The U.S. is one of only 3 countries that…

[Adam]

...I can't understand why we still use Imperial measurements.

Momentum. Maybe the wrong word, but you probably know what I'm saying. So many people have been using those units for so long, that it's not easy to switch over. Sure, we buy two-liter bottles of soda, but that's about the only mainstream thing that I can think of. They tried putting distance markers in km around here, but I'm pretty sure that they took them all down.

 

[Davemcc]

So many people have been using those units for so long, that it's not easy to switch over.

The change from Imperial measurement to metric was not that difficult. I grew up during the transition and I can use both equally well. So can my kids.

 

[CraigV]

Momentum. Maybe the wrong word, but you probably know what I'm saying. So many people have been using those units for so long, that it's not easy to switch over. Sure, we buy two-liter bottles of soda, but that's about the only mainstream thing that I can think of. They tried putting distance markers in km around here, but I'm pretty sure that they took them all down.

For sure the transition would take some time, but it has to start somewhere and sometime.

 

[Adam]

For sure the transition would take some time, but it has to start somewhere and sometime.

True. I wasn't saying that we shouldn't switch, just offering my thoughts on why we haven't. Kind of like why I still program in FORTRAN sometimes - there's just so much stuff out there already written in it.

I do almost all of my work in SI units, but I "think" in terms of Imperial units because I was raised with them. For example, if I'm asked how wide my room is, I think about it in feet and not meters.

 

[Swerd]

True. I wasn't saying that we shouldn't switch, just offering my thoughts on why we haven't. Kind of like why I still program in FORTRAN sometimes - there's just so much stuff out there already written in it.

I do almost all of my work in SI units, but I "think" in terms of Imperial units because I was raised with them. For example, if I'm asked how wide my room is, I think about it in feet and not meters.

If I remember correctly, the US was moving, gradually, toward going metric in the late 1970s. Signs on highways were posted showing distances in both miles and km, large manufacturers like Ford, GM and Chrysler had switched their tooling to metric, etc. I don't remember all the other little changes that were going on at the time.

In 1980 Reagan was elected president and he canceled all the plans to go metric. He made avoiding the metric system into a patriotic issue. I never understood why he did that.

Making the switch is easier than most people think. Having both systems and converting back and forth from metric to English is much harder.

 

[lsiberian]

True. I wasn't saying that we shouldn't switch, just offering my thoughts on why we haven't. Kind of like why I still program in FORTRAN sometimes - there's just so much stuff out there already written in it.

I do almost all of my work in SI units, but I "think" in terms of Imperial units because I was raised with them. For example, if I'm asked how wide my room is, I think about it in feet and not meters.

Fortran is just crazy. Not as bad as Cobol, but man that language is a different beast.

 

[jliedeka]

I remember some time ago a stand up comedian remarked that if it weren't for drugs, he wouldn't know anything about the metric system.

Having two sets of measurements can lead to problems. Look at that Mars mission that failed because somebody forgot to convert units from one to the other. Also, how may of us have two sets of wrenches for working on different things. My car and my bikes are metric now but my old ones were Imperial. My lawnmower and snowblower use Imperial sized parts. I'm building speakers out of 3/4" sheet goods but talk about the internal volume in liters. Etc, etc.

Jim

 

[CraigV]

I remember some time ago a stand up comedian remarked that if it weren't for drugs, he wouldn't know anything about the metric system.

Having two sets of measurements can lead to problems. Look at that Mars mission that failed because somebody forgot to convert units from one to the other. Also, how may of us have two sets of wrenches for working on different things. My car and my bikes are metric now but my old ones were Imperial. My lawnmower and snowblower use Imperial sized parts. I'm building speakers out of 3/4" sheet goods but talk about the internal volume in liters. Etc, etc.

Jim

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[jostenmeat]

Hey- at least we're not Canadian!!

The change from Imperial measurement to metric was not that difficult. I grew up during the transition and I can use both equally well. So can my kids.

Many years I ago I read an interesting newspaper article about this subject in Canada. IIRC, it was talking about the "identity crisis" so to speak. It listed some examples like air travel, where altitude was imperial and speed was metric (or do I have that backwards), or that in a grocery store a chicken might be weighed in imperial, but that a frozen turkey would be metric.

Again, it's been a while.

Dave, is everything pretty much metric up there now? Was the article I read rather inaccurate (I seriously don't remember how long it's been, but I think in the last couple decades?).

 

[Davemcc]

Many years I ago I read an interesting newspaper article about this subject in Canada. IIRC, it was talking about the "identity crisis" so to speak. It listed some examples like air travel, where altitude was imperial and speed was metric (or do I have that backwards), or that in a grocery store a chicken might be weighed in imperial, but that a frozen turkey would be metric.

Again, it's been a while.

Dave, is everything pretty much metric up there now? Was the article I read rather inaccurate (I seriously don't remember how long it's been, but I think in the last couple decades?).

That's pretty much correct. I would say that a plane flies at 35,000 feet but I would have to convert that to meters if I needed to know it in metric. Speed is measured in km/h. Our grocery stores usually have the weights of fresh meat in both systems. Prepackaged groceries are almost exclusively measured in metric but sometimes have both.

My experience may be different than other Canadians because of my proximity to Detroit. I'm in a border town and less than a mile from Detroit. We have a lot of American influence from TV, radio, friends, family and other visitors from the States. (Notice I said "less than a mile" from Detroit, not km's.) I'll often use American measurement in conversation and everybody here knows what I'm talking about. I'll drink an 8 ounce glass of water but buy a liter of gasoline.

It's not confusing as long as everybody else know what you're talking about.

 

[haraldo]

When I was in grammer school (1969) we were told that we would convert to the Metric system within the next ten years.
Must be the new math.

That's why one NASA/ESA joint Mars mission went absolutely bananas and the probe crashed onto the surface of mars in a speed of 20.000 mph
Not what I call a soft landing

When doing the control software they did it this way:
- NASA engineers used imperial system
- ESA engineers used metric system
Very good if they knew about this, but they forgot to check and forgot something very important called "Integration Testing"

Quite expensive mistake if you ask me. Is this one of the things that goes into the list?

 

[haraldo]

Fortran is just crazy. Not as bad as Cobol, but man that language is a different beast.

Based on number of codelines around Fortran is still huuuuuge, because of all this old stuff that NASA do have and they still do heaps in Fortran I presume... why? haven't got a clue...
Java is too new for them, they need something to be stable for some 25 years before they use it Perhaps they will soon upgrade from 8086 processors now probably soon going to Pentium II

I heard that.... every time there's needs for Oracle database v 5 skills, there's an upcoming war situation.... US Navy still uses Oracle database v 5 isn't that right? while current version is 11g... (12g is not so far away) perhaps they will upgrade to v 6 soon, which is, what? 20 years old?

Is there any other country relying on such old technology?

 

[Audioholics]

The United States has a plan to adopt the metric system... it was passed in 1975.

http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/pub814.cfm#act

Well, so much for THAT plan!

 

[Jeepers]

Based on number of codelines around Fortran is still huuuuuge, because of all this old stuff that NASA do have and they still do heaps in Fortran I presume... why? haven't got a clue...
Java is too new for them, they need something to be stable for some 25 years before they use it Perhaps they will soon upgrade from 8086 processors now probably soon going to Pentium II

I heard that.... every time there's needs for Oracle database v 5 skills, there's an upcoming war situation.... US Navy still uses Oracle database v 5 isn't that right? while current version is 11g... (12g is not so far away) perhaps they will upgrade to v 6 soon, which is, what? 20 years old?

Is there any other country relying on such old technology?

What technology do Russia and China use for their space program; does anyone know ? Recent technology is not necessarily better; old technology seems to be reliable.

 

[gmichael]

Based on number of codelines around Fortran is still huuuuuge, because of all this old stuff that NASA do have and they still do heaps in Fortran I presume... why? haven't got a clue...
Java is too new for them, they need something to be stable for some 25 years before they use it Perhaps they will soon upgrade from 8086 processors now probably soon going to Pentium II

I heard that.... every time there's needs for Oracle database v 5 skills, there's an upcoming war situation.... US Navy still uses Oracle database v 5 isn't that right? while current version is 11g... (12g is not so far away) perhaps they will upgrade to v 6 soon, which is, what? 20 years old?

Is there any other country relying on such old technology?

I may have an old Commador Pet laying around if their IBM System 36 breaks down.

 

[haraldo]

What technology do Russia and China use for their space program; does anyone know ? Recent technology is not necessarily better; old technology seems to be reliable.

Some russian air fighters where known to have tubes in central places for a single reason, old technology, but much less susceptible to disturbances from radioactive radiation, so... the air plane doesn't drop from the sky if a bomb goes off.

I may make jokes of old technology sometimes for fun, but honestly.....
Sometimes old technology work very very well, and yes. That's why NASA used very old CPU's in the control systems for the space shuttle (Intel 8080 or sth like this). It worked and they didn't dare to upgrade to other technologies that would introduce instabilities, consequences of failure here is a lost space shuttle, and they didn't need any more of that....

Why do SET tube amps sound so incredibly good, very very old technology, but not surpassed by new technology.... yes Class D is much more efficient and powerful, but better.... hardly....

 

[Davemcc]

Why do SET tube amps sound so incredibly good, very very old technology, but not surpassed by new technology.... yes Class D is much more efficient and powerful, but better.... hardly....

 

[Sheep]

Why do SET tube amps sound so incredibly good, very very old technology, but not surpassed by new technology.... yes Class D is much more efficient and powerful, but better.... hardly....

Better is a perspective. If you like your amps coloring the sound, then by all means invest in tubes. The only tube am I own is used for creating sound, not playing it back.

SheepStar

 

[haraldo]

Better is a perspective. If you like your amps coloring the sound, then by all means invest in tubes. The only tube am I own is used for creating sound, not playing it back.

SheepStar

He he.... I'm just trying to be provocative......

 

[gmichael]

What I like is that we've been stuck in the middle so far. My car has a 3.0 liter engine and 17 inch wheels. My pool cue is 58 inches long, weighs 19 ounces but has a 12.5 mm tip.