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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 8:57:35 GMT -8
Cost alone can't explain America's reluctance to go metric. Certain psychological attributes also play a significant role. American stubbornness makes its citizens resistant to change, especially when that change is being driven by foreign governments. Perhaps citizens still harbor distrust and ill will for being snubbed by the French when the metric system had its coming-out party in 1798. Or, more likely, they simply like doing things a bit differently. Individualism has always been a defining characteristic of the American experience. The quality allowed pioneers to hack a nation from an immense wilderness. You could easily envision bumper stickers with a variation on the old National Rifle Association (NRA) slogan: "You can have my inch-pounds when you pry them from my cold, dead hands."
The most logical explanation, however, just may be the failure of Congress to make the metric system mandatory in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and its territories. By making conversion voluntary in all major legislation since 1866, the U.S. has failed to restrict the use of traditional units in transactions that touch the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Until that mandate comes -- and it will likely come soon if the U.S. is to remain competitive with growing economic powers, such as China and India -- many Americans will continue to think in terms of inches and pounds instead of meters and kilograms.
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 9:02:23 GMT -8
Sheldon Cooper
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 9:05:06 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 9:06:40 GMT -8
I think at this point considering the dumbing down of America, you just can't do it. :P
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 9:17:30 GMT -8
Ha smartass! You all need to change back to be like us.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 9:35:21 GMT -8
Ha smartass! You all need to change back to be like us. Come on America, sacrifice your soul for science. lol WTF is an acre? like most ancient measures, was based on an utterly human scale–in this case the ‘area of agricultural land that could be worked by one person in a day.’ Metric measures exchange humanity for regularity and precision, sacrifice soul for science.” |
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 9:38:06 GMT -8
Ha smartass! You all need to change back to be like us. Come on America, sacrifice your soul for science. lol WTF is an acre? like most ancient measures, was based on an utterly human scale–in this case the ‘area of agricultural land that could be worked by one person in a day.’ Metric measures exchange humanity for regularity and precision, sacrifice soul for science.” As long as Honey boo boo is popular, you can count on things not changing anytime soon. LOL |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 9:40:14 GMT -8
Come on America, sacrifice your soul for science. lol WTF is an acre? like most ancient measures, was based on an utterly human scale–in this case the ‘area of agricultural land that could be worked by one person in a day.’ Metric measures exchange humanity for regularity and precision, sacrifice soul for science.” As long as Honey boo boo is popular, you can count on things not changing anytime soon. LOL Oh dear, and it only gets worse it seems. The south is celebrating and waving its stupid flag for all to see. |
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 9:49:18 GMT -8
As long as Honey boo boo is popular, you can count on things not changing anytime soon. LOL Oh dear, and it only gets worse it seems. The south is celebrating and waving its stupid flag for all to see. You know, that's never going away. A part of American history that people overlook is that it isn't just rednecks acting like rednecks. Yes that absolutely can be the case, but there were serious grievances that caused the "War of Northern Aggression".... The south, at one point really did desire to be its own country. |
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Post by ✿Lexxy✿ on Feb 15, 2013 9:52:33 GMT -8
I saw a rebel flag bumper sticker last week on a p/u with a vanity plate that had rbl4lf. It was a sad day in my life.
I have no idea why we don't use the metric system. When I was in elementary school there was talk of switching over so they didn't bother to teach us standard weights & measures. I was taught neither & struggled with it in later years.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 10:24:48 GMT -8
I saw a rebel flag bumper sticker last week on a p/u with a vanity plate that had rbl4lf. It was a sad day in my life. I have no idea why we don't use the metric system. When I was in elementary school there was talk of switching over so they didn't bother to teach us standard weights & measures. I was taught neither & struggled with it in later years. See I learned both, it was a weird time learning metric at home but all the adults still used the old system. I takes a full generation to change over and still I tend to think of height in terms of inches. |
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 10:53:17 GMT -8
I saw a rebel flag bumper sticker last week on a p/u with a vanity plate that had rbl4lf. It was a sad day in my life. I have no idea why we don't use the metric system. When I was in elementary school there was talk of switching over so they didn't bother to teach us standard weights & measures. I was taught neither & struggled with it in later years. See I learned both, it was a weird time learning metric at home but all the adults still used the old system. I takes a full generation to change over and still I tend to think of height in terms of inches. Sheldon wasn't exactly wrong about what he said. I was originally taught standard measurements but was later taught metric.(5th grade or somewhere around there) However metric never caught on. It truly was as if someone gave up on it! Now I deal with measurements every day as part of my job. 99% of those are standard. Very few come to me in metric. I always need a conversion chart too whenever applicable. I just don't remember enough about the metric system to do it naturally. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 10:56:49 GMT -8
See I learned both, it was a weird time learning metric at home but all the adults still used the old system. I takes a full generation to change over and still I tend to think of height in terms of inches. Sheldon wasn't exactly wrong about what he said. I was originally taught standard measurements but was later taught metric.(5th grade or somewhere around there) However metric never caught on. It truly was as if someone gave up on it! Now I deal with measurements every day as part of my job. 99% of those are standard. Very few come to me in metric. I always need a conversion chart too whenever applicable. I just don't remember enough about the metric system to do it naturally. See that is reverse for me. The "standard" system requires memorization as the Metric system is logic based, its all based on powers of 10. |
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 11:04:35 GMT -8
A thousand years ago when I crossed the border into Canada and the signs all changed from miles to meters. I was clueless. I have a good grasp on how far a mile is. Not so much with a meter. lol That's just an example of my confusion with the metric system. It's not that it's difficult, it is that I never use it. Therefore there's no reason for me to remember how much a liter vs. a gallon is.
The most that usually happens around here is inches to millimeters conversions. Without a conversion chart or measuring tool, I get lost real fast talking about millimeters as opposed to inches. Even when you break an inch down to thousandths.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 11:10:09 GMT -8
A thousand years ago when I crossed the border into Canada and the signs all changed from miles to meters. I was clueless. I have a good grasp on how far a mile is. Not so much with a meter. lol That's just an example of my confusion with the metric system. It's not that it's difficult, it is that I never use it. Therefore there's no reason for me to remember how much a liter vs. a gallon is. The most that usually happens around here is inches to millimeters conversions. Without a conversion chart or measuring tool, I get lost real fast talking about millimeters as opposed to inches. Even when you break an inch down to thousandths. lol, I would imagine the look on Americans faces when they see the 100 speed limit is priceless. |
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Post by ♬ pkbucko ♬ on Feb 15, 2013 11:12:34 GMT -8
For a while, (a short while) automobile manufacturers were putting both measurements in cars. That didn't last long at all.
ETA: On the speedometer.
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Post by Crusher on Feb 15, 2013 12:59:27 GMT -8
Ha smartass! You all need to change back to be like us. WTF is an acre? 43,560 SF |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 13:00:41 GMT -8
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Post by Crusher on Feb 15, 2013 13:03:20 GMT -8
SF=square feet
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 13:05:02 GMT -8
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Post by weltschmerz on Feb 15, 2013 13:29:57 GMT -8
I think a foot is 12 inches. Unless it's 16. No, wait, that's 16 ounces in something called a pound. Unless it's 212, which is either a mile, the indication of a febrile state or the boiling point of water. None of it computes. |
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Post by chica on Feb 20, 2013 20:53:44 GMT -8
I had to learn the metric system while I was living in Mexico. Once I started using it, it was easier. Now that I am back in the states I forgot what quarts and stuff like that were since I haven't used them in so long.
Way back when I was in grade school they claimed that we americans would be moving to metric.. but that was only about 3 weeks of the semester they spoke of that.
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:18:26 GMT -8
Cost alone can't explain America's reluctance to go metric. Certain psychological attributes also play a significant role. American stubbornness makes its citizens resistant to change, especially when that change is being driven by foreign governments. Perhaps citizens still harbor distrust and ill will for being snubbed by the French when the metric system had its coming-out party in 1798. Or, more likely, they simply like doing things a bit differently. Individualism has always been a defining characteristic of the American experience. The quality allowed pioneers to hack a nation from an immense wilderness. You could easily envision bumper stickers with a variation on the old National Rifle Association (NRA) slogan: "You can have my inch-pounds when you pry them from my cold, dead hands." The most logical explanation, however, just may be the failure of Congress to make the metric system mandatory in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and its territories. By making conversion voluntary in all major legislation since 1866, the U.S. has failed to restrict the use of traditional units in transactions that touch the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Until that mandate comes -- and it will likely come soon if the U.S. is to remain competitive with growing economic powers, such as China and India -- many Americans will continue to think in terms of inches and pounds instead of meters and kilograms. the simple FACT is that it is the metric system that needs to be done away with. it was first hallucinated in 1799, long after people measured correctly in feet and pounds. there is NO intelligent or rational basis for using it, since it was designed to confuse and misuse. the u.s. and only a handful of other rational countries are the only nations in the world to still measure correctly. |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:20:12 GMT -8
Ha smartass! You all need to change back to be like us. Come on America, sacrifice your soul for science. lol WTF is an acre? like most ancient measures, was based on an utterly human scale–in this case the ‘area of agricultural land that could be worked by one person in a day.’ Metric measures exchange humanity for regularity and precision, sacrifice soul for science.” nope. it's the other way around. science has to sacrifice its soul for humanity |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:21:46 GMT -8
As long as Honey boo boo is popular, you can count on things not changing anytime soon. LOL Oh dear, and it only gets worse it seems. The south is celebrating and waving its stupid flag for all to see. what is the "south's" flag. if you're referring to the battle flag of the confederate states of america, it is rightly proudly flown |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:23:52 GMT -8
Oh dear, and it only gets worse it seems. The south is celebrating and waving its stupid flag for all to see. You know, that's never going away. A part of American history that people overlook is that it isn't just rednecks acting like rednecks. Yes that absolutely can be the case, but there were serious grievances that caused the "War of Northern Aggression".... The south, at one point really did desire to be its own country. exactly. the ignorant are always trying to claim that the war of northern aggression was about slavery. that only demonstrates how abjectly stupid they are. |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:25:29 GMT -8
I saw a rebel flag bumper sticker last week on a p/u with a vanity plate that had rbl4lf. It was a sad day in my life. I have no idea why we don't use the metric system. When I was in elementary school there was talk of switching over so they didn't bother to teach us standard weights & measures. I was taught neither & struggled with it in later years. why the hell would that be a sad day in your life? you must have a pretty sad existence if something so trivial and unmeaningful for you would make you sad. |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:26:27 GMT -8
I saw a rebel flag bumper sticker last week on a p/u with a vanity plate that had rbl4lf. It was a sad day in my life. I have no idea why we don't use the metric system. When I was in elementary school there was talk of switching over so they didn't bother to teach us standard weights & measures. I was taught neither & struggled with it in later years. See I learned both, it was a weird time learning metric at home but all the adults still used the old system. I takes a full generation to change over and still I tend to think of height in terms of inches. it's great that you weren't TOTALLY brainwashed |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:29:04 GMT -8
A thousand years ago when I crossed the border into Canada and the signs all changed from miles to meters. I was clueless. I have a good grasp on how far a mile is. Not so much with a meter. lol That's just an example of my confusion with the metric system. It's not that it's difficult, it is that I never use it. Therefore there's no reason for me to remember how much a liter vs. a gallon is. The most that usually happens around here is inches to millimeters conversions. Without a conversion chart or measuring tool, I get lost real fast talking about millimeters as opposed to inches. Even when you break an inch down to thousandths. lol, I would imagine the look on Americans faces when they see the 100 speed limit is priceless. obviously, that means that i can keep speeding up until the needle on my speedometer hits 100 |
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Post by iamjumbo on Mar 8, 2013 6:31:28 GMT -8
it is quite simple. 12 inches by 12 inches is one square foot |
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Trailer Park Snob
