The Metric System

[Matt Stacks]

Hi Rip,

The USSF Fall Classic was a wonderful experience. It was my first lifting experience in kilograms, which got me thinking: Do you think we'd be better served if the US switched its units of measurement entirely to the metric system?

I ask because it does seem more intuitive (albeit initially confusing for those who have grown up in America).

Do you have an opinion on this? It seems as though we've been using it as the scientific standard here for some time, yes?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think most educated people already use the metric system when it's useful to do so. Are you suggesting that we mandate the elimination of pounds, gallons, and miles?

[Matt Stacks]

I'm going to play the ignorance card here. I'm asserting that it seems as though the metric system has more broad applications when contrasted with gallons, pounds, miles, etc.

I guess I'm just unsure why we have not completely switched already. I am hoping you can enlighten me.

[Daniel Cavallari]

Despite living in a metric system-using country, I think the more tools you have at your disposal for measuring, the better. The greatest downside of the imperial system is that some of derived measures are confusing (an acre is defined as 1 furlong x 1 chain... wtf?); otherwise, all imperial units are translated to metric units through a multiplicative constant, so they are pretty much equivalent.

On the short time I spent on the US, I felt that the imperial system is very useful for day-to-day approximations, specially in regards to distances (inches, feet, etc.). Meanwhile, the metric system makes math much easier, and I see no reason to not learn both.

[Mark D]

Just my humble opinion, but for most things (especially length measurement) Imperial works better. One could argue whether kilograms are more useful than pounds (although I'd submit that ounces are more useful than grams).

Most notably, a yard or foot can be divided up in almost any way you wish without using fractional inches, half, third, quarter. Hanging drywall (4x8 foot sheets) and want to make sure you have at least two (equally spaced) studs in the middle and one on each end? 16 inch centers, easy peasy, one on the left edge, one a third of the way, one two-thirds, and one on the right edge.

[vanwirtp]

"There are two kinds of countries in the world. Ones that use the metric system and one that landed a man on the moon."

At the Air Force Academy, they have regular plates in pounds and bumper plates in kilograms. Good teaching opportunity? It is easy to get to pounds from kilograms. Double the kilograms and add ten percent of that number.

[Pluripotent]

This is the problem with these kinds of things. One can recognize that in some situations, the metric system may in fact be superior. But they are not satisfied with that. Despite the fact that it has not proven itself to be universally desirable in all instances, they want to mandate that you use it for everything. Period. If it were truly better in all instances, it would have already been universally adopted. No mandate needed. But this is unsatisfactory, because it allows that people are able to think for themselves, which clearly cannot be permitted.

[Lee F. Stewart]

It can all go.....except for the pint glasses. They need to stay for proper delivery of draft beer.

Hey Coach, any thought on the effect of metric vs. imperial system on the LP? Here in NZ I did mine with 2.5 kg increases. Which is 5.5 lbs. A bonus 1/2 pound per session. Would this subtle difference mean I DNDTP? Are those of us who do not use freedom units doomed to miss out on the magic of SSLP?

[Mark Le Comte]

The US has adopted the metric system, but has not prohibited use of the imperial system. It was tried to convert completely in the 70s, but did not receive public support.

Interesting short article on the history of this.
Units: The Metric System in the U. S.

Its very hard to get rid of a system entirely. I was brought up with the metric system, but being six feet tall makes more intuitive sense than being 183 cm tall.

[Ky Wittich]

You won your civil war, then kept the imperial system........ weird

The metric system made more sense to us Australians...... and we were a penal colony