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Thread: Times article on Imperial/Metric and the UK

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    During my days at public school, we chose our own classes up to a point. Some chose more history/civics related classes some more towards writing and literature. Those who liked math or the sciences went off on those paths.

    If the school counselors chose your courses they may have seen you as not being one to put on the math track.

    jtk
    We had core requirements as well as electives. My core really needed more math. I picked up some math and geometry by osmosis through my electives, Shop, Agriculture, Drafting, Electronics... Math slipped through the cracks for me partly because I did 9th and 10th in a big school with over 1000 kids in my grade then moved to country school with 29 in my class for 11th and 12th. Or I could blame Jimmy Carter he was president all 4 years.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Learning fractions is an important part of math curriculum. It just so happens it also applies to measuring systems.
    Are fractions still a core part of K-12 math curriculum? I know no one with students in that age group.

  3. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Curt Harms View Post
    Are fractions still a core part of K-12 math curriculum? I know no one with students in that age group.
    They were for our kids in CBSD. Of course, the "how" they manipulated them was very foreign because of the "math system" being used for Common Core. It was bizarre!! Helping with math homework was a thankless task because of the methodologies...
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    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Luter View Post
    Metric is for saps. Decimal inch rules. RPN calculators are the best too.
    It seems that aeronautical engineers agree. All dimensions I'm aware of are decimal inches - well, except fasteners. Those have their own conventions with their roots pre WWII that make hardwood measures look positively simple. Here's a brief example:

    AN4-4A

    AN means the bolt is manufactured according to Air Force-Navy specs.
    4 identifies the diameter of the bolt shank in 1/16" increments
    4 identifies the length of the shank in 1/8" increments
    A means the shank of the bolt is undrilled (no letter here means a drilled shank)
    Last edited by Curt Harms; 06-17-2022 at 9:05 AM.

  5. #50
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    My son often talks JIS. Japanese Industrial Standard. It has been helpful to learn a bit about JIS for bikes, motorcycles and cars, screwdrivers too.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Learning fractions is an important part of math curriculum. It just so happens it also applies to measuring systems.
    Yes it does. When I was a pup I wasn't real great at math, especially fractions. As I advanced in my education towards becoming an Engineer, I had to learn decimal equivalents, and over the years have committed them to memory. Fractions are simple now. I just convert everything to decimal equivalents in my head.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  7. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    I've always been amused at how close some of the basic in/mm measurements end up, like, 100mm is 'about 4", a liter is 'about a quart', a meter is 'about a yard'... but the two things the metric system DOESN'T have an 'about' of, is feet and inches. Ok, so 25mm is 'about an inch', and 300mm is 'about a foot', but like most Americans (I'm assuming)', while I can visualize in my head or with 'air fingers' pretty closely what 3", or 9", or 16", or 2' or 4' kinda looks like, for the life of me I can't figure how to space my air fingers for 75mm or 850cm or 1.2 meters...


    I AM getting good at times-ing or dividing by 25.4 to translate the difference, but without a calculator I'm lost!
    The metric system does have metres, centimetres and millimeters.

    The trick is to start using it, and use metric design methods. If a 2” wide leg is pleasant to look at, so is a 50mm leg.

    Use 20mm thicknesses, or 35, 40, 50 etc.

    If I put an object in your hand you wouldn’t be able tell me whether it was 4 ounces or 100 grams, because our brains and body simply don’t work that well for those differentiations.

    Just start using the metric system system and you’ll become just as competent as you are in the Imperial system……Regards, Rod.

  8. #53
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    Haha, agree about RPN calculators, still using my HP11C.

    I’m writing this on an iPad, which has an HP15 emulator on it, I simply cannot use an algebraic calculator.

    On the metric/Imperial part, I think you have it backwards😀

    Regards, Rod

  9. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    Just start using the metric system system and you’ll become just as competent as you are in the Imperial system……Regards, Rod.
    I agree with this as it's exactly what I did. It really doesn't matter what system I use in the moment as long as it's consistent for the project, but more and more I find metric easier, faster and more natural "for me".
    --

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  10. #55
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    In many ways the metric system is much easier. Especially things like a cubic centimeter of water is one milliliter and at 3.98ºC weighs about one gram.

    Though in my world all of my drill bits and other boring equipment is in imperial sizes except for one 10mm bit. Metric bit sets are not yet common in the U.S. Every once in a while my random searching of auger bits look for metric bits and hasn't found them. They are likely common in Europe and other parts of the world.

    Dowels from the various vendors are also still in inch sizes.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Fretwell View Post
    Are light years metric or imperial? I’m thinking science running out of zeros went imperial!
    A light year is neither metric nor imperial. A light year is simply how far light will travel in 365.25 Earth days.

    Just like Mach 1 is neither metric nor imperial. It is simply how fast sound travels under a certain set of circumstances.

    I have way too many old woodworking machines with imperial scales etched into them to really want to switch my woodworking habits to metric. BUT if we can throw out the King's measurement system and switch to all metric I will adapt. The Imperial measurement system is just one very long lived legacy of English imperial tyranny! american-flag-america.jpg




    Manufactures seem more concerned about fooling consumers into not noticing that they are continually getting less product which is made to look like more product. The twisted, contorted shapes that bars of soap come in is a perfect example! I think manufactures will embrace which ever measurement system that will make it easier to fool the customer... which I believe is imperial measurements.

    P.S. Maybe the 1/3 pound burger should have been advertised as the 3/9th pounder???
    Last edited by Michael Schuch; 06-19-2022 at 3:54 AM.

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Schuch View Post
    A light year is neither metric nor imperial. A light year is simply how far light will travel in 365.25 Earth days.

    Just like Mach 1 is neither metric nor imperial. It is simply how fast sound travels under a certain set of circumstances.
    But are they measured in meters/second, kilometers/hour or miles/hour? . The distance is the distance, the rate is the rate, it's just a matter of how we measure it.

  13. #58
    I grew up in the UK and with Metric. Moved to the USA over 30 years ago. When I first moved I thought in metric and converted to imperial in my head. Over the last 30 years I transitioned to thinking in imperial and converting to metric if I had to. Not quite sure when that transition happened - but I am now much more comfortable in imperial.

    A note to a comment upstream about pints and beer. I have a friend who used to say "a pint's a pound the world around." It's a nice memory aid - but unfortunately not true. A US pint is 16oz, but an imperial pint is 20oz. So the UK, Australia etc. are 20oz pints. Which also means that there are about 5 liters in a UK gallon verses about 4 liters in a US gallon. Just more for the confusion in conversions between measurement systems.

  14. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Spence View Post
    I grew up in the UK and with Metric. Moved to the USA over 30 years ago. When I first moved I thought in metric and converted to imperial in my head. Over the last 30 years I transitioned to thinking in imperial and converting to metric if I had to. Not quite sure when that transition happened - but I am now much more comfortable in imperial.

    A note to a comment upstream about pints and beer. I have a friend who used to say "a pint's a pound the world around." It's a nice memory aid - but unfortunately not true. A US pint is 16oz, but an imperial pint is 20oz. So the UK, Australia etc. are 20oz pints. Which also means that there are about 5 liters in a UK gallon verses about 4 liters in a US gallon. Just more for the confusion in conversions between measurement systems.
    An interesting reversal on converting from one system to another. I doubt there is anyone in Oz who would even think about a pint and certainly it is not possible to order any fluid by the pint, even beer! I would say with some certainty that the vast majority would look at you with puzzlement if you even mentioned the word. You are right in saying that the slight differences across the Atlantic between the two different imperial systems further complicates things when it comes to conversion to metric. Why did the US decide it had to be different and invent a new imperial measuring system/standard?
    Last edited by Chris Parks; 06-29-2022 at 8:11 AM.
    Chris

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