wikipedia forever?

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AuthorTopic: wikipedia forever?
Garrison
Agent
Member # 2820
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 13:44 Profile #50
quote:
Originally written by Serial 11532A-96M56E:

The problem isn't that centimeters are difficult. It's that picturing thirty of them (or anything) is difficult. Say about a third of a meter and I have no trouble coming up with the size. Really, your objection to the metric system seems to be based on the lack of an intermediate between centimeters and meters, and not anything important.
I don't have an objection to the metric system. I'm just explaining why the standard system is as irregular as it is. The units were not meant to be easily derived from one another. They were supposed to represent useful and easy to conceptualize quantities. Address my point of the 2nd and 3rd dimension metric units and then we'll talk.

As a final test, estimate the distance of a foot in the air with your hands and then compare it against a ruler. Then try the same thing with a meter and see how much error there is between the two tests. Also, I'd prefer saying half a foot over one sixth of a meter or 16 cm.

[ Thursday, January 25, 2007 13:51: Message edited by: Garrison ]

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Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are.
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Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies!
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Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos.
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00
Micawber
Agent
Member # 2759
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 13:49 Profile Homepage #51
quote:
Originally written by Garrison:

They were supposed to represent useful and easy to conceptualize quantities.
Personally, I find it quite easy to conceptualize 1,760 yards.

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"I can't read this thread with that image. But then, that's not a complaint." -Scorpius

Geneforge 4 stuff. Also, everything I know about Avernum | Avernum 2 | Avernum 3 | Avernum 4
Posts: 1104 | Registered: Monday, March 10 2003 08:00
Garrison
Agent
Member # 2820
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 13:54 Profile #52
Is it that much easier for you to think of 1000 m? There are intermediate units between a yard and a mile, you know. They are archaic things like rods and furlongs.

What's easier to follow in a recipe, half a cup or 1/8 liter? Or would you rather it say 1 dL and a bit more?

EDIT: The metric system is awesome and all, but we cannot just call the imperial system completely stupid and worthless. That would be like calling the Greeks idiots because they thought static electricity was the product of captured spirits.

[ Thursday, January 25, 2007 13:56: Message edited by: Garrison ]

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Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are.
====
Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies!
====
Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos.
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00
Jumpin Salmon
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 14:00 Profile #53
quote:
Originally written by Garrison:

That would be like calling the Greeks idiots because they thought static electricity was the product of captured spirits.
I believe we have still failed to prove otherwise.

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.
Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
moonear
Infiltrator
Member # 5410
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 14:11 Profile #54
I grew up with the metric system and prefer visualizing in metric over imperial. Farenheit is the one that really gets me, at 0 Celsius water freezes, as it should.

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"Dikiyoba ... is demon ... drives people mad and ... do all sorts of strange things."

"You Spiderwebbians are mad, mad, mad as March hares."
Posts: 687 | Registered: Wednesday, January 19 2005 08:00
Jumpin Salmon
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 14:17 Profile #55
What gets me is that all these various methods of physical/chemical measurement are only useful in describing an observation to other humans. They have no influence on the actual measurement. One should provide accurate and useful descriptions in order to convey meaning. No more, and no less.

How many restless spirits can be released if you rub a balloon on a baboon?

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quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

Well, I'm at least pretty sure that Salmon is losing.
Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00
Dikiyoba
Councilor
Member # 6600
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 14:31 Profile Homepage #56
It all depends on the size of the balloon, the willingness of the baboon, and where you rub the balloon on the baboon.

Dikiyoba.
Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00
Andraste
Agent
Member # 1934
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 14:43 Profile Homepage #57
To sort of get back on the topic of Wikipedia, I was looking at their merchandise. I wonder who buys that stuff?

That said, I like this shirt a lot.

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You acquire an item: Radio Free Foil
Posts: 1169 | Registered: Monday, September 23 2002 07:00
Kelandon
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 21:36 Profile Homepage #58
quote:
Originally written by Andraste:

That said, I like this shirt a lot.
Hot.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Andraste
Agent
Member # 1934
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 22:05 Profile Homepage #59
You just want to see me in a sexy red slip. I see through your praise. :rolleyes:

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You acquire an item: Radio Free Foil
Posts: 1169 | Registered: Monday, September 23 2002 07:00
Kelandon
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 23:02 Profile Homepage #60
Not you. The shirt. I have yet to decide what to think of you.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 25 2007 23:56 Profile Homepage #61
Of course you're better with the units that are more familiar. Work with metric enough and suddenly it's all perfectly clear. The only real differences are in convenient spacings of units, which doesn't seem like a major issue to me, and conversion, which seems like a reasonable criterion for selecting a system of measurement.

—Alorael, who would like to ask all the people who have grown up using metric whether they were ever tested in school on their ability to convert kilomters into millimeters and milligrams into kilograms. In America, turning quarts into teaspoons, and miles into inches is not all that unusual and unnecessarily difficult.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Redstart
Shock Trooper
Member # 6666
 written Friday, January 26 2007 02:54 Profile #62
Speaking for the Finnish school system, yes we too have exercises on converting metric units into others (e.g. decimeters into kilometers, hectares into km2, litres into dm3 etc.)

As someone who has lived his entire life with the metric system, and only having to deal with Imperial units in the media, I see absolutely no problem with using them. Still, when posting on American forums, I like to be polite, and say I'm 5'10" tall, rather than 179 cm. Even though that always takes me a minute or so to convert.

Edit: Decimeter is spelled with a 'c'? Okay, changed that.

[ Friday, January 26, 2007 04:50: Message edited by: Redstart ]
Posts: 353 | Registered: Monday, January 9 2006 08:00
moonear
Infiltrator
Member # 5410
 written Friday, January 26 2007 05:39 Profile #63
quote:
—Alorael, who would like to ask all the people who have grown up using metric whether they were ever tested in school on their ability to convert kilomters into millimeters
One kiloMTer = 42.9 miillmeters. There is no direct conversion from miillmeters to millimeters. ;)

[ Friday, January 26, 2007 14:57: Message edited by: Bismark* ]

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"Dikiyoba ... is demon ... drives people mad and ... do all sorts of strange things."

"You Spiderwebbians are mad, mad, mad as March hares."
Posts: 687 | Registered: Wednesday, January 19 2005 08:00
Dintiradan
Guardian
Member # 6670
 written Friday, January 26 2007 07:45 Profile Homepage #64
You do learn how to convert between metric units in elementry in Canada. It's very easy; the main difficulty is promblems like converting 1m^3 to 1000000cm^3.

Is imperial internally consistent? I know 1cm^3 = 1 mL, and 1mL of distilled water ~= 1g.

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bug, n: An elusive creature living in a program that makes it incorrect. The activity of "debugging", or removing bugs from a program, ends when people get tired of doing it, not when the bugs are removed.
Posts: 1509 | Registered: Tuesday, January 10 2006 08:00
Emperor Tullegolar
Shaper
Member # 7420
 written Friday, January 26 2007 08:17 Profile Homepage #65
quote:
Originally written by Dintiradan:

Is imperial internally consistent?
Consistency is for weaklings. With the imperial system, you have to be prepared for anything. In other words... no.

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You lose.
Posts: 2156 | Registered: Thursday, August 24 2006 07:00
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 26 2007 11:17 Profile Homepage #66
My spelling appears suspect, but at least I prevented myself from attempting to convert five mL to some number of kilogram meters.

—Alorael, who believes that the only useful intersections of volume and anything else is that a pint is 16 fluid ounces and a pound is 16 ounces. That means that a pint of water is (probably) a pound of weight and that the two ounces are equivalent for water. That's not true for most substances, though, and not even true for all definitions of pint or ounce. Length doesn't enter the picture. Imperial units are silly.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Garrison
Agent
Member # 2820
 written Friday, January 26 2007 12:50 Profile #67
quote:
Originally written by Semitanic:

The only real differences are in convenient spacings of units, which doesn't seem like a major issue to me, and conversion, which seems like a reasonable criterion for selecting a system of measurement.
I love the metric system, especially of course for their conversions. I just like cups and feet. But again I reiterate that past those two units, I am only defending the validity of the system in its time period. They are terrible for modern day use, but several centuries ago I am sure they described everyday things perfectly well. Of course metric would have also worked, but that is not really the point since it wasn't invented yet.

EDIT: I feel bad now for turning this Wikipedia topic into a battle of the units. I do want to revive a few questions, though. In general, do you believe that the articles on Wikipedia are accurate? Well written? Do they contain enough information?

[ Friday, January 26, 2007 12:53: Message edited by: Garrison ]

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Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are.
====
Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies!
====
Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos.
Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00

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