Since when did 3/8" = 9.2mm?

schlitzaugen

schlitzaugen

Member
1000+ Posts
The Si system is meant to define the units on an experimental basis that can be replicated easily and accurately anywhere anytime by anyone and be easily integrated with universal physical constants. The easy conversion to multiples/submultiples is just so we don't need to remember a senseless number of multiplying factors. For the SI system this is irrelevant but it makes life easier.
 
G

Greenpeace

Member
For further light reading on the metric vs imperial battle Google BWMA and UKMA🙂.

I for one was "fortunate" enough to learn imperial in my first few years of schooling and metric for the remainder. Subsequently (even today) I couldn't give a rats ar#e which one is used. Both systems are accurate and both suitable for day to day calculations, they have both had the time to prove themselves.
Yes metric in theory should be easier to teach but are we really that dumb to need a sign in the supermarket telling us a 500g item for $5 is $1 per 100g?
Day to day for me at home: need a 5/16" spanner 8mm will work, 7/16",11mm will fit, 9/16", 14mm will do the job and so on. Got a MPH speedo (most of my vehicles do), times the reading by 1.6 and it's close enough, do we need a scientific calculator to work out 50MPH is as near as doesn't matter 80KPH?
I work in healthcare and the "simplicity" of the metric system is also one of its greatest failings, look up "death by decimal point".

Cheers Rob.
 
schlitzaugen

schlitzaugen

Member
1000+ Posts
There is no battle. Everything/everybody is metric/SI. It was decided some time ago and all countries agreed.

If you want, you can call it protecting the stupid because it makes things simpler so even stupid can work it out.

Problem is, part of being stupid is fighting tooth and nail everything that's meant to help you. It's a requirement. And there's a lot of ingenious stupid people out there as you have noticed at the supermarket.

And yes, we do need those labels because people are increasingly avoiding math in school since it is optional. Have a look at the last PESA study some years back and you'll see we are approaching 50% math illiterate at a basic functional level (that is every day functional, you know working out the change and such). Some states are there already. English is not much better.
 
G

Greenpeace

Member
I think Myanmar and Liberia are still dragging the chain on that one, but they have agreed in principle.
You have highlighted the problem, why learn maths when you have a calculator?
I guess dumb was a poor choice of words (uneducated may have been better) but we seem to be sending children to school for longer to be less functional without use of technology.
Spell check doesn't fix wrong context and realising you missed the decimal point on a calculator doesn't suck too much morphine, potassium or whatever else might kill you back out of a dead patient.
I can't wait until fully automated cars come out and anything that's not is banned from the road. It's much easier than trying to address the real problems and as a bonus there will a lot of cheap speed cameras listed on EBay.
 
S

seasink

Member
1000+ Posts
And arithmetic and number theory is mind-fatiguing difficult. School number algorithms are only a useful start.
 
schlitzaugen

schlitzaugen

Member
1000+ Posts
Greenpeace said:
I think Myanmar and Liberia are still dragging the chain on that one, but they have agreed in principle.
You have highlighted the problem, why learn maths when you have a calculator?
I guess dumb was a poor choice of words (uneducated may have been better) but we seem to be sending children to school for longer to be less functional without use of technology.
Spell check doesn't fix wrong context and realising you missed the decimal point on a calculator doesn't suck too much morphine, potassium or whatever else might kill you back out of a dead patient.
I can't wait until fully automated cars come out and anything that's not is banned from the road. It's much easier than trying to address the real problems and as a bonus there will a lot of cheap speed cameras listed on EBay.
Click to expand...

I've got it.

No. Stupid. I meant it.

Poorly educated are children who are abandoned in the street at birth and have no schooling. Children who have schooling available for free, computers for free, libraries, teachers, food and so on for free and they reject everything just because are just dumb. Because they do not even realise that it is all free. Free. It don't cost them anything. Zip. All they have to do is try but they donwanna.

Math is about thinking independently and checking your thinking independently with everything subjective out of the equation. Which is why people fear math. It is the only field where if you're wrong, you know it, there is no subterfuge, no opinion, no feeling and so on. You can't hide. People (especially modern people) hate that because it makes them feel bad about themselves and that's not allowed. People who persist build resilience and this is a transferable commodity. We don't have that anymore. If it don't work the first time, we give up.
 
G

Greenpeace

Member
No argument here.

I think we both got a little off subject.

Biggest decision I had this morning (day off) was whether to reply on my 6.7" phone, my 9.7" iPad or fire up the PC with its 19" monitor. I nearly said f##k it, I'm just going to lay back and watch reruns of American/British car shows on my 60" TV.
I just got back from walking one of my grandson's to school. On the way we saw a new looking Kenworth B-double parked which had a badge proudly proclaiming it had a 600 Horsepower (not HP) Cummins. He had a pat of the a horse that a young lady was exercising, which she said was 16 hands high. On the way back a couple of young scallywags on their 24" mountain bikes nearly cleaned me up. It was good to get home and kick off those size 10s I can tell you.
I will be going out later today however, so I will check the air pressure in my Citroen's 15" tyres (one has a slow leak) with my Chinese made air pressure gauge (which for some baffling reason is only graduated in PSI). I just have fire up the 2.5HP motor on my 9CFM compressor first.
There's a coffee shop a few miles 😉 up the road that makes a mean cappuccino, I'm going to order one of their 16oz cups and chill out for a while. As I live near a flight path I might even see if I can spot an airliner going over at 35 000' while I'm sipping on my brew.
 
1972Ren

1972Ren

The Comeback Kid
1000+ Posts
This does all strongly suggest that all the prefixes indicating powers of 10, including centi, are part of the SI system

Centi- - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

or

SI Units

w5wsh.com

or
www.britannica.com

International System of Units (SI) | Units, Facts, & Definition

International System of Units (SI), international decimal system of weights and measures derived from and extending the metric system of units. SI has seven basic units, from which others are derived: the second, the meter, the kilogram, the ampere, the kelvin, the mole, and the candela.
www.britannica.com

And this is the NIST saying it, which I consider to be highly credible body

Metric (SI) Prefixes

www.nist.gov www.nist.gov
 
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S

seasink

Member
1000+ Posts
The SI is an MKS system, All sorts of conversions are possible, but are not part of the system.

When metrication occurred here, late 60s early 70s, it was far from by popular demand, indeed was costly, and a great many lectures occurred and documents published for the benefit of trades and technical occupations. Those who were there will remember.
 
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