Would you prefer a change to the metric system and Celsius scale? Why or why not?

there is nothing 0 to 100 about Fahrenheit... what is important about 0 degrees Fahrenheit? it's cold? fair enough, but 10 degrees Fahrenheit is cold too, and so it 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and so it 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and so is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and so is 60 degrees Fahrenheit. now you might disagree with me about where the line between cold and hot is, and that is fine - because it is different for every person! which bring us to biggest flaw with the 0 - 100 argument, which is that it is impossible to draw the line between hot and cold. oh, and obviously this works in regards to heat too - imo, 100 is hot, but so is 90, and so is 85. again, you can disagree, but the fact that disagreement is possible shows that a 0 to 100 scale, with 0 being cold and 100 being hot, is impossible.

now, let's look at celsius too, because a lot of people make it sound amazing. the truth is, it really only has one tiny practical benefit for day to day use: it is more intuitive to tell if it is snowing. if the number is negative, then rain will be snow. if the number is positive, then rain will be rain. of course, you just need to remember 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and you can do the same thing. and yes, there is a downside that the units are slightly smaller, 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit per 1 degree celsius. however, isn't that within the expected error of weather reports? if the weather person says it will be 80 degrees, but it ends up being 81, do you really care? probably not, so the difference here doesn't actually matter. and of course, when you need to record an exact temperature, you can use decimals.

so, which one is superior? really, the only fair answer is the one you are used to. if you are used to Fahrenheit, then there is no real benefit to switching. if you are used to celsius, again, there is no real benefit to switching. Fahrenheit is slightly worse, but not enough to be a real problem.

/r/AskAnAmerican Thread Parent