"...easier to know that 17.7mm comes after 17.6mm..."
This is a good point. It's interesting that this highlights both an advantage and a disadvantage of the metric system. The "problem" is that for "by eye" measuring using rulers or tapes, one mil is the smallest practical division. A ruler divided into tenths of a mil is unreadable. So being able to break 1/32 of an inch into 64ths is "better" or at least "easier". In actual shop conditions either system is more likely to be nudged aside for the "just a hair, scosh, smidge, etc. method" John mentioned.