(click on image to enlarge)
This is hilarious. But it’s also true about “establishing new reference points”. I remember when Canada started changing over to metric they did it little by little. I was about 17 when the temperatures switched to Celsius and I made a conscious effort to change my reference points instead of constantly “translating”. And it worked. In fact, I stopped being able to relate to Fahrenheit temperatures at all. I wasn’t quite so successful with length, speed and volume but, since I moved to Spain, I no longer relate to pounds and ounces.
How about you? Are you metricised?
~ from the fabulous xkcd ~
casa azahar 
It is hilarious, and very true.
As far as I remember, in New Zealand, where I grew up, when they changed to centigrade, they did it all at once. As a result, I can only think in it, the only Fahrenheit temperatures I can remember are -40 (because they are both the same) and 16 degrees C = 61 degrees F.
I still tend to think in imperial measures though, feet and inches, though I can convert reasonably easily.
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The US is the only country still not metricized, although actually, it is. It’s just most people don’t know it yet. You use metric measure a lot in nursing, and recently a lot of hospitals have even begun taking temperatures, weights and heights in metric. Thank goddess for all the conversion tools on the internets.
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Ireland is completely metricised now, I think. We went through a phase for some years where distances were measured in kilometres, while speeds were still in miles per hour.
Even so, I feel my age – I still think in terms of feet, miles and stone, as do many people my age. I am trying to convert over though.
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Metric? Are the a life with out metric?
Simple, plain and logic. Why do you resist?
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Even today I use cups and pints and teaspoons for cooking, although I’m good with a litre of water. I don’t think about miles per hour any more. I’m good with temperatures in celsius until we get to oven temps. I might buy 100 grams of lunch meat but don’t ask me to understand the weight of a person in kilograms. I understand 20 cm of snow but I’m still 5’10”. I’m sure the generation behind me thinks that is all silly.
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I love xkcd, that comic is just the best. I surely don’t want to try his mixed drink, though.
Metric: what is this metric thing about which you speak?
My only experience with metric is giving Bob’s damnable cat her 3 cc’s of insulin every day. Twice a day. For eternity.
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Also: I can’t even convert my TIME to yours without hurting myself. Rough week, I guess.
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I can kinda do both, having lived in the UK and mainland Europe. Except temperatures in Farenheit, can’t manage those. And the very old cups and teaspoons, and acres and rods and perches. The Norn Irn border must be one of the few land borders where the speed signs change from mph to kph, leading to motorists from the North trying to get away with doing 100 mph because they “didn’t know the limits were in kph”….hasn’t worked as a defence in court so far.
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I have to admit I mostly still think in imperial measurements, but like Mr A I find it depends partly on scale and context.
I try to keep my weight at 70 kg because the conversion is easy.
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cm, mm, m, all mean something to me and I can generally figure out how much they are in relation to inches and yards… as well as mules vs. km.
Celsius , however, still remains completely a completely foreign measurement to me.
20 deg. means nothing to me.
I know what 80 F. feels like is and I know what
I know only one temperature in both F. and C… -40 which is the same in both measurements. And that is pretty freaking cold.
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Sorry… that would be MILES vs. km
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Ever since I joined hootoo I’ve become quite good at converting metric weight and length to imperial, but Fahrenheit is a mystery, so I don’t even try.
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B’Elena, that’s going backwards!
I think it’s like learning a new language. The less you translate the better.
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Going backwards? Go and tell the Brits. 😀
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They know!
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