scott wrote:
> But as soon as you need to do anything with those numbers (eg adding, 
> dividing etc) it's much easier to use 197 cm than 6 foot 5 (or whatever).

Certainly if you're doing math, you convert everything to one unit of 
measurement.

>> Having numbers that go below zero for everyday temperatures seems less 
>> convenient.
> 
> No, it's obvious that 0 is "freezing", 

Ehn. I think zero being "way colder than you want to be outside in" and 
100 being "somewhat hotter than you want to be outside in" is more 
convenient. Having to wear different clothes based on it being 32 vs 35 
degrees doesn't seem right on this side of the pond. YMMV, of course.

>> Not if you're constructing something. Then you want to be able to take 
>> a third of it, for example.
> 
> And what if you need more accuracy than 1 inch (which is required in 
> most household items), do you say 5 foot 10 point 7 or what?

Nah. You say "a hundred ninety seven point three inches".  Or, more 
likely, "a hundred ninety seven and a quarter". If you need even better 
than that, you're probably doing science and should be using metric 
anyway. ;-)

Screws here go down to 1/32nd or 1/64th of an inch, rather than a 
milimeter. It is kind of annoying that they reduce the fractions, tho. 
Going "3 32nds is too small, 5 32nds is too big..." and having to do the 
mental math to figure out what 4 32nds is does make me pause sometimes. 
I suppose if I did it more than a few times a year, I'd internalize it 
just like I know 4 feet is 48 inches without thinking.

> What if 
> you need 5 foot 3 point 85 divided into 2?  Dividing 158.3 cm into 2 is 
> much easier.

You'd cast everything to inches. That's how construction work is done. 
Studs are 16 inches apart, for example. I went to the store and bought 
20-inch hoses to connect wall to sink.

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     "That's pretty. Where's that?"
          "It's the Age of Channelwood."
     "We should go there on vacation some time."

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