Imperial or metric

[rookieforever33]

Living in the grand old USA I have spent a ton of time with a tape measure on my hip measuring things in feet, inches, fractions of inches. I do remember in the 3rd grade back in the 80s my school district tried to teach us both imperial, and metric systems of measurement. If I re all everyone picked up on metric quite easily. But alas, they dropped it.
I know linear measurements and angular are not the same. But while on the mils vs moa thread I cant help but note I think in inches, therefore moa seems easier to me. If I used the metric system would mils be easier? Would moa be harder than for an inch thinker?
In a general off season kind of way what are your thoughts on our measurement systems? Is metric better? Is imperial better?

 

[wapitibob]

Imperial is the dumbest thing ever, metric all the way.

You have 10 fingers and 10 toes, usually.
Water freezes at zero and boils at 100.
Wrenches are straight forward, 10mm, 11mm, 12mm, etc
1,000 meters = 1Km

And per the Rokslide trust, Mils is superior to MOA.

 

[Oakman]

For me, the metric system makes more sense and is much simpler to understand and apply. As you know, it’s based on units of 10, which makes it ideal for science and global use.
The imperial system is less intuitive, with uneven conversions, but it’s still commonly used here in the U.S. I believe the metric system is easier and more universal, imperial mostly sticks around out of tradition.

 

[Maverick1]

The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 officially declared the metric system as the "preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce".

Fail.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

From my generation we learned the imperial system, so that's how my mind works. the metric system has been tried and failed in the USA.

 

[TaperPin]

I even have to agree the US should have pulled the bandaid off and switched to metric.

As a practical matter, as a carpenter we get by just fine with inches and 1/16ths, even 1/32nds. Some of us even use 1/3 of a 16th when cutting trim or furniture parts. The wobble in a saw blade will often nicely trim 1/3 of 1/16” when lightly placed against a cut in a board. A small amount of pressure will cut 2/3 of 1/16”, and a firm pressure will cut a full 1/16”. Nobody died using fractions and it’s repetitive enough to be ground into our tiny carpenter brains. Still, when planing wood or measuring shrinkage to test if wood has acclimated, a simple dial caliper in decimal inches is much easier to use.

In other more exact situations like metal work, decimal inches seem no harder to understand than metric. I carry around rulers, calipers, and conversion charts with both, yet I couldn’t tell you how many inches 15mm is with any precision, or 16mm, or 3mm, or anything like that. Judging by poorly written Chinese instructions, it’s much harder to go from metric to freedom eagle measurements. lol

Doesn’t the military use meters? Does that change how well MILs work?

 

[Mr.Ktm]

I prefer metric, especially after working on dirt bikes and jet skis for years. Just makes more sense imo

 

[Yoder]

Metric is definitely easier. We use it at work all the time, all of our equipment is from Japan. It doesn't matter that much to me either way since I have to use both.

 

[Grassymike]

Unique perspective here. I moved to the Yukon as a kid from Alaska ,was 11 at the time. Grade 6 in Canada was my introduction to Metric. I now live in Alberta and got my Journeyman as a carpenter in 1993. I work with Imperial daily so understand and know it well. However when it comes to tempatures in the Farenheit system they may as well be Italian as far as understanding what is what. Virtually no one I know knows their height and weight in Metric we all still talk in pounds and feet/inches. I build cabinets now and use metric more and more. Building doors on a Shaper sure works easier when my default planing thickness for lumber is 20 mils, makes setup far easier with a metric caliper and height gauge. Basically traped between two systems for life is the way I see it . Using one or the other depending on what is required at the time.

 

[insanelupus]

Unpopular opinion probably, but why one over the other? As humans we are capable of learning both, though one may be preferred.

I don't care either way, EXCEPT when someone uses both on one project! Used to drive me crazy when something I was working on mixed and matched on nuts and bolts.

Pick one for the project, stick to it for that project, then assess the needs of the next project.

Just don't use both on the same project.

Life is too short to debate anything further for me.

 

[robtattoo]

I grew up in England, right at the cusp of the conversion so I grew up with both.
I was an agricultural fabricator & had the pleasure of training under guys who were all 20-50 years older than me, then working with guys younger than me. I mostly built very large trailers. Usually between 28 & 44 feet long. Needless to say, I learned to use  both sides of the tape measure, simultaneously. Squaring a chassis, it was so much easier to call it 54 feet, 127 mil than try to work out sixteenths & thirty-seconds!

I still switch back & forth now. I measure bigger distance in feet & weight is pounds, but small measurements are still millimeters! Meters, kilograms & fractions of inches don't sit in my head properly.

 

[fngTony]

metric except for temperature. Fractions in any math formula is the devils work. Here’s a video that explains the issues with the imperial system.

 

[Schmo]

If I used the metric system would mils be easier? Would moa be harder than for an inch thinker?

No, you don’t need to know the size (length) of a mil in inches. This is where many get hung up, incorrectly. A mil is simply a tenth. I used to think that since I know inches and had used MOA, that that is what I should stick with. Then I saw the light, and haven’t had any issues. Base 10 systems are so much easier for the mind to calculate than MOA. Wind holds and turret adjustments are much easier than MOA. If you have a mil scope, then your reticle is a your ruler. “Hold .7 mils” is super easy in a reticle with .5 mil sub-tensions. Dial 1.5 mils elevation is super easy. Either count 15 clicks, or just look at your turret. With the exception of looking at a marked turret, MOA requires you to multiply your correction by 4, leaving more room for error. Add to this that in reality, quick wind and quick drop only work cleanly with mils. There is a difference in capability. Period.

 

[wapitibob]

I even have to agree the US should have pulled the bandaid off and switched to metric.

As a practical matter, as a carpenter we get by just fine with inches and 1/16ths, even 1/32nds. Some of us even use 1/3 of a 16th when cutting trim or furniture parts. The wobble in a saw blade will often nicely trim 1/3 of 1/16” when lightly placed against a cut in a board. A small amount of pressure will cut 2/3 of 1/16”, and a firm pressure will cut a full 1/16”. Nobody died using fractions and it’s repetitive enough to be ground into our tiny carpenter brains. Still, when planing wood or measuring shrinkage to test if wood has acclimated, a simple dial caliper in decimal inches is much easier to use.

In other more exact situations like metal work, decimal inches seem no harder to understand than metric. I carry around rulers, calipers, and conversion charts with both, yet I couldn’t tell you how many inches 15mm is with any precision, or 16mm, or 3mm, or anything like that. Judging by poorly written Chinese instructions, it’s much harder to go from metric to freedom eagle measurements. lol

Doesn’t the military use meters? Does that change how well MILs work?

1 mm is .03937 or rounded to 40 thou, rounded to 2/3 of a 1/16.

 

[waspocrew]

We use metric in my profession (medicine). Weigh people in kg, prescriptions in mg, measure in cm - 10s just make a lot more sense.

I’ll measure skin cancers in mm and when telling patients “we’re going to start by cutting out the lesion with a small 2mm margin”, they usually ask “how big is that”?

 

[fngTony]

We use metric in my profession (medicine). Weigh people in kg, prescriptions in mg, measure in cm - 10s just make a lot more sense.

I’ll measure skin cancers in mm and when telling patients “we’re going to start by cutting out the lesion with a small 2mm margin”, they usually ask “how big is that”?

My job is the only reason I have some sense of visualizing what a metric measurement is.

 

[butcherboy]

I use both at work. Weight is done in pounds, oz, cups. Cuts of meat are done in pounds, inches, and millimeters.

 

[ODB]

I never understood people’s confusion with either system when once you get into higher maths those formulas make the average interaction with either system child’s play.

I also never understood the superiority complex displayed by those saying people who use the imperial method are somehow stupid or that the system itself is stupid. It’s just another system of measurement that is fully understandable and useable with a modicum of effort.

 

[Burnsie]

Using metric in the mechanical world (automobiles, machinery...etc) is easy enough to work with and understand. I'm sure it would make more sense in the rest of daily life as well if that is how I was brought up and taught through the years. Other than knowing a meter is somewhat close to a yard I have never developed a reference for judging distance, weight, volume...etc. If someone asked me to cut off a piece of 2x4 about 6" long, I could do it free hand and be pretty darn close. But if I was asked to cut a piece about 15 cm (about 6") I wouldn't have a clue. But that's because I don't use it day in and day out. If I did, it would be second nature. At 62 I think I'm probably sticking with Imperial for the rest of the ride. ie: "Man that deer is a bruiser, he's gotta be 225 - 230 lbs" -------102 - 104 kilos?

 

[Macintosh]

Im glad Im fluent in both, and Im also glad the US is a holdout.