Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Why doesn't the U.S. adopt the metric system?

Have Your Say Jun. 28, 2011 - 02:00AM JST ( 74 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

74 Comments

-9

gaijinfoJun. 28, 2011 - 06:04AM JST

Don't want to. Don't need to.
3

goddogJun. 28, 2011 - 07:12AM JST

Because they are not smart enough to figure out the logic of 1 cubic centimeter of water, equals 1 gram in weight. They prefer to call a gallon the big quart.
2

SmorkianJun. 28, 2011 - 07:39AM JST

People are very stuck in their ways, even though the metric system is clearly easier to use as any American who studies science finds out.

I knew some who distrusted metric because it was "foreign". I tried pointing out that so is the American system, more or less.
1

GodanJun. 28, 2011 - 08:07AM JST

Forget the answer! Just the question makes me sad. :-(
2

cleoJun. 28, 2011 - 08:23AM JST

I think it's the 'But we've always done it this way' factor. Even when the new way is easier, simpler, more convenient, some people refuse to change. I even know a lady who moved from the UK to the US because she couldn't/didn't want to handle the 'new-fangled' metric labeling in the supermarkets.

Funny that the US had metric money a long time before the UK did.
-5

m5c32Jun. 28, 2011 - 08:51AM JST

Two things: Nearly all scientific/research work is done in metric --with few exceptions. There is a sense of standardization/sterilization that comes from the metric system.
Oh and the metric system isn't even natural. It's base 10. There is no reason, other then convention and "this is the way things have been done" that we don't use base 2 or base 16 instead.
3

TokyoTanukiJun. 28, 2011 - 09:06AM JST

Two things: Nearly all scientific/research work is done in metric --with few exceptions. There is a sense of standardization/sterilization that comes from the metric system.

So the US stick to their outdated system because it is more 'fertile'... ?

People that know the metric system because it is required for some role they have in relation to science already know it, and thus wouldnt reject it for those reasons. Children learning it at school would take it as the norm, and would not associate it primarily with science or a sense of sterility.

Oh and the metric system isn't even natural. It's base 10. There is no reason, other then convention and "this is the way things have been done" that we don't use base 2 or base 16 instead.

The reason is our numbering system and the names we give to numbers (past the teens) are base 10.
8

MrDogJun. 28, 2011 - 09:07AM JST

Because the constant shouting of "U.S.A.!!U.S.A.!!U.S.A.!!" drowns out any logical words being said.

Oh, and because they don't want any of those Commie centimetres or kilometres.
1

FoxieJun. 28, 2011 - 09:35AM JST

Beats me. Other countries made the switch, I can't understand why they think they should keep that system. Probably out of convenience. Clothes and shoe size is another headache problem worldwide.
-4

Stranger_in_a_Strange_LandJun. 28, 2011 - 09:43AM JST

Because Budweiser is sold in 12 oz. cans, not 350 ml ones.

And the metric system is socialist.
0

TsunayoshiJun. 28, 2011 - 09:44AM JST

the metric system isn't even natural. It's base 10. There is no reason, other then convention and "this is the way things have been done" that we don't use base 2 or base 16 instead.

With numbers there are orders of magnitude. 1-10-100-1000... you see no reason why this is more natural than 1.6-16-160-1600... Base 10 is a magnitude up from "1" which is a more natural place to start than 1.6.

Americans are accustomed to a system the scientific community there uses metric but for the hoi polloi they grew up with pounds and inches and so on, would take a concerted effort to change for the benefit of future generations -- but people are selfish and lazy.
1

tajJun. 28, 2011 - 09:58AM JST

Could there be some protectism connected to the refusal to standardise? Using their own sizes for nuts, bolts, sheets of plywood, etc., keeps local wrenchmakers, screwdrivers, etc. in business?
4

tajJun. 28, 2011 - 09:59AM JST

m5c32, I'd suggest that there is a reason for the use of base 10 amongst our species.

Have a look at your hands.
5

johninnahaJun. 28, 2011 - 10:10AM JST

For an advanced country, the U.S.A. is amazingly backward in some ways.
0

kaminarioyajiJun. 28, 2011 - 10:15AM JST

Foxie.

Agree with you on the clothes/shoe size thing, but that's not related to imperial/metric, that's companies just making the sizes up. Even in Japan's metric system, my shoe size is anything between 27cm - 30cm depending on the brand. I can't understand why clothes/shoes aren't regulated in the way that say paper sizes or liquid measurements are.
3

realteacherJun. 28, 2011 - 10:38AM JST

The USA was going to adopt metric, I think in 1982 or sometime around then. I remember from the 4th - 6th grade we were learning it.

Then the jackass became president, slashed the education budget so he could build penis enhancements... er, missiles, and announced that the metric system would cost USA manufacturers too much money to convert over.

Bush 1 just wanted us to read his lips. (?)

There were overtures to change during the Clinton years but his penis got in the way as well, for other reasons.

Junior Bush was too stupid to even understand the system and now we have Obama who wants to redesign the wheel (education).

Why don't we have it? Trouble at the top tier.
0

bass4funkJun. 28, 2011 - 11:06AM JST

@realteacher-

It was earlier than that. More precisely around 1977, but it didn't catch on. I don't mind learning it. Growing up between L.A. and Europe, I can do both, but sometimes like kaminari said, between countries it can sometimes get muddled. So I am not sure if it really is "that" necessary for the U.S. to adopt the metric system in its entirety.
4

MrDogJun. 28, 2011 - 12:25PM JST

Not just measurements of size/distance either.

They still use stupid Fahrenheit!
-2

m5c32Jun. 28, 2011 - 12:35PM JST

more natural than 1.6-16-160-1600... That sure might seem weird, but that's because you're using base 10, again.

Look at natural logs instead or base-2 logs.

Have a look at your hands. Yes, twelve knuckles. Thus dozen and 12 being a factor in many traditional measuring systems, 360 degrees, and so on. What's that prove?

The metric system is base-10 centric. Most calculations in the world are base-2.
0

m5c32Jun. 28, 2011 - 12:50PM JST

Could there be some protectism connected to the refusal to standardise? Using their own sizes for nuts, bolts, sheets of plywood, etc., keeps local wrenchmakers, screwdrivers, etc. in business?

Not really. Metric and Standard wrenches are both just as easy to press or forge in China. It's a non-issue.

If imperial units were all right with George Orwell, then they are all right with me. http://www.orwelltoday.com/metricmartyrs.shtml
-3
BreitbartVictoriousJun. 28, 2011 - 12:56PM JST

"Then the jackass became president, slashed the education budget so he could build [ ] missiles, and announced that the metric system would cost USA manufacturers too much money to convert over."

Yeah. Real incisive analysis there.Classy, too! Bush Sr killed the metric system in America? Learn somefin' new ever day.
- ModeratorJun. 28, 2011 - 01:03PM JST
  
  Moderator: All readers back on topic please.
0

techallJun. 28, 2011 - 01:14PM JST

Actually many products have both measurements on the packages, many road signs show both kilometers and miles, Speedometers have two scales. But while we are at it, why do the british stil use "stones" for peoples weight? Why do Japanese carpenters still use "shaku" length measurement? Why do seafareres still use nautical miles for distance and fathoms for depth?
0

YubaruJun. 28, 2011 - 01:23PM JST

It was earlier than that. More precisely around 1977,

Actually it was in 1975, I was taught in middle school back then and where they screwed up was teaching both metric and imperial and had us try to make the two fit each other.

Plus they made metric harder by teaching crap like decimeters.

Metric is so much easier.
1

WeaselJun. 28, 2011 - 01:35PM JST

Do inquiring minds really stay up late at night to ask each other this question?
0

lastogJun. 28, 2011 - 01:46PM JST

It is too expensive to re-tool the equipments, tools and manufacturing standards.
1

Zenny11Jun. 28, 2011 - 01:53PM JST

lastog.

Not really many companies need to run 2 manufacturing lines, for local and overs products. If the USA wants to sell more overseas they will have to do more using the metric system.

Not many will buy a product that uses differently sized tools and/or fittings to the ones they already use.
-1

BreitbartVictoriousJun. 28, 2011 - 02:16PM JST

Why doesn't the rest of the world go back to using the system the US used to usher in the roughly 80 percent of the technological and medical advances made these last 100 years?
-1

CruzControlJun. 28, 2011 - 02:24PM JST

Because it is too french!
1

MrDogJun. 28, 2011 - 04:21PM JST

Why doesn't the rest of the world go back to using the system the US used to usher in the roughly 80 percent of the technological and medical advances made these last 100 years?

Why should the rest of the world change just because the US is too stubborn?

From wiki:

The customary system was championed by the United States-based International Institute for Preserving and Perfecting Weights and Measures in the late 19th century. Advocates of the customary system saw the French Revolutionary, or metric, system as atheistic

and

"There are anecdotal objections to the use of metric units in carpentry and the building trades, on the basis that it is easier to remember an integer number of inches plus a fraction than a measurement in millimeters, or that inch measurements are more suitable when distances are frequently divided by two."

America doesn't use metric, but they still use the words:

kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, micro-, nano-...
0

Ah_soJun. 28, 2011 - 04:38PM JST

I like the fact that the US still uses the Imperial measures - it reminds them every day of their history as part of the British Empire.

After dumping the traditional method of travel on the left of the road to travelling in the French Revolutionary right, I am glad that they did not go the whole hog and take on all the new modern French methods.

America does use metric for some things - the dollar is made up of 100c. The old British pound was made up of 20 shillings. Each shilling was made up 12 pence. I think that they should adopt this as well. The "cent" is based on the French "centime" and is clearly socialist.
1

TriumvereJun. 28, 2011 - 06:55PM JST

Too damn lazy.
2

Jerry JohnstonJun. 28, 2011 - 07:10PM JST

i still don't know how big a centimeter is.
0

betterdaysJun. 28, 2011 - 07:10PM JST

If it still works why change it?
1

Mark_McCrackenJun. 28, 2011 - 07:11PM JST

The same reason Japan still uses tsubo to measure area. The current standards are accepted by the population. The costs of change outweigh the benefits.
1

the_sheriffJun. 28, 2011 - 07:40PM JST

Indeed. If a system works for a group of people, why condemn them for it if you don't have to live in their country nor use their system.
-3

SerranoJun. 28, 2011 - 07:54PM JST

"Because they are not smart enough"

Ha ha ha, lol.
0

SerranoJun. 28, 2011 - 07:57PM JST

If the U.S. adopted the metric system, McD's would be selling 113 Gram Burgers instead of Quarter Pounders. Doesn't have the same ring to it.
0

jaredinosakaJun. 28, 2011 - 09:16PM JST

When getting drunk it easier to say 12 onces, its smaller number.
0

MrDogJun. 28, 2011 - 09:31PM JST

The same reason Japan still uses tsubo to measure area. The current standards are accepted by the population. The costs of change outweigh the benefits.

I think we all know the Japanese use the tokyodome. ;)
0

SerranoJun. 28, 2011 - 09:36PM JST

Why are TV screen sizes in Japan still in inches?
0

SuperLibJun. 28, 2011 - 10:42PM JST

My guess is that it would take a lot of time and money to change everything and at the end it would be over something 99% of the people really couldn't care less about. Kind of answers itself.
0

VirtuosoJun. 28, 2011 - 10:52PM JST

Americans are terrified metric conversion would wreak confusion on their colorful idioms, like "give him an inch and he'll take a mile," "40 acres and a mule" or "the whole nine yards."
0

655321Jun. 29, 2011 - 06:33AM JST

If ever spoken to in the imperial system, just ask them what it is in the metric system. Saves you the hassle of doing any thinking or conversion yourself.
0

FrungyJun. 29, 2011 - 09:25AM JST

Because the U.S. has never quite got over its own image as a "rebel". The easiest way to get the U.S. to do something is to tell it that it can't, kindof like a spoiled teenager. The U.S. is the fat kid in the corner of the lunch room dressed in black and wearing mascara and thinks using the imperial system is cool because almost no-one else does it... rather than being the supreme irony for a country that rebelled against England.

The U.S. is pretty much run on advertising that subtly implies that something is less than socially acceptable or allowed, and the U.S.'s "rebel" psychology is probably the biggest factor that makes the U.S. unsuitable to act as the new Global Hegemony.
0

2020hindsightsJun. 29, 2011 - 11:11AM JST

If it still works why change it?

Because it works better. The metric system is much easier to do calculations and is much more logical.

The weird thing is that the UK while saying they are metric, still use road signs in miles.

To get back to the point, the reason why the US hasn't decided to adopt the superior metric system is easy. It's because it can't be legislated in a federal law. It has to be done state by state. Which pretty much means you can't do it.
1

LFRAgainJun. 29, 2011 - 11:22AM JST

Too damned lazy would be my guess.

I remember my teachers in elementary school bringing in metric rulers for math class one day back in the 70s and say, "Kids, we're going to learn about a new way of measuring things!" It started off as very exciting and new, but it just fizzled out one day. Don't remember how or why, but it was just plain gone, and I never saw a metric ruler again until I came to Japan three decades later.

People really are set in their ways, which isn't good or bad. It just is. But now that I'm used to metric, I honestly wouldn't want to go back. It's infinitely easier to calculate off of a base-10 system -- which one would think would appeal to more people, being "easy" and all.
-2

pamelotJun. 29, 2011 - 11:24AM JST

Don't want to. Don't need to.

I'm with gaijinfo.
0

METinTokyoJun. 29, 2011 - 02:18PM JST

I work in both systems, primarily in inches in my wood working as I like the sound of 29 9/64ths" and great fun when you need to divide it by three and I was brought up with measurements in board feet , in metal work I work mostly in metric although sometimes in the American attempt at compromise using tenths, hundreds and thousands of inches. Oh yes, I do also work in traditional Japanese measurements if the customer or job requires it, for me it's just strapping on a different tape measure. Anyway time to go out for my late afternoon walk of 15 chains, then come back and quaff a few gills of ale.

And @MrDog:

Oh, and because they don't want any of those Commie centimetres or kilometres. LOL
-1

SerranoJun. 29, 2011 - 03:18PM JST

"Too damned lazy would be my guess"

Your guess would be wrong.
1

LFRAgainJun. 29, 2011 - 05:01PM JST

"Your guess would be wrong."

Oh? So, would 'cultural arrogance' be better? Or 'stubborn pride'? How about "limited intellectual capacity'?

Since we know these aren't strictly the case, then it must be laziness. Because nothing else makes sense, especially not, "Don't want to."

"Don't need to," I can get sort of see, but then again, how long will that excuse last, considering how piss-poor the U.S. is doing economically right now while our economic rivals only grow in number and strength?

The arguments against metrication are simply silly, but the arguments in favor make every bit of sense.

At the very least, students with a better handle on the infinitely easier measurability of metric units might be less intimidated by careers in mathematics and science, which could only benefit the U.S. in the long run.

Metrics are awesome. Come to the light side of the force.
1

SerranoJun. 29, 2011 - 08:56PM JST

"Metrics are awesome"

If metrics are so awesome how come Japanese TV sizes are in inches?
0

SerranoJun. 29, 2011 - 09:12PM JST

Vincent: You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

Vincent: Nah, they got the metric system over there, they wouldn't know wtf a Quarter Pounder is.

Ha ha ha
0

SamuraiBlueJun. 29, 2011 - 10:47PM JST

Well what ever the reason is I believe it cost Boeing a fortune since I heard that some of the problems related to the 787 delay was due to the fact that some foreign subcontractor got the conversion wrong.
-1

LFRAgainJun. 29, 2011 - 11:54PM JST

"If metrics are so awesome how come Japanese TV sizes are in inches?"

That's a very good point.

Meanwhile, I can't take too much issue with anyone who deftly quotes Tarantino.
0

ihavegreatlegsJun. 30, 2011 - 12:42AM JST

Retooling machinery would be astronomical in cost.

And true about Japanese TV sizes, but if you measure them, that is not true either.
1

Kasper NymandJun. 30, 2011 - 02:18AM JST

Because USA wants to be different, and have their own methods for everything.

Including: Fahrenheit, Miles, Pounds, Inches, Feet, Ounce, Gallon, etc.

Why can't they just make the change, like the rest of the World have done?
-1

globalwatcherJun. 30, 2011 - 02:35AM JST

Don't want to. Don't need to.

gaijinfo, I am throwing a big secret of Japanese quick economic recovery after WWII.
It was a metric system conversion from old Japanese system.
US cannot afford to stay in the current system any longrer in global economy.

The biggest US challenge is how to implement the metric system to everyone in current US education problem.

American kids are not doing very well in math. and science.

Out of 30 industrialized nations, America ranks 25th in math and 21st in science.

The US needs to recognize we are now living in "nano second" time.
The gap between Metric to US system is no longer tolerable in business specifications for safety and quality .
0

ThonTaddeoJun. 30, 2011 - 03:43AM JST

I vastly prefer metric, but I have to admit that Fahrenheit degrees make for a nice human scale: instead of zero being when water freezes and 100 when it boils, we have zero being so cold that you'd shove your own grandmother aside to get back into the house, and 100 (more likely at this time of year) ebing so hot that you're about to pass out from exhaustion!

The US is still making progress, though. Soda is sold in 1- and 2-liter bottles, and I notice more and more things having a round volume in metric even if the imperial units are stil printed on the package. "Contents 3.5 oz / 100 g"; that kind of thing.
-3

chewitupJun. 30, 2011 - 07:45AM JST

Base 10 really is horrible system to base a measuring system on. Everyone, you do realize there is metric time? Ever wonder why nobody uses it?

12 is still used for most time measure right up to the months. 12 is better. But the benefits won't really be apparent until we change to a base 12 counting system. I see an advocate for base 16, but that makes 3 hard to deal with, and in practical applications threes are common.

But that is not really why America does not change I think. I think its more like a refusal to change because of the trouble, and a misguided pride that dictates leading rather than following.
0

PapigiulioJun. 30, 2011 - 08:32AM JST

This has bothering me for a while now. sodding inches. everytime I want to know the size of a product online its always in inches.

inches, feet, stones, oz, miles. America just wants have its own standards. Lets just hope none of the other countries want to adopt to it.
1

tranelJun. 30, 2011 - 11:30PM JST

Because changing to the metric system would be so..... so.... so.... (frustration builds) liberal ! Ah havva rait to chooze whichgaadamnevah sistem aah want, aint no gaddamn liberal commie gonna tell me how AH shud mezure mah thangs!
0

tranelJun. 30, 2011 - 11:36PM JST

Actually, I think it's an anglosaxon thing. In the UK too people stick to pounds, ounces, stone etc, ie measurements that make precisely zero sense. Why? Well the metric system happens to be something alien from that vast continent where dragons live (ie europe). Actually, the metric system was probably cooked up by the EU as a way of chipping away at British sovereignty.

As for why base 10 numbering makes sense to humans, allow me to offer Carl Sagan's elegant explanation: We have 10 fingers, hence a base 10 comes naturally to humans. Aliens with 9 fingers on each hand might have a base 18 system...
0

cleoJun. 30, 2011 - 11:57PM JST

I wonder if the way American cooking recipes give measurements in cups has anything to do with it? A cup of liquid is perfectly understandable of course, and even a cup of flour or sugar; but what's with the idea of having a cup of carrots, or a cup or onion? I even had one recipe that told me to use two cups of pumpkin. A pumpkin don't fit into a cup.
0

Zenny11Jul. 01, 2011 - 12:08AM JST

Cleo.

Fully got you, gave up on recipes that use imperial measurements. Don't have the tools anyway and can't be sassed to do the conversions.

Said that what is a "pinch" or a "medium sized Onion", etc?
0

Joseph FisherJul. 01, 2011 - 12:21AM JST

America should adobt the metric system. They use it in industry which is a pain in the a$$ because they also use standard. It all depends on the country where the machine was made as far as performing maintenance. America uses metric in the military and in science.
0

tokyotomJul. 01, 2011 - 12:54AM JST

the metric system, when will the rest of the world realize they got it wrong
0

Ted BarreraJul. 01, 2011 - 01:26PM JST

The economics of switching to metric. From a production standpoint,can you imagine how much it would cost to replace labeling machines, redo road signs, recalculate countless recipies,... The list goes on. As (when... If) the US becomes more reliant on foreign sourced commerce, the need for them to switch could also increase.

Or we could chalk it up to laziness.
0

gaijintravellerJul. 03, 2011 - 08:01AM JST

Didn't a Shuttle crash because of the metric system? I seem to remember something about one of the measurements being metric and nobody noticed. On the other hand, maybe it crashed because they used their own system.

Another question is why they did not stick to the standards that had already been set. They short-change people on pints, quarts and gallons. British people know what they should be. It is now possible to get excellent real, beer in the States. Let people have a real pint of it.

Many legacy sizes still exist. The 1.8 litre of sake is isshobin. The 225 gm packet of butter is the half pound size. Jam is often in legacy-sized jars. Plywood and other wood products are sized in feet and 3x6ft becomes 900x1,800mm. There is a little approximation, but that seems to be no problem. Standard plumbing fittings are still inch-based, which is far more desirable than the mish-mash of shower fittings in Japan, Inax metric, Toto metric standard and so on.

It is important to be standard and standardisation is important for any country that wants to export. The nuts and bolts of what you buy should be readily available locally.
0

telecasterplayerJul. 03, 2011 - 08:50AM JST

I remember this clearly, when the U.S. attempted to usher it in during the mid-1970s. It was the earliest anti-European jingoism that I can remember. It was all about laughing at the French. I don't know why America has a problem with France, which basically helped win the Revolutionary War for the U.S. But the stereotypes of the French at the time were of the Snooty Waiter and the Arrogant Guy with the Loaf of Bread and Beret and Stripes Shirt. Failing to know things cripples Americans who can't do business abroad. Anti-French silliness has gone as far as Americans considering France a Socialist enemy, egged on by pundits who regularly vacation in France.

BTW, for those who remember, SNL did a funny sketch on anti-Metric hysteria in 1976 (http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75rdecabet.phtml, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRtyBBiyYhI).
-1

Elbuda MexicanoJul. 05, 2011 - 06:50AM JST

Thanks to the Brits the USA is still screwed up with silly inches, pounds, bloody Farenheit etc..try using bloody wrenches, tools, screw drivers that are made for the USA on a car etc..made with METRIC parts, HELL ON EARTH! When will silly America ever learn?
0

HawkeyeJul. 06, 2011 - 10:48AM JST

One of the problems is that the conversion to metric would be fantastically expensive and troublesome to impose. Just think of just all the road signs, kitchen tools, rulers, tape measures and other items that would have to be changed. Who wants a 127 cm tv when you can have a 50 inch wide screen. Metric values make stuff sound small and Americans like their stuff to sound big like Big MAC, Whopper. 1 pound burger. What would happen to sayings like "walk a mile in my shoes" which would have to be "walk 1.6 kilometers in my shoes".
0

chewitupJul. 06, 2011 - 07:39PM JST

As someone who has studied this at length, I find it hilarious that I got three thumbs down. I guess its only because I don't agree with either side as I found them to both be wrong!

As for why base 10 numbering makes sense to humans, allow me to offer Carl Sagan's elegant explanation: We have 10 fingers, hence a base 10 comes naturally to humans. Aliens with 9 fingers on each hand might have a base 18 system...

I think you might have misunderstood what he was saying. I don't think he meant "comes naturally" in the sense that it makes sense to us, but that it came to us naturally because that is what we saw first. Sort of like we used to measure weight in "stones" because they were everywhere and we measured length in cubits, the span from elbow to finger tips. We got rid of those.

But if you want a kicker, look at one of your hands, palm up. Excluding the thumb, how many lines on your 4 fingers? 3 each and that comes to 12. You use your thumb as a marker. Indians do this. I use it to keep scores.

But that is about the last reason I advocate 12. Basing a numbering system primarily on body parts is about as primitive as it gets and has led us directly to the problem of this discussion.
0

chewitupJul. 06, 2011 - 07:43PM JST

Didn't a Shuttle crash because of the metric system?

You might be thinking of the Mars Polar Orbiter?