[Tech1] Imperial v. Metric

[Dave Plowman]

You have to remember that those in the public eye - like Rees-Mogg and 
his like, who want to go back to imperial -  almost certainly never do 
the shopping and wouldn't know a ring spanner from a open ender.

I'm one of those who tends to draw things out to scale on the computer, 
before doing  a job. Even for things like tiling a wall. Much easier to 
adjust things in a drawing than wish you'd known afterwards. And the 
idea of scaling using yards feet and inches simply stupid.

On 13/06/2023 15:01, Alan Taylor via Tech1 wrote:
> I left school in 1967 and was taught both measurement systems. Science was always in metric units, maths could be in either and metalwork was imperial, but the metalwork teacher was close to retirement anyway and very set in his ways. It was frustrating because at that time, steel and brass was sold in imperial dimensions, while aluminium was in metric. He would always refer to 12mm aluminium bar as ½”, but in reality it was a touch smaller than that.
>
> Once I left school and started buying tools, I always bought metric tools unless I needed drills, taps & dies or spanners for old stuff, and my efforts at baking have always been metric too.
>
> I find it bizarre that the reason given for going back to imperial units is because the changeover to metric has been inconsistent.  If anybody is concerned about inconsistencies, then the logical course of action would be to fully convert to metric units and be done with it. The number of people who were taught imperial units is now a small and ever diminishing minority of the population.
>
> Alan
>
>
>> On 13 Jun 2023, at 13:46, Dave Plowman via Tech1 <tech1 at tech-ops.co.uk> wrote
>> Was wondering just how old you'd need to be to have still been taught imperial at school?
>>
>>> On 13/06/2023 12:10, Pat Heigham via Tech1 wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>> Something to consider.....
>>> If we have really exited the European Union, should there not be a move to restore Imperial Measures?
>>> We seem to have an amalgam of complicated mixture.
>>> We talk about MPG for cars, but the fuel is dispensed in litres.
>>> Pubs still serve beer in pints. Although the bottles are in ml.
>>> Doctors measure us in centimetres and weigh us in Kg.
>>> Grocers and butchers were forced to alter their scales and tills to become metric.
>>> But now to change currency back would not be good - decimal coinage works OK,
>>> easier to understand (as in the USA) and our little ones are not Vorderman or Riley,
>>> when it comes to Maths!
>>> (A Civil Engineer* explained to me that builders work in mm to the nearest 5mm,
>>> so their calculations for quantity surveying always end up as either '5' or '0')
>>> *I knew him well - he made the Post Office Tower stand up - not yet fallen over,
>>> in spite of 'The Goodies' Kitten!
>>> Best
>>> Pat H
>> -- 
>> Dave Plowman
>> London, SW
>>
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-- 
Dave P                                                             London
                                                                      SW