You can't multiply by two? The fractional scale is based on reciprocal powers of two. Would it be easier for you if they were denoted in binary? It's the same idea, with the same benefits.
You are conflating two ideas. The fractional scale could be applied to metric units just as well as US customary units. Like how Americans use thousandths of inches in some cases.
Buying "American" tools is no different than buying metric tools. They come in sets with common sizes.
The metric system is in widespread use in the US and has been for decades.
You can choose to interpret the continued use of US Customary units as stubbornness or ignorance but that says more about you than Americans.
I choose to view it as Americans being comfortable using the right tool for the job instead of swinging the same old hammer at every new screw.
I personally don't care about this too much, I just buy a lot more tools and other instruments from China because the metric system is a better and simpler to use and their tools are starting to get better and better all the time.
I've seen plenty of videos of other American craftsmen deciding to go metric voluntarily because dealing with fractions is for chumps and they also want access to a wider range of tools.
I think it's a loss for America...and it is stubbornness just adapt and our whole species can more easily move forwards together.
5280. 1320. 660. 2640*12 is 26400+5280 so 31680 inches.
Since we are playing games tell me the last time it was important for you to know that something was 768,342 millimeters away? Or do you just call that 750 meters? You use the appropriate unit for the task.
I know HN commenters get irrationally angry about the US customary system but you missed the entire point here. Fractions aren't unique to US customary units and powers of 10 aren't unique to the metric system. You fell back into that same trap of "everything is powers of 10!" like that's the only thing that matters.
But if powers of 10 are so great why isn't everything base 10?
How many degrees are in a circle? How many hours in a day? Seconds per minute? Days per month? Months per year? How many letters in the alphabet? How many bits per byte?
We all use different bases all the time, without really thinking about it. It's just not a big deal.
What is the actual point you're trying to make here? The parent is right, you cannot answer those questions off the top of your head, even if you can, millions, or some obscure fraction of the population cannot.
Besides, the English invented this stuff and moved on. The Americans cling to it, but it's not some special part of the American culture which requires preserving.
The British did not invent the US Customary System. The US adopted the metric system decades before the British. The US already uses the metric system everywhere it matters so there’s no economic benefit to be gained.
I have been clear here. If you don’t get it that’s your choice. I encourage to you look into the history and reality of metrication globally and the difference between the imperial and US customary systems.
Somewhat related, the 24 hour clock. It's really handy once you get used to it. But I think a lot of am/pm users just resist the idea of mental math. 12 is much too complex to add or subtract during a mental migration phase.
I set my clocks to 24 hours whenever possible. I started doing this because it is easier for me at work and that just carried over.
I don’t think anyone is resisting the idea of a 24 hour clock. It’s more likely they are just sticking with what they know and have bigger problems than thinking about how they keep time.
Aren't the marked in between the centimetres? And aren't they useful if you're working with something that was originally measured in inches and you're doing a lot of cuts of 2.54cm etc.?
I have a tape measure in mm and have absolutely no issue using it to measure things up to 5m in length. It’s trivial to convert in your head between mm, cm, and meters and record whatever unit makes the most sense. Or it’s also fine to just work in mm for largish objects - anyone with any experience with metric units should have no trouble visualizing a car, for example, that is 4,555 mm long. And car dimensions are routinely given in mm by manufacturers on websites, pamphlets, etc for use by the general public.
So I think mm should be just fine for a bookshelf, unless it’s 10+ meters long.
BTW I am an American who grew up using feet/inches, and am now a total metric system convert. I too grow tired of the endless snarky remarks every time someone uses a non-SI unit on the internet, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking the US way (and other countries who still use non-SI units for certain applications, the US isn’t the only one although it is perhaps the worst offender) of doing things is somehow better. It’s just the convention that people are familiar with in the US.
> First of all, I'm sorry for the silence. We owe you an explanation both for the lack of communication and the delay.
> Second, to explain the situation — we've shipped ~75% of Superbooks, but have run into a roadblock financially. As a company, we've been running on little budget for quite some time. Since 2017, we've run into a multitude of issues including: we had key component prices going up significantly, we had to change manufacturers (as our first one did a bit of bait-and-switch on us on pricing, along with gave us poor quality product), and we had one of our major distributors (King Oasis) steal ~$300K of component inventory from us. We had to cut back on staff and expenses. Andrew and I have not received any pay since July 2017, as we wanted to make sure every dollar went into finishing the product and paying our team. In fact, at the beginning of 2018, we had a significant amount of liabilities to cover with no sources for additional cash — so our team had to pick up contract work along with some limited licensing revenue to cover all of the costs needed to finish manufacturing.
> One great question I'm sure some of you are wondering is: why not just tell us about all of these issues while they're happening? It is an extremely fair question to ask. One of the biggest challenges of manufacturing as a startup is you need to convince dozens of vendors, manufacturers, and supply chain companies to cooperate with you, give you decent pricing, and help you succeed because it is in their best long term interest. All of our vendors read public (and often private) updates as well as our Slack channels - one of the downsides of having a public campaign. It is not uncommon for vendors and manufacturers to decide that a project is now too risky and ask for a price increase or hold up production for a larger upfront payment.
> Since December we have been dealing with a very large bill from our logistics company and negotiating for a couple months over it. Part of the reason we couldn't share any of this information is that we don't want to publicly call out our logistics company during a long negotiations, lest it have an impact. However now some people are now reaching out directly to them with particularly harsh emails, so that definitely backfired on us and impacted the negotiations as well. At this point our options are somewhat limited.
> Third, as we have not been able to pay anyone for over a year, everyone on our team has had to find work else where or work on new projects (including Andrew and myself). Without doing so, they wouldn't be able to continue supporting Superbook in any capacity, as they still need to make a living. I think some of you have found their new work contacts and have continued to send messages to them and their coworkers. Please don't do this — each of them gave years of their lives with little to no pay, under very stressful conditions.
> Finally, regarding next steps, we have had another round of discussions, looking for any ways to solve this in the coming weeks and get even some inventory released. Given our very limited budget, we don't have a ton of options, but I hope to have some update for you guys in a few weeks. When I started Andromium 5 years ago, it was a hobby and a hope for a more interesting future. Your support has meant the world to me, and I'm deeply sorry to our backers for our struggles to bring Superbook fully to market.
