The United States is too large of a country and economy to easily change to the metric system due to existing contract law, property law and monitairy unit value. Our measurment system is part of our national identity. Changing to the metric system ultimately looses traction because it is equated with turning the United States into Europe. The lack of standardization is frustrating on face value. But, what is missed in the overal argument, nature abhors the eventual stagnation introduced by standardization in evironments as evidenced by evolution and competition. Fall of Rome.
Different units of measure reflect diverse world views and coping strategies in a complex environment. The resulting competition generates new discoveries, promotes commerce, and helps hold off the negative tendancy by human beings to form into standardised steady state devolving groups. Homogenius groups of humans do have the most productive communities with lower leves of interpersonal strife. If we call strife competition or conflict, you need that to introduce some form of motivation to the biological entities forming the group to do other than become lazy narcasistic BORG.
Can anyone say Western POP Culture...........
Nice post. I will say that it also causes the occasional space probe to miss its target, when the American (ie English) to metric conversion isn't done properly.
To our friends in other nations, I will point out that science, engineering, and medicine, among many others, are indeed done in metric, even here in the US. People educated in the sciences are expected and required to be able to use the metric system, as their individual industries require. The conversion back to american standard is often done in the last step for the American consumer's benefit, a step not taken for everyone else.
I for one would be fine with converting to metric for almost everything, with one notable exception. Everyday temperature measurements are better done in Fahrenheit than Celsius. Trying to figure out how hot or cold 15 degrees C really feels is a total pain in the ass. First, its not very precise, as I never see weather reports in Celsius given to a tenth of a degree. Fahrenheit is a smaller unit and therefore is more precise, giving a better indication of the temperature. Fahrenheit is also better at describing everyday temperatures throughout the year... temperatures are almost always described with two digits. If you get to a third digit, you know its damn hot outside and you better take care. If you get to one digit its very cold outside and you better dress warm. Whereas for Celsius, the difference from 0 to 9 degrees C is huge, as is the difference from 30 to 39. In Celsius, telling someone the temperature is "in the single digits" is a useless statement. The fact is that for everyday life, Fahrenheit is superior.
Obviously Celsius should be used in science and technology though, no dispute on that, and it is.
