[throwanem]

Even when we use inches, they're frequently themselves metricated via division by 1,000 to produce the "thou." This is an extremely strong convention; I have one (inexpensive) digital caliper that can read in fractional inches, but every such tool I own reads in both millimeters and thou.

I do think it's funny all these folks insisting metric is so humanist seem never to have noticed which of their finger joints is an inch long. For me that's the second of the little finger, but I have large squarish peasant hands. As for the rest, treating a centimeter as 10/25 of an inch and vice versa seems to work well enough for measurements not requiring particular precision, or in other words anything I'd be comfortable doing without a caliper. Where's the trouble, really?

[alnwlsn]

Ah the joys of units! If you work cross-discipline, 1/1000th of an inch is called a 'thou' in machining. For PCBs (not unheard of to attach the two together), the same unit is called a 'mil'. Not to be confused with millimeter, even though it often is confused.

[int_19h]

> I do think it's funny all these folks insisting metric is so humanist seem never to have noticed which of their finger joints is an inch long.

People who grow up with metric instead notice which of their fingers is ~1 cm thick.

[throwanem]

"Instead." Still we have the assumption of exclusivity. I remember broader minds here. What happened?

[lostlogin]

Where does the ‘humanist’ bit end?

Should we go back to fathoms, furlongs, chains, drams and bushels?

This was settled a long time ago for the vast majority of the word.

[fuzztester]

Just for fun, check the yojana and related Indian measures:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yojana

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_measurement_syste...

[throwanem]

Now, ironically given I'm for all serious purposes an English monoglot, you're speaking my language. Give me lakh and crore! Give me weights and measures where I can feel the history. Just like my mad 5,280-foot (1,360-yard) mile, which I love.

And give me also the precise rational tenths-and-tens units, too, of course, for when we need accuracy more than soul. I work in thou all the time! All I've really been saying is, there's a place in the world for both ways of doing things. Why's everyone else so hellbent on having exactly one or the other?

[bregma]

It's far more impressive to express gravity in units of stone furlong per fortnight squared. It's 7.14 x 10^10. Makes gravity on Jupiter look puny.

[throwanem]

It's that plus or minus about three orders, sure.

[throwanem]

If we should find they serve us better, why not?

[nancyminusone]

>bushels

Someone hasn't been to an apple orchard recently.