this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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Why would you possibly choose that unit?
1000 centimeters sounds ridiculous
Guess I could have said 1 decameter
1 decimeter is a 1/3 of a foot. Assumed a flamethrower shoots >30ft. 30ร3=90. ~100 decimeters.
You could change it to 10 meters easily if you prefer it that way. A third of a foot or 9/10 of a yard. I find it easier to compare it to a third of a foot.
Like I'm 6ft tall. I'm 18 decimeters, or 1.8 meters. Otherwise, I would have said 2 yards or 2 meters.
Ten meters would have been the obvious, decimeters aren't really used in my experience; either it's precise enough I'm measuring in mm, large enough I'm measuring in metres, or so imprecise that I'm eyeballing in inches and feet
Decimeters are great. You should try to use them more.
Something that is like 2.5 ft. I can easily convert to 7.5 decimeters. Then .75 meters. There is no way i could convert 2.5 ft to meters without some serious thinking, and paper would help.
Precise has nothing to do with what units you use. Mm is not more precise than Cm
36.982 mm is 3.6982 cm. They are both as precise as each other.
Humans are much better at knowing an inch or a foot in distance than a yard or a meter.
If I said, draw a line that is 4in or 1 decimeter. You would be closer than trying to draw a meter line.
I work in building in the US. I know an inch and a foot like the back of my hand. I never deal with yards. For yards, I'd just think of it in feet and ร3. Just like I'd do with decimeters.
I know the metric system, but my default unit is US Customary.
If I had to look at a room, I could tell you instantly if it was either 25 or 30 ft. If you asked for meters I couldn't just say "I know exactly how long a meter is (without thinking about it being basically a yard), that wall is closer to 7 meters than 9 meters"
I'd have to constantly work with meters to do that. Which I don't.
I'm not against things being gradually changed to metric. A lot of things are in metric. Like a 2L bottle of soda. If you put a pitcher of water in front of me and asked how many liters. I'd have to think of the 2L bottle. Just like if you asked for gallons, I'd think of a milk jug. Now I have a good grip on what 5 gallons is because that's the standard construction bucket, but 5L is 2.5 2L sodas.
I wouldn't be nearly as precise if I used metric without decimeters. Inches and Feet are the measurements I use the majority of the time. Even a 100ft wall is a 100ft wall. It's never referred to as a 33.33 yard wall. Using a metric unit closest to inches and feet is beneficial for me.