Metric or Imperial?

[agilis]

Fly space shuttle much?

Not recently.

 

[dmaziuk]

Not recently.

Sorry, my forgettery's getting older. It was Mars Orbiter, not a space shuttle: Mars Climate Orbiter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. No human lives have been harmed nor saved in that metric-imperial snafu.

 

[agilis]

Sorry, my forgettery's getting older. It was Mars Orbiter, not a space shuttle: Mars Climate Orbiter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The problem was confusion caused by the existence two systems and the misalliance between ground based computers and the operational system in the probe.

Human error, not the fault of either the metric or the imperial system.

 

[dmaziuk]

Human error, not the fault of either the metric or the imperial system.

It's always a human error. In this case, very easily avoided by not having two systems. Or at least telling the human programmers to never ever use one of them. I.e. no, it's not the fault of either the metric or the imperial system: it takes both.

 

[Bob DBF]

Don't have to look to space for problems. State of CA wants all the roadwork plans in metric, but construction is done in imperial, sometimes the original plans are imperial and have to be converted twice because the work has to be done from the state ok.

Recently, in a nearby town, a business owner had to bring it to the attention of the contractor had made the road too low and there was no practical way to get into his parking lot. Come to find out the conversion from metric changed 1 meter to 1' and the roadbed wound up 2' lower than designed. So everyone blamed each other, but if there was not a conversion there would not be a conversion error.


Bob

 

[Kevrumbo]

There's also the apocryphal story about a novice US Diver renting a computer overseas at a tropical dive location, and diving it to what he thought was 60 feet on the display. (Might have been a potential Darwin Award Honorable Mention).

Big difference between 60 feet and 60 meters. . .

 

[dmaziuk]

There's also the apocryphal story about a novice US Diver renting a computer overseas at a tropical dive location, and diving it to what he thought was 60 feet on the display. (Might have been a potential Darwin Award Honorable Mention).

Big difference between 60 feet and 60 meters. . .

1st time I got behind the wheel of my late Ozzie uncle's Toyota Crown, I promptly accelerated to 60 of whatever it was on the speedo. Since the car was a bit bigger and heavier than my Civic, the speed didn't feel immediately wrong.

My aunt was not amused (she was in the car too).

 

[Freak*Flag*Flyer]

what AJ said. Metric is better, it makes more sense, tanks are measured directly instead of indirectly, depth is easier to think about because of atmospheres which makes all the calculations easier. My gear is in metric, but only because my two primary dive buddies are engineers and think in metric, so it works for us, we also dive with "same ocean" principals, so there isn't much communication going on with regards to those units. Their pressure gauges are in imperial because they haven't had a need to change them.

Imperial is certainly easier if you dive with varied buddies, or dive in a team, it is best to stay on the local system, which is imperial on this side of the pond unfortunately.

I have to say for me I think the metric is easier, but I'll make sure my computer/s can do both metric and imperial. Still on the fence as far as pressure gauges.

D

 

[Storker]

I'll make sure my computer/s can do both metric and imperial. Still on the fence as far as pressure gauges.

AI computers can usually give you the tank pressure in either metric or imperial at your choice.

*dons flameproof suit*

 

[Kevrumbo]

AI computers can usually give you the tank pressure in either metric or imperial at your choice.

*dons flameproof suit*

So can a less expensive, more reliable dual unit SPG.
(*pushes Storker into water to put out flames*). . .