>nor when given a temperature in Celsius do I have more than a vague sense of how hot or cold it is
As an electrical engineer don't you deal with temperature? Pretty much all datasheets are in C.
About temps - I can convert them in my head w/o much an issue (c=5/9 * (f-32); normally I need to convert F to C only), however something as reference point: F scale was designed as 0 - freezing point brine (salt water), 100F - body temperature; the thermometers were bit off, as 100F is a slight fever (37.7). Normal human body temperature is ~36C.
My point is that 100C (boiling point) is not very useful for a person using F as a reference point when/why something feels hot or cold. 50C is already too hot and causes burns.
> As an electrical engineer don't you deal with temperature?
Sure, but I’m talking about in the context of everyday life, shooting the breeze, and all that.
> My point is that 100C (boiling point) is not very useful for a person using F as a reference point when/why something feels hot or cold.
Indeed, the mnemonic I actually use in practice is “32 °F is 0 °C; 32 °C is a really hot day.” Sadly, I still have to do the math for anything in between!
Reminds me one of the (not funny) jokes form the '80, IQ not reaches the room temperature. This shizz is virtually not-translatable (20 IQ, c'mon), however it's quite representative for the unit mix-up in US fashion, e.g. weight and force being the same unit, volume for solids (cups), hip/valley in inches (instead of degrees, on a speed square).
Overall the imperial system is quite different, in non-engineering setup, and its applications are also non-intuitive for metric users - I suppose the reverse is pretty much the same.
As an electrical engineer don't you deal with temperature? Pretty much all datasheets are in C.
About temps - I can convert them in my head w/o much an issue (c=5/9 * (f-32); normally I need to convert F to C only), however something as reference point: F scale was designed as 0 - freezing point brine (salt water), 100F - body temperature; the thermometers were bit off, as 100F is a slight fever (37.7). Normal human body temperature is ~36C.
My point is that 100C (boiling point) is not very useful for a person using F as a reference point when/why something feels hot or cold. 50C is already too hot and causes burns.