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I am not the least bit biased, however Imperial measurements are one of the stupidest things ever invented. Metric is so simple and consequently so much more accurate. All measurements are in multiples of 10, just like our monetary system.

What really makes me boil is that the USA was converting to metric 30 or 40 years ago. Gasoline was sold by the liter, highway signs were in kilometers, etc. Then some idiots (I can say that because I don't know who they were. Heck I might have voted for some of them.) in government got the thing reversed. I don't know how many millions they spent taking down all of the nice Kilometer signs and putting stupid Imperial measurement signs back up. Paraphrasing I say, "One giant step backwards for mankind."

I really hate it when I get all wishy-washy and waffle like this.

Enjoy (and come on metric),

JimB

Have you noticed that metric is slowly taking over. Cabinet people have been using metric. A large percentage of nuts, bolts, threaded rods, axle sizes, etc. in newer cars are metric---But dang it all, I'm going to be fed to the fishes by the time it is finished and I won't get to see it.
 
Jim C Bradley said:
I am not the least bit biased, however Imperial measurements are one of the stupidest things ever invented. Metric is so simple and consequently so much more accurate. All measurements are in multiples of 10, just like our monetary system.

What really makes me boil is that the USA was converting to metric 30 or 40 years ago. Gasoline was sold by the liter, highway signs were in kilometers, etc. Then some idiots (I can say that because I don't know who they were. Heck I might have voted for some of them.) in government got the thing reversed. I don't know how many millions they spent taking down all of the nice Kilometer signs and putting stupid Imperial measurement signs back up. Paraphrasing I say, "One giant step backwards for mankind."

I really hate it when I get all wishy-washy and waffle like this.

Enjoy (and come on metric),

JimB

Have you noticed that metric is slowly taking over. Cabinet people have been using metric. A large percentage of nuts, bolts, threaded rods, axle sizes, etc. in newer cars are metric---But dang it all, I'm going to be fed to the fishes by the time it is finished and I won't get to see it.
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Jim i dont for one minute think your posts like this are wishy washy. I tend to agree with your views on the metric system. But there is something about the imperial system that also has merits.


See i am dual measurement able.

But take a measurement like 1/4 inch or half inch or 1 inch. Well the term 1/4 , 1/2 etc does give one a feel for quantity in a way like looking at say a cake and saying half the cake or a quarter slice.

But 5mm while precise does not convey the same kind of feel. :)

I like the metric when adding or subtracting its easier i find to do it mentally. With fractions i always have to get to the common denominator thats a pain.

But the other day Mike Henderson posted using a caliper that had a analog dial as opposed to the modern digital ones. It was in imperial and personally it was one of those things where the image was worth a thousand words to get an understanding of how close or far you were from a measurement. Were it in digital form that feedback mechanism is lost.

Jim D made the point to a new member about what to expect with as a rule of thumb with wood movement the other day in a post on the coffee table and it occurred to me while we can get caught up in the millimeters etc we seem to loose sight of the fact that the material we working with is actually "alive" to some extent. In that respect i think the imperial system does a fine job for working with it.

I retain this view that some of the fine antiques held precious were not made as if in a toolmakers machine shop of precision. They were hand made and most of the very old stuff totally with hand tools. We should expect that our work shows this fact in my view rather than seeking that "metric precision" :D

Sorry for the hijack this has nothing to do with the maths question Ed.
 
Jim C Bradley said:
I am not the least bit biased, however Imperial measurements are one of the stupidest things ever invented. Metric is so simple and consequently so much more accurate. All measurements are in multiples of 10, just like our monetary system.

What really makes me boil is that the USA was converting to metric 30 or 40 years ago. Gasoline was sold by the liter, highway signs were in kilometers, etc. Then some idiots (I can say that because I don't know who they were. Heck I might have voted for some of them.) in government got the thing reversed. I don't know how many millions they spent taking down all of the nice Kilometer signs and putting stupid Imperial measurement signs back up. Paraphrasing I say, "One giant step backwards for mankind."

I really hate it when I get all wishy-washy and waffle like this.
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Agree - you should really stop sugar coating it :rofl:

I do find the "mile" markers on ~many Canadian highways amusing "next exit 1.6 kilometers" ... uh huh.

Personally I find base 12 to be quite useful, its evenly dividable by 2, 3, 4, and 6 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodecimal The worst part about Imperial (err really Standard - Imperial is different yet again... compare Imperial - 20oz/pint Standard 12oz/Pint) is that there is no consistent basis for most of it, if it was all base 12 or something it would make sense... but just look at the factors (in feet) for a mile: 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 * 3 * 5 * 11 - wut!! ok yeah it can be divided in 1/2 a lot which is convenient but 5 and 11? Clearly the people deciding this never took a class in basic number theory :wave:

And if you want to get really esoteric, why is our time, angle and geography based on a number system that 5000 years old (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal)? it does sort of work pretty well I suppose..
 
Rob Keeble said:
...But 5mm while precise does not convey the same kind of feel. :) ...
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Well, 5mm is reasonable precision. Most woodworkers are generally satisfied with precision to 1/32" (0.03125" or 0.79mm), which is only slightly less than 1 mm (about 0.3937"). I like 64ths, but often come up a bit shy of that :( and again, that's not all that far off half a mm.

Considering the dynamic nature of wood, those measurements are generally close enough for everything except marquetry, etc.
 
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