Yeah, that’s great and all, but consider the following:
If I’m standing in the middle of a field and I need to measure sixty-ish feet for a fence, and I don’t have a meter stick, I can get pretty close by walking heel-to-toe for sixty paces. There’s no equivalent method for a meter and no metric unit that has a human body equivalent, while the most imperial length units all have human body equivalents.
Also, even if I do have a meter stick, how tf am I supposed to measure and mark 0.288 of one? Sixty feet is easier to work with.
There’s also the matter of a foot being equally divisible into 2, 3, 4, or 6 equal lengths, all of which also have human body equivalents. If you know them all, and measurements relative to other objects aren’t required, you can build things that measure up relative to themselves by just using fingers, hands, feet, marks, a square, and a straight edge, no ruler or tape required. I have projects close to ten years old built that way that are still standing strong.
A yard (3 feet) is .9144 meters. Since you’re throwing accuracy out the window using heel-to-toe of different foot sizes, it’s just as accurate, and just as usable.
Pretty close? If your foot is a UK size 12 and therefore 1ft long that will work, but any variance, say 1cm, equates to 60cm / 2ft across your 60ft.
Incidentally shoe sizes are measured with the size 12 UK being 1ft in length. Each shoe size goes down by one barleycorn which is an archaic measurement equivalent to a third of an inch, so a UK size 11 is 11 and 2/3 of an inch, a UK ten is 11 and 1/3 of an inch, and so on.
I would measure the 60ft using a lifesize printout of Johnathan Edwards 18.29m triple jump world record from 1995 which I keep handy.
My step length is 0.8m. After taking 25 steps, I have travelled 20m (roughly 65feet). 5 times that is 100m. 10 times that is 1km. Notice how easy those numbers are to multiply and divide. And notice how much easier it is to take regular steps than heel-to-toe steps. You know you could memorize how big your body parts are in metric too, right?
I’d argue that the only reason your preferred units are easier for you is because you are familiar with them.
Also, even if I do have a meter stick, how tf am I supposed to measure and mark 0.288 of one?
If only there was a way to calculate 0.288 of a meter. Maybe we could get a mathematician to draw up some kind of formula that’d let us cypher 29% of a meter.
sure, but at that point you can just use any arbitrary unit if all you need to do is keep it in a rough ratio. the SI system is useful because it’s standardized, allows for precision, and you can easily convert units. A liter is a decimeter cubed, try doing that with feet and gallons.
but yeah, i agree people would benefit from more straightedge and compass construction skills instead of trying to read the milimeters of a measuring tape that’s not even guaranteed to be straight
Yeah, that’s great and all, but consider the following:
If I’m standing in the middle of a field and I need to measure sixty-ish feet for a fence, and I don’t have a meter stick, I can get pretty close by walking heel-to-toe for sixty paces. There’s no equivalent method for a meter and no metric unit that has a human body equivalent, while the most imperial length units all have human body equivalents.
Also, even if I do have a meter stick, how tf am I supposed to measure and mark 0.288 of one? Sixty feet is easier to work with.
There’s also the matter of a foot being equally divisible into 2, 3, 4, or 6 equal lengths, all of which also have human body equivalents. If you know them all, and measurements relative to other objects aren’t required, you can build things that measure up relative to themselves by just using fingers, hands, feet, marks, a square, and a straight edge, no ruler or tape required. I have projects close to ten years old built that way that are still standing strong.
You take big steps. Those are one meter. And you’re done faster. Good enough for a rough measurement.
A yard (3 feet) is .9144 meters. Since you’re throwing accuracy out the window using heel-to-toe of different foot sizes, it’s just as accurate, and just as usable.
Pretty close? If your foot is a UK size 12 and therefore 1ft long that will work, but any variance, say 1cm, equates to 60cm / 2ft across your 60ft.
Incidentally shoe sizes are measured with the size 12 UK being 1ft in length. Each shoe size goes down by one barleycorn which is an archaic measurement equivalent to a third of an inch, so a UK size 11 is 11 and 2/3 of an inch, a UK ten is 11 and 1/3 of an inch, and so on.
I would measure the 60ft using a lifesize printout of Johnathan Edwards 18.29m triple jump world record from 1995 which I keep handy.
My step length is 0.8m. After taking 25 steps, I have travelled 20m (roughly 65feet). 5 times that is 100m. 10 times that is 1km. Notice how easy those numbers are to multiply and divide. And notice how much easier it is to take regular steps than heel-to-toe steps. You know you could memorize how big your body parts are in metric too, right?
I’d argue that the only reason your preferred units are easier for you is because you are familiar with them.
If only there was a way to calculate 0.288 of a meter. Maybe we could get a mathematician to draw up some kind of formula that’d let us cypher 29% of a meter.
I have seen many, many metre sticks. Precisely zero of them did not have cm markings on them.
Why are you pretending you don’t know a yard and a meter are fairly close?
sure, but at that point you can just use any arbitrary unit if all you need to do is keep it in a rough ratio. the SI system is useful because it’s standardized, allows for precision, and you can easily convert units. A liter is a decimeter cubed, try doing that with feet and gallons.
but yeah, i agree people would benefit from more straightedge and compass construction skills instead of trying to read the milimeters of a measuring tape that’s not even guaranteed to be straight