You're both right

In a time of conflict and fighting among the friends of the world, I come to you today with an olive branch. A realization that sometimes - we're all correct. 

That's right, I'd like to talk about our favourite man-made system to argue about, our units of measurement. 

Now, before we start, it's been pretty clear to me that a lot of this is really about experience and perception. I was playing a game online recently, and one of the guys was insistent that Celsius could never work because, in Fahrenheit, you know that anything over 70 is hot. Like, yeah, but metric people just know that anything over 30 is hot for us. I feel the same way about miles and kilometres. They're interchangeable; you just need to get used to the one that's used on the signs. 

But at the same time, each system does have its strengths and weaknesses. Like in the example above, I think that Celsius does have strength in its anchor around boiling and freezing. It conceptualizes a wide range of temperatures well. I've also thought that the inch is a better size for measurement, and I really like how the foot divides into 12 instead of 10. 

And let's talk about that. 

Metric advocates will talk about how multiplying by 10 makes everything easier. They're right in many respects. Its strength is especially evident when you move between different types of measurement, like from length to volumes to pressures and beyond. They're all very elegantly interconnected, and I find that really satisfying. 

But I've done a lot of work in feet and inches, and I'm telling you, there's something magical about the number 12 and how you can divide it evenly. With 10's you can only divide by 1, 2, 5 and 10 evenly. But 12? Well, 12 you can divide by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. Double that to 24, and shit just gets bananas. For the tradesperson, this is really useful. 16 has some of these advantages too. Honestly, I think had we invented the Imperial system after the computer, we would use 24 as our base. 

Nationalism would tell me that Canada is officially metric, and in these trying times, I should be arguing for the home team. 

Oh please. 

First of all, yes, the US uses the Imperial system, but it's not like they invented it. Where do you think the word "Imperial" comes from? The British Empire friend. It's as much a part of Canada's history as it is for any other country. In my area of the country, the gravel road grid is still measured in miles. 

Not to mention, this country has never fully converted to metric, and at this point, I don't think we ever will. I could go into some detail about this, but I think this video describes it best. (Note, it took me a few views to get the screw joke - this was written by an outsider, but one that did his homework!)

All this to say, I will never know how many kilograms I weigh, I'll always buy a gallon of milk and a litre of pop, and I have no idea what to wear when it's 30°F out. And I don't think it's worth arguing about if it works. 

Until it doesn't.

What are your favourite units of measurement? Have you ever thought about inventing a unit?