Road Signs: Time to change to Metric?

[Ludford]

I wouldn't like it. I was taught all metric measurements and use metric for pretty much everything.

However km/h means nothing to me, I've always worked in mph and I'd want it to stay like that.

I wouldn't like to be working out engine power based on Kilowatts either.

[milazel]

I came to this country 8 years ago, found the 'miles' confusing at first but adjusted to it in the end. It is really not that hard.
In Europe we do indeed measure engine's power in Kilowatts but there is always 'bhp' value in brackets because we simply like to have it there.
There were many people struggling when UK decimalised their currency in 1971, thought it was a bad idea. But now, many years after, we know it's better this way. Can you imagine go back to shillings?

It makes sense to swap to metric I think. The change would not be difficult, just inconvenient for a while.
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[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by milazel

. Can you imagine go back to shillings?

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I can't imagine that would happen, but I can dream.

Britain has a strong heritage of mathematical and engineering ideals, of which the beatifully factorial pounds/shillings/pence system was a perfect example. It's not just that people found it hard to adjust, it's that decimal coinage, for those who understood the factorial system, really was harder to calculate and less useful.

Try sharing £1 (or €1 or $1) exactly equally between three people, can't be done, can it? But it used to be possible (6/8d each).

[Bill_56]

A further thought has occurred, for the benefit of those who prefer a metric system over factorial (or at least, who think so).

So far as I am aware, in my limited and often flawed sphere of worldly knowledge, the 24 hour day has gained widespread acceptance whereby the rotation of the planet is subdivided into units of 1/24, 24 being a nicely factorial decimal number,

So... those who hanker for metrication, surely you can appreciate the downsides, if you suddenly had to adapt to a metric clock, where the rotation is subdivided into units of 1/10 of a solar day?

It would make perfect 'sense', like the rest of the metric system, on the basis we usually have ten fingers. But in all honesty, would it be a step forwards...?

[KlingKlangMan]

I'm reading through playing "Spot the UKIP voter"....

[Apoplectic]

6 one way, half a dozen the other :P.

I can see metric being more convieniant, but do we really need convieniance from a measuring system? I personally like using the imprial system, dividing and multiplying by 12's and 16's sometimes feels like a workout for the brain.

[Will M]

I still work in feet and inches, someone once gave me an all metric tape measure, its still in a drawer somewhere.

[KlingKlangMan]

Easy conversion: 300mm is a foot, 3'3" is a meter, near as dammit.

[arcturus]

Don't matter what units you use as long as you can replicate them.

[liberate]

let's go metric, it's easier.