each unit is a derivative of the seven base units, each with a conversion factor of 1.
Yes, let's not change it because YOU actually have a feel for the numbers.
As for having a feel for the numbers, he's not alone. I have nearly 20 years of professional experience using Imperial units as a mechanical engineer, as does every mechanical engineer in the U.S. Switching systems (or, rather, making it mandatory) will require all of these engineers to re-learn the formulae they've known and used for decades. That's the equivalent of millions of man-years of engineering experience down the drain. That isn't progress, no matter how much you might want want to believe it is.
We need to switch to the metric system, what we have now is ****ing crazy when looking at the rest of the world...this is coming from a bio major who has to deal with SI units daily
SI != metric.
I deal with both daily - our electrical system (Watts, Amperes, Volts, Ohms, etc.) are all metric and SI. Using Imperial units doesn't make understanding those SI units any harder.
For the love of your education system, do make the switch! I'm an engineering student from Canada. So I have to learn both imperial and SI. Imperial is such a pain in the ass.
I was an engineering student in the U.S., and I learned to use both systems - and yes, calculations using SI units were simpler. But the reality is that mechanical engineers here do not measure refrigeration in Watts, they use Btuh or tons of refrigeration. We don't use degrees Celsius, we use degrees Fahrenheit. We don't measure airflow in liters per second (which isn't even an SI unit; the proper convention would be cubic meters per second), we use cubic feet per minute. And as such, that's the system I've grown comfortable with as a professional.
Really, most opinions I see in the US to keep the imperial system is because you're not accustomed to it.
Which translates to an incredible cost of switching, and a near-certainty of an avalanche of errors.
...the difference between 37 and 38 degrees Celsius is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, hardly a noticeable difference when it comes to weather forecasts.
You'd make a great point if weather forecasts were all we used temperature measurements for.
For chilled water, a 12 degree (F) temperature differential equates to 2 gpm per ton of refrigeration. Every mechanical engineer knows that. Force him to use SI units, and the game changes completely; calculations that could once be done in your head now require a calculator. You would achieve the opposite effect.
I'm not so sure. If a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons, is it not just as easy to measure out 30ml?
Measuring or counting out two is always easier than measuring or counting out thirty.
Are there really any benefits to the Customary scale, or do we just perceive benefits because it's what we're used to?
I don't know that there are benefits to using customary units; but there are indeed benefits to not switching units. Not the same thing.
Metric is just easier to learn. Period.
That's one opinion. Period.
If it were so damn easy, everyone would know it, now, wouldn't they?
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