The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[meeera]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's easier to understand Fahrenheit. I know that 72 degrees is a nice day.

I have no idea what 72 F feels like. It's almost like people who constantly use a unit system find it easy to understand, and people who don't, don't. Who knew we were all individuals?

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by meeera

I have no idea what 72 F feels like. It's almost like people who constantly use a unit system find it easy to understand, and people who don't, don't. Who knew we were all individuals?

I think it's just a matter of what you're used to. I since I grew up with Fahrenheit the range of temperatures just come naturally to me, while I'd have to think a bit when it comes to Celsius. Generally, for me temperatures in the 70s F are comfortable, outside of that range it becomes uncomfortable although appropriate clothing makes colder temperatures comfortable.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I think it's just a matter of what you're used to. I since I grew up with Fahrenheit the range of temperatures just come naturally to me, while I'd have to think a bit when it comes to Celsius. Generally, for me temperatures in the 70s F are comfortable, outside of that range it becomes uncomfortable although appropriate clothing makes colder temperatures comfortable.

I grew up with Fahrenheit, switched to Celsius and now have to think of just what a Fahrenheit temperature feels like. Must the same with shopping though quite a few stores still show prices in pounds instead of kilograms. Driving is a bit of a no brainer since you just stay at or below the posted speed limit.

After getting used to metric, it is just an easier system to use. Even something as trivial as calculating the weight of an aquarium when it is filled with water is much easier.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Must the same with shopping though quite a few stores still show prices in pounds instead of kilograms.

"Eh," I said, "How long since Canada used pounds! Oh I get it, he means 'ibs' pounds." Can't remember when I last saw one of those either.

BR

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

"Eh," I said, "How long since Canada used pounds! Oh I get it, he means 'ibs' pounds." Can't remember when I last saw one of those either.

If you are referring to pounds ( £) as currency, Canada started using the dollar back in 1858 so a bit before my time.

[ownedbycats]

"Losing ten pounds" means very different things in US English and British English...

[BetterRed]

Bah, pounds, currency for the hoi-polloi.

Everyone worth knowing would know that anything worth having is priced in guineas

[DNSB]

British currency hasn't been nearly as much fun since decimalization. 12 pence to the shilling, 2 shillings to the florin, 2 shillings, 6 pence to the half-crown, 5 shillings to the crown, 20 shillings to the pound, 21 shillings to the guinea were so much fun.

The last person I know who had a guinea coin paid $5,000 Cdn for a George III guinea from 1813 in very good condition.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by DNSB

British currency hasn't been nearly as much fun since decimalization. 12 pence to the shilling, 2 shillings to the florin, 2 shillings, 6 pence to the half-crown, 5 shillings to the crown, 20 shillings to the pound, 21 shillings to the guinea were so much fun.

You did not mention 4 farthings to a penny.

I can still remember being sent by my great grandmother, in the early 1950's, to the local grocers to buy her preferred loaf of bread. It cost so many pence and one farthing. I remember being surprised by this as the farthing had become quite rare at this time, though it was still legal tender.

[BetterRed]

£.s.d. combined with avoirdupois units of mass and imperial units of length resulted in a deftness of mental arithmetic that you'd be hard pressed to find today. My mother could tell the man who sliced the ham how much he should charge for the 7¼ ounces of 9s.6½d ham as he was weighing it, ditto the cheese etc, and when she was finished - the total.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

£.s.d. combined with avoirdupois units of mass and imperial units of length resulted in a deftness of mental arithmetic that you'd be hard pressed to find today. My mother could tell the man who sliced the ham how much he should charge for the 7¼ ounces of 9s.6½d ham as he was weighing it, ditto the cheese etc, and when she was finished - the total.

That it's a lot harder to calculate is not a point in its favour!

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

That it's a lot harder to calculate is not a point in its favour!

But that makes sure that people are kept fluent in how to do mathematics. In turn, decimal has a problem of it being complicated to convert a decimal to a fraction when it comes to repeating decimals, so a decimal-based system can result in complexity too.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

But that makes sure that people are kept fluent in how to do mathematics. In turn, decimal has a problem of it being complicated to convert a decimal to a fraction when it comes to repeating decimals, so a decimal-based system can result in complexity too.

Again, complexity is not a plus point.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Again, complexity is not a plus point.

Granted, but from what I've seen, making/facilitating the stupidity (and over-reliance thereby upon devices like smartphones, Search Engines, etc.) of people isn't doing anybody any good, either.

Hitch

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

But that makes sure that people are kept fluent in how to do mathematics. In turn, decimal has a problem of it being complicated to convert a decimal to a fraction when it comes to repeating decimals, so a decimal-based system can result in complexity too.

I prefer the imperial system for two reasons, both related to its utility for the average person. The units are useful gradations; e.g., inches, feet, yards and cup, pint, quart, gallon, as opposed to going from too small to too large. They’re also readily divisible by two, three and four as opposed to two, five and ten.

Anthony Burgess argued that LSD was preferable to decimal coinage because it also allowed for division by seven, as in the days of the week, but I’m not prepared to go that far!