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Has anyone else a problem with Metric?
21 Answers
Although I am in my 40's , I heartlly embrace new IT technology and cant wait to hear about new advances. So I'm fairly sure I'm not a Luddite!
However I have problems "visualising " metric measurements. Today they announced that a Virgin Train had reached 183 kph - I have to do a calculation in my head . Its the same with Kilograms - I "know" how heavy a 2 pound Bag of Sugar is but dont instinctively know what 2 kg feels like.
It gets worse! I know a hot day is 85 Fahrenheit - if someone says its 30 its a bit of a pause for a reaction!
When Decimilisation came in , I used ti smile at the Old people fussing over "new pence". However now I am in their position.
Are there other people with the same problems or is it just me?
However I have problems "visualising " metric measurements. Today they announced that a Virgin Train had reached 183 kph - I have to do a calculation in my head . Its the same with Kilograms - I "know" how heavy a 2 pound Bag of Sugar is but dont instinctively know what 2 kg feels like.
It gets worse! I know a hot day is 85 Fahrenheit - if someone says its 30 its a bit of a pause for a reaction!
When Decimilisation came in , I used ti smile at the Old people fussing over "new pence". However now I am in their position.
Are there other people with the same problems or is it just me?
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It's nothing to do with age, it's just what you are really familiar with. A younger person, brought up with Metric measurements may be perfectly aware of imperial measures, and capable of translating one into the other, but will have the same problem as you (in reverse) when it comes to "visualising" them.
Here in Greece, we joined the Euro 5 years ago, but even with young people I have experienced the following: They go into a shop and buy (say) a pen. The assisant says "That's two Euros", and they hand over two Euros.
They step out of the shop and you say to them "How much was the pen?" and they they reply: "700".
Here in Greece, we joined the Euro 5 years ago, but even with young people I have experienced the following: They go into a shop and buy (say) a pen. The assisant says "That's two Euros", and they hand over two Euros.
They step out of the shop and you say to them "How much was the pen?" and they they reply: "700".
Me too - I can cope with imperial and metric measurements (although I know that 2 pounds of potatoes is enough for one family meal, but do not know the metric equiv). My bugbear is temperature.
Whenever I hear what the temp's likely to be, I then have to ask 'what's that in old money?'
I heard once that you double it and add 28? Don't quote me!
Whenever I hear what the temp's likely to be, I then have to ask 'what's that in old money?'
I heard once that you double it and add 28? Don't quote me!
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I'm in a similar situation - but the other way round! I can image 2 kg in my hand and how heavy it would feel, but I couldn't do that with 2 pounds! But I find weight of humans easier to gauge in stones and pounds.
I find temperature hard to understand if it's in fahrenheit, although after being in America where they use fahrenheit I'm getting better! Usually I had to subtract 32, divide by 9 and times by 5! (That's the calculation for fahrenheit -> celsius).
Distances and speed are easier to understand when miles are involved. I think we're in the tricky halfway stage between imperial and metric, and as a nineteen year old, I've been taught a lot in metric, but still hear most adults talking imperial!
I find temperature hard to understand if it's in fahrenheit, although after being in America where they use fahrenheit I'm getting better! Usually I had to subtract 32, divide by 9 and times by 5! (That's the calculation for fahrenheit -> celsius).
Distances and speed are easier to understand when miles are involved. I think we're in the tricky halfway stage between imperial and metric, and as a nineteen year old, I've been taught a lot in metric, but still hear most adults talking imperial!
I'm at the age where I was brought up learning about both, though primarily we used metric. Now that I'm living in Germany I'm having to convert miles to kilometres, feet to metres for my Euro friends etc. Shopping in Euros I just deduct a third and it's roughly a pound. I still have a problem with temperature because in the UK they tend to use F for high temperatures and C for low temperatures. Confusing! I'm also not great on fractions. It takes me a little while to suss out what they equate to in metric. Having said that when I did precision engineering we had to convert fractions to imperial digits, i.e. 1/2 = 0.5
how many people do you know in our trade that can convert from metric to imperial in spanner sizes kebabmeister? the young un's ask me what size in metric is a 9/16th spanner. they are mystified that i can do the conversion and also tell them the size of the bolt or nut that it relates to. maybe i'm old ...
I've never heard anyone in Britain...tell their new baby's weight in kilos/grams...state their car's speed/fuel consumption in kph or kpl...ask for a litre of beer...say the distance between towns is so many kilometres...or any one of a host of other such measures.
When I attend my six-monthly hospital consultation and the nurse weighs me, I invariably ask, "What's that in real weight?"
Americans have had decimal currency for centuries, but they still use miles, gallons and so on. Good luck to them, I say...Long may these things reign here, too!
When I attend my six-monthly hospital consultation and the nurse weighs me, I invariably ask, "What's that in real weight?"
Americans have had decimal currency for centuries, but they still use miles, gallons and so on. Good luck to them, I say...Long may these things reign here, too!
When my chidren were born ..both on the continent I was most disappointed to find both times that the weight was in grammes and had to rapidly convert it to pounds and ounces for the benefit of rellies at home. I have never been able to get to grips with metric measurements and still ask for a yard of ribbon or curtaining stuff and so on. ...When I go for my M.O.T at the doctors I am weighed in kilos and luckily they convert it or I wouldn't have a clue.This is in spite of having lived in Germany and Holland for several years. When I first went to live in Germany I used to come home with far too many spuds etc because I could not grasp the concept of the kilo.
My old Mum never got to grips with decimalisation and called it "Dismal" money..and still worked out all her expenses in pounds shillings and pence long after the event.She would always convert everything back ."Six shillings for a cake!" was a favourite exclamation of hers.
One son who lives abroad comes out with things like ..."It drives at so many kilometres per hour and it's so many kilometres from A to B." Youngsters seem to cope with it because they have been taught it in school.I grew up with imperial measurements ,rods poles and perches,chains and furlongs !!
My bugbear is cooking ....I get all confused when a recipe calls for 200gms and have to get Mr.S. to read the scales for me ! Also knitting.I do a lot of knitting and all the patterns,yarn weight and needle sizes are now in metric which makes it confusing at times.
My old Mum never got to grips with decimalisation and called it "Dismal" money..and still worked out all her expenses in pounds shillings and pence long after the event.She would always convert everything back ."Six shillings for a cake!" was a favourite exclamation of hers.
One son who lives abroad comes out with things like ..."It drives at so many kilometres per hour and it's so many kilometres from A to B." Youngsters seem to cope with it because they have been taught it in school.I grew up with imperial measurements ,rods poles and perches,chains and furlongs !!
My bugbear is cooking ....I get all confused when a recipe calls for 200gms and have to get Mr.S. to read the scales for me ! Also knitting.I do a lot of knitting and all the patterns,yarn weight and needle sizes are now in metric which makes it confusing at times.
v64paul, yeah, spanner sizes was a good one. I soon learnt which ones were roughly the same (not 100% same size though). All the mechanics I worked with knew both imperial and metric and I even had some whitworth spanners as well :) One size that I always remembered was 15/16 for the old Mini sump bung :)
It really helped when I did precision engineering since I used to use a vertical milling machine and the display would be in decimal. Easy for metric but imperial you had to convert fractions in imperial decimals.
It really helped when I did precision engineering since I used to use a vertical milling machine and the display would be in decimal. Easy for metric but imperial you had to convert fractions in imperial decimals.
OK first speed. Multiply kms by 6 i.e 100 x 6 = 60 mph or 80 x 8= 48(approx 50mph) or 50 x 6 = 30 mph or 200km(distance)x 6 = 120 miles. Not too difficult is it.
For temp(simplified) just double the degs C and add 30. e.g. 10(degs.celcius) x 2 plus 30 = 50 degs F(this is actually what it is. 20c x 2 plus 30 = 70(actually it is 68degs F but it is a good enough approximation for government work(not so accurate for higher temps.
My handspan for example from tip of pinky to tip of thumb is about 8 inches which is 20 centimtres. 5 of these of course is a metre. But all you really need to know is that 4 inches is 10 cms and a metre is about 40 inches.
KGs is similar. 1kg = 2.2 lbs so buying a half kilo gives you a lb(almost).
By the way I am 20 years older that you but I have travelled a lot and this may have helped with changes but I don't think so. May I suggest that you carry around a few things in your head such as somebody who is 6 feet tall is approx 1.80m tall or 30mph is 50kmph.
For temp(simplified) just double the degs C and add 30. e.g. 10(degs.celcius) x 2 plus 30 = 50 degs F(this is actually what it is. 20c x 2 plus 30 = 70(actually it is 68degs F but it is a good enough approximation for government work(not so accurate for higher temps.
My handspan for example from tip of pinky to tip of thumb is about 8 inches which is 20 centimtres. 5 of these of course is a metre. But all you really need to know is that 4 inches is 10 cms and a metre is about 40 inches.
KGs is similar. 1kg = 2.2 lbs so buying a half kilo gives you a lb(almost).
By the way I am 20 years older that you but I have travelled a lot and this may have helped with changes but I don't think so. May I suggest that you carry around a few things in your head such as somebody who is 6 feet tall is approx 1.80m tall or 30mph is 50kmph.
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tt yir maths is out a wee bit. An inch is a fraction over 2.5cm so a foot is roughly 30cm and not the 48 by yir method.
A metre is about 10% longer than a yard so add 10% to the figure in metres and that's the length in yards, 20m (21.87yds) is about 22 yards by that method.
To convert kg to lbs, double the original weight and add a tenth of that figure, so 100kg (220.5lbs) is 220lbs by that method.
A metre is about 10% longer than a yard so add 10% to the figure in metres and that's the length in yards, 20m (21.87yds) is about 22 yards by that method.
To convert kg to lbs, double the original weight and add a tenth of that figure, so 100kg (220.5lbs) is 220lbs by that method.
Ah rojosh you spotted something that I didn't think I would have to write down.
Perhaps I should have qualified it by saying multiply by 6 and drop off the last nought. However as I do it automatically so I thought others would.
I suppose it would gradually dawn on somebody who using my method drove 1200 hundred miles instead of 120(200km) that something was not right. It would be a heck of a way to remember though wouldn't it!!!
Perhaps I should have qualified it by saying multiply by 6 and drop off the last nought. However as I do it automatically so I thought others would.
I suppose it would gradually dawn on somebody who using my method drove 1200 hundred miles instead of 120(200km) that something was not right. It would be a heck of a way to remember though wouldn't it!!!
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