I know the title probably upset all my friends who are either European, or scientific, or of the forward thinking academic persuasion. But I do…I hate the metric system. Maybe not with the burning fire of a thousand white hot suns, but it is definitely not a “live and let live” relationship. I prefer the other way…the old way…I am not even sure what it is called…I think it goes by names like the Imperial system…or Apothecary Measurements…and stuff like that. Since the rest of the world seems to have abandoned it (except for England with regard to some things)…I propose claiming this unwanted or unused thing and renaming it the American system.
Why do I dislike the metric system so much?
Perhaps I am already crotchety and set in my ways: In the immortal words of Grampa Simpson, “My car gets thirty rods to the hogshead..and that’s the way I like it!!”
Perhaps I take joy in exasperating my scientific friends by asking them to convert units of measurement into terms I understand: “I see, but what is that in furlongs per foot/pound?”
But perhaps maybe, just maybe I can muster a quasi-philosophical argument that sounds less like an excuse and more like a reason…and here it goes:
The metric system is a made-up, arbitrary system based on the whim of some random person. I can hear him now pontificating in a snooty French Accent, “It’s called a meter, and it is three inches longer than a yard just to upset those Americans.” or “It’s called a kilogram. It is a little more than twice as heavy as a pound making conversion between the two frustrating as all get out.”
In short, the metric system is detached from the world. It has the cold sterility of enlightenment objectivism. It is a perfect system for the idealized world of clockwork deism. Yes, it may be perfect, but so is Esperanto, and you don’t hear too many people these day speaking that made-up “perfect” language.
The other way…the correct way…the American way… is incarnational. It is connected to the earth, to people, and to how they live their lives. How tall is that horse? Lets count it in lengths of my hand An acre: the amount of land a man could plow in a day. How long is that? Lets walk it off it feet. Teaspoons and tablespoons, I have them in my house. No need for specialized equipment…just grab one and start spooning A mile? Originally from Latin mille passum which means “a thousand steps.” Even other more obscure measurements make sense once you understand their origins. A league, as in 20,000 of them under the sea, equals 3 miles. Why 3 miles? It’s the distance a man can walk in an hour.
So that’s my argument. Learn your weight in stones. Measure your dog in hands. Develop a new unit of measurement based on how far a car on the interstate travels in an hour. Reject the metric system.
And don’t get me started on Celsius…..
I’m surprised Dr. Garbarino didn’t author this one. He was the first person I ever heard say such a thing.
Great post. I’m ecstatic to hear your definition of a league, as I have always calculated that I can walk one mile in 20 minutes. This makes me feel very English (or American?)…
Haha, brilliant post! No offence taken from this european wordpresser
! feel exactly the same – my weight is in stone, a horse in hands, and the beach 400 yards from the house!
I weigh 9 stone, give or take a pebble. I think my burrito at dinner was at least a kilogram, though.
I’ve never heard this argument for our system, and it is indeed a good one. I like it when nature trumps science.
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The metric system is also deeply rooted in the real world, and in fact in a much less arbitrary way than the Imperial System. Instead of measuring someone random Brit’s hand or the King’s hand, the metric system (and Celsius, for that matter), tried to connect many real-world referents together. One centiliter is equal to one cubic centimeter, and when that space is filled with water at its freezing point, it has a mass of one gram. Water, light, and the Earth itself (measured from the North Pole to the Equator) are the main sources of the metric system, but the key advantage was that they are interconnected. Instead of having differences between ounces and “fluid ounces,” the metric system attempts to present the world in units that are easily converted between mass, energy, space, and time.
I meant “some random Brit’s hand,” not my incoherent string in that comment above, sorry.
Dear Old Fossil. It is as you know and have experienced a tough old game. The free mraket, smaller budgets etc opens the industry to non-card holders. This brings with it many good and bad things, one of the bad things you have listed. One of the good things is that certain great projects would never have been made if people had to work within the equity guide lines. Another point I would like to make is that you should not wait to be told your an actor, a card, training, showreel, merits etc should not define you as an actor ..you become an actor when you have respect for the craft, others and the fact its a tough industry. As for approaching Downtown Abbey etc, your agent or you could send your info to the casting director or you could send it directly to the production office. Either way it should get reviewed. Keep on thriving dear Old Fossil.
Pssh Dr. Jones, please. Who was it that said “Americans built on low, but solid ground?” Yes they followed nature. Yes, they are practical. Blah, blah, blah. Hahaha Why do you guys have to always be so different?
“Yes, it may be perfect, but so is Esperanto, and you don’t hear too many people these day speaking that made-up ‘perfect’ language.”
Actually, Esperanto has two million speakers. For comparison, Iceland has only 320,000.
“In short, the metric system is detached from the world. It has the cold sterility of enlightenment objectivism. It is a perfect system for the idealized world of clockwork deism.”
This is ridiculous. Go to pretty much any country other than the USA. People use the metric system everyday in the real world. Tell them about inches, gallons or ounces and you’ll get blank stares.