Progress Being Made On New "WebGPU" Web Graphics API

[schmidtbag]

I understand your point of view, as I have always wished for (e.g.) screen sizes to be displayed in meters / cm where appropriate. I just can't wrap my head around how big something is in inches. I sort of got used to how big a 5-inch screen "feels" thanks to my phone, but I can't grasp the size of things (same goes for my laptop).
The problem with demanding that countries fully switch to a metric system is precisely that the American market being so large and innovative when it comes to technology that these units get "exported" everywhere.

Are you not aware of why imperial units are the way they are? They're specifically made so you have a common (at least at the time of their creation) tangible item to compare to, so you don't have to wrap your head around anything. Meanwhile, metric is relatively abstract.
For example, an inch is roughly the width of an adult human thumb. A pound is 7000 wheat or barely grains (where historically that number was probably more significant). A cup is how much water you can fit when cupping your hands. And so on.

All that being said, I still prefer metric. Imperial served its purpose well throughout history but in a day where we actually have legitimate tools with great consistency for measurement, I hope one day the whole world will be 100% metric.

[CrystalGamma]

Are you not aware of why imperial units are the way they are? They're specifically made so you have a common (at least at the time of their creation) tangible item to compare to, so you don't have to wrap your head around anything. Meanwhile, metric is relatively abstract.
For example, an inch is roughly the width of an adult human thumb.

And most people have 30cm long feet? Also if a yard is the length of a step, why shouldn't a meter be?

[Marc Driftmeyer]

Whether one writes on the 5th of July, 2018, or July 5, 2018, both are far more eloquently stated than on 2017, July 5th we have... That's the reason dates are represented either way and not Year, Month, Day. It's about prose you twits, not heap/stack sorting. Go write your 1 dimensional arrays and sort the order however the hell you want. But don't muck with literature.

[franglais125]

Are you not aware of why imperial units are the way they are? They're specifically made so you have a common (at least at the time of their creation) tangible item to compare to, so you don't have to wrap your head around anything. Meanwhile, metric is relatively abstract.
For example, an inch is roughly the width of an adult human thumb. A pound is 7000 wheat or barely grains (where historically that number was probably more significant). A cup is how much water you can fit when cupping your hands. And so on.

It's not a matter of *why*, it's a matter of getting used to them. I would have no problem if the basis had been an inch instead of a cm (or meter, or whatever). That was not my point, I know that a meter is purely abstract and made up. I can't wrap my head around imperial units simply because I'm not used to them.

That's with respect to the "basic" unit. Then the inherent problem of the imperial system is the mixture of units (instead of multiplying by 10) (using feet with inches with yards with etc).
Or Fahrenheit, I think that one wins the prize to the most stupid unit, due to how it was set up. It's a major facepalm.

[Guest]

franglais125 I just saw a movie where some pilot was talking to drug dealers, and they told him the price per kilo. And he got confused and said "kilo?". I lol'd at that time. Then they explained that a kilo is 2.2 pounds.

[schmidtbag]

And most people have 30cm long feet? Also if a yard is the length of a step, why shouldn't a meter be?

Keep in mind "foot" changed definition many times, but at one point it was widely accepted as the length of a typical boot, rather than the foot itself. Units of measurement were really only useful in industries, and I highly doubt the average worker 200+ years ago worked barefoot, or, had a wide selection of boots to wear.
As for your second question, throughout all of the attempted definitions of meter, each one served a different purpose. It's just coincidence that it is so similar to a yard.

It's not a matter of *why*, it's a matter of getting used to them. I would have no problem if the basis had been an inch instead of a cm (or meter, or whatever). That was not my point, I know that a meter is purely abstract and made up. I can't wrap my head around imperial units simply because I'm not used to them.

And yet you wonder why countries like the US haven't just merely switched to metric? Again, I'm not saying Americans shouldn't switch to metric, but you're looking at this in a pretty selfish perspective.

Or Fahrenheit, I think that one wins the prize to the most stupid unit, due to how it was set up. It's a major facepalm.

Fahrenheit had the potential to be a really useful unit but was executed poorly. 0F was supposed to be the freezing point of brine (salt water), which is actually very practical for weather purposes, because salting the roads at 0F will not help melt the ice. 100F was supposed to be the normal human body temperature. So again in a weather perspective, being in 100F heat threatens your body's potential of cooling off properly. To my understanding, both numbers are a little incorrect, but, they're still useful for weather purposes. 0F means "very cold" and 100F means "very hot". Meanwhile 0C means "a little chilly" and 100C means "apocalypse".
All that being said, for me personally, I use C for everything except weather.

[starshipeleven]

However by default Firefox does not respect the user's locale settings.
This is a problem for us who lives outside the US but still prefers to use our software in the English language, then Firefox date formats are American like 18/07/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) with 12-h AM/PM time instead of what many of us Europeans are accustomed to which is yyyy-mm-dd an 24-h clock.

No wait. I thought US dates were mm/dd/yyyy.

And my country (in EU) is using dd/mm/yyyy.

I fully support the switch to yyyy-mm-dd though, as that's plain best.

[starshipeleven]

So - until a country can prove to be 100% metric, they can't rightfully demand Americans to switch. I fully agree the US needs to switch and that metric is far superior, but, I don't accept criticisms from hypocrites.

And with this you just written off all countries worldwide, as even more metric-using countries aren't 100% due to legacy reasons, although the conversion is still ongoing.

For example for pressure it's supposed to be defined in Pascal, but BAR, Atm and whatever else are still in use, or internal combustion engines that are still rated in horsepower even when they should be rated in watts (and in official documents are indeed rated in watts).

And I'm sure I still see Dynes used instead of Newtons in many places.

[starshipeleven]

Whether one writes on the 5th of July, 2018, or July 5, 2018, both are far more eloquently stated than on 2017, July 5th we have... That's the reason dates are represented either way and not Year, Month, Day. It's about prose you twits, not heap/stack sorting. Go write your 1 dimensional arrays and sort the order however the hell you want. But don't muck with literature.

Literature should have nothing to do with standardized number-only date strings, and the reverse is also true.

[schmidtbag]

And with this you just written off all countries worldwide, as even more metric-using countries aren't 100% due to legacy reasons, although the conversion is still ongoing.

Yup pretty much. Doesn't change my point though - so far, I have yet to encounter a country that is 100% metric, and yet I encounter non-US citizens who whine about the US not using metric. So, these people ought to prioritize their own country vs one they don't live in and probably never visited. In most cases, such people tout that their country is all-metric, and then I go to an online store in their native language and find products to prove them wrong. You could argue "yeah but they're a lot more metric than the US" but that's not really true. The US still uses metric in almost all industries. Non-metric units are pretty much only used for "pedestrian" purposes. So, basically anything that has no relevance to people outside the US. And even then, the pedestrian uses can often be toggled. Measuring cups show both imperial and metric units. Most digital scales can toggle between grams and pounds/ounces. Games and GPSes can switch from miles to kilometers, and cars show both on the speedometer. Weather websites can toggle between C and F. Rulers and measuring tapes show both inches/feet and meters. The list goes on and on. Very rarely are you not able to get metric readings in the US.