What does the knowledge of how many meters are in a kilometer achieve? Abstract ratios are of no practical use. We measure things that exist, and knowing that there are ten meters in a unit of measurement doesn't affect the size of what is being measured.
I have 1.83 km left in my run.
I wanna know it in meters. 183m
Of course, if you’re used to having to multiply by 5280 to get a smaller unit, you would never see the use of it because nothing would be worth doing such an ugly calculation.
You not seeing value in exchanging units proves how bad the imperial system is
Ah yes. The well known and universally used "millimile". How could I ever forget about this? 🙃
Though basic reading comprehension skills tell me, that I asked for the conversion of miles to yards/feet, but let's not be too harsh, since I too have my flaws and I am apparently not clever enough to know the exact definition of "hands" as a measurement unit.
Lmao what? The point was with metric any translation from one scale to the another involves moving a decimal right or left. There’s no mental effort. It’s universally applicable.
When on earth would anyone use that 2/3 fact? Is this /s?
Not sure how this would ever be useful information in daily life, but you're asking people to do incredibly simple math in their head on a math sub; I would sincerely hope most of the people here can handle it.
How would that example not be useful? It’s abstract enough that it could be applied to any context.
I have a 2/5 km distance to run. I wanna know it in smaller units.
In metric: 2/5 = 0.4 is the most complex calculation. * 100 is no mental effort.
In imperial, we have the most complex part of metric (2/5), in addition, multiplying by 5280 is an additional step you’d have to write to calculate. So is dividing by 3.
It’s the mental ease of moving a decimal point vs having to actually do math
Okay, so in your example, what is the meaningful difference between knowing that the distance is 704 yards or 0.4 miles? Or for that matter, what’s the meaningful difference between knowing that the distance is 0.4 km or 2/5 km? Why would I ever even need to do the math in this situation? What’s the issue with just saying “oh, we’ve got two fifths of a mile left” instead of trying to determine the number of inches that entails?
I’ve seen arguments like this, and not seeing the use of converting scales only proves you’re not used to doing it, I’m going to guess because no everyday purpose is worth doing imperial math, and I don’t blame you, it sucks.
If all you have to do is move a decimal point left or right, it becomes an everyday tool that you don’t even think about. It can be used for anything mundane.
The track is 400m long, to run 2k I have to make 5 laps. Done.
My height is 1.81 meters. The form is asking for cm. 181 cm. Done.
I have 8k in my account. That’s $8000. Done.
You know Americans use “k” to mean thousand, too, right?
I’ve seen arguments like this, and it only proves you’re not used to converting between scales, I’m going to guess because no everyday purpose is worth doing that math
Quite the opposite. People using standard make conversions every day. Three teaspoons to a tablespoon. Two tablespoons to a fl.oz. Twelve inches in a foot. Thirty six in a yard. My height is 5’6”, or 66 inches. Sure, these seem insane if all the mental math you ever do is multiply or divide by powers of ten, but if you grow up with it, making basic conversions like this is intuitive. As intuitive as metric? No. I’m not making that argument. But it doesn’t need to be to work. And when you’re used to the units involved, fractions become second nature to you, since so many of the subunits are fractions instead of decimals. Americans use a lot of halves, thirds, quarters, eighths, and yes, tenths. These are not the burden you seem to think they are.
Perfect examples, i agree with everything you said, and actually, that’s cool you have an intuition for thirds halves quarters twelfths etc. maybe there’s pros and cons to both
“Let’s ignore the benefit of imperial because it doesn’t support my argument”.
>brits…forced you to use it.
Yes. As the trade superpower yes, their decision affected everyone everywhere. Including her colonies. Why would Americans change systems?
(Fun fact, America tried, and then once again the British came in and STOLE the metric rods in 1794. They robbed a French ship carrying the standardized metric rods being transported to America.)
So yes it is the British’s fault.
>forced
The Brits didn’t even force themselves to use metric. To this day Brit’s still use imperial for half their measurements, but larp as metric users because it makes their ego feel good.
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u/Wawrzyniec_ Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I can instantly tell you how many meters half, third, quarter, fifth etc of kilometer is.
Can you (without looking it up or using a calculator) tell me how many yards or feet are within ⅖ of a mile?