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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 14 2021, @06:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the accuracy-vs-precision dept.

https://www.zmescience.com/other/fahrenheit-vs-celsius-did-the-u-s-get-it-right-after-all/

At face value, measuring the temperature using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit seems to make a lot of face sense. After all, the freezing point of water is a perfect 0 degrees Celsius — not the inexplicable 32 degrees in Fahrenheit. Also, the boiling point of water in Celsius is right at 100 degrees (Okay, 99.98, but what's a couple hundredths of a degree among friends?) — instead of the awkward 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Celsius is also part of the much-praised metric system. It seems as though every developed country in the world has adopted the metric system except for the United States, which still clings to tge [sic] older, more traditional measurements. Finally, scientists prefer to use Celsius (when they're not using Kelvin, which is arguably the most awkward unit of measurement for temperature). If it's good enough for scientists, it should be good enough for everybody else, right?

Not necessarily. Fahrenheit may be the best way to measure temperature after all. Why? Because most of us only care about air temperature, not water temperature.

[...] Fahrenheit is also more precise. The ambient temperature on most of the inhabited world ranges from -20 degrees Fahrenheit to 110 degrees Fahrenheit — a 130-degree range. On the Celsius scale, that range is from -28.8 degrees to 43.3 degrees — a 72.1-degree range. This means that you can get a more exact measurement of the air temperature using Fahrenheit because it uses almost twice the scale.


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  • (Score: 2) by sea on Tuesday September 14 2021, @07:00PM (7 children)

    by sea (86) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 14 2021, @07:00PM (#1177800) Homepage Journal

    That's like "The cities which grew organically are more useful than the ones that were centrally planned."

    Have you seen an American traffic jam? A billion cul-de-sacs and a maze of streets? Now look at the grid cities. Standardization and central planning works.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by chromas on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:10PM (3 children)

    by chromas (34) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:10PM (#1177831) Journal

    A lot of the cul-de-sacs (and short loops) and winding, maze-like roads are planned—they reduce through-traffic in residential hoods.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:30PM (2 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 14 2021, @08:30PM (#1177845) Journal

      Those are a combination of grid streets at a large scale, but in neighborhoods being trapped in a maze of twisty little passages all alike.

      Sometimes inadequate planning, with grid streets in neighborhoods eventually results in the installation of speed bumps in the neighborhoods. People who don't live in those neighborhoods think it just fine to drive fast through those grid streets in the neighborhoods. It is enough to make some people daydream they should use their 2nd amendment right on vehicles speeding through their neighborhoods.

      Small children are smart enough and eager to follow directions of adults and stay out of the streets. But not stoned teenagers who either don't care, or can't tell how fast that car is coming.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday September 14 2021, @10:52PM

        by sjames (2882) on Tuesday September 14 2021, @10:52PM (#1177887) Journal

        The kids are smart enough to stay off the street unless they're riding their bikes. Then a twisty maze with no through traffic is much better for their health and well-being.

        Tell the kids they're only allowed to ride in circles in the driveway and don't be surprised when they're plopped in front of the TV that afternoon.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:58AM (#1177941)

        Those are a combination of grid streets at a large scale, but in neighborhoods being trapped in a maze of twisty little passages all alike.

        Last time I got lost in a neighborhood like that, I got eaten by a grue.

        ...

        I got better.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:11AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @01:11AM (#1177920)

    What? American cities are newer and generally well laid out. Where do you find cities that are NOT on a grid?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @02:04PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 15 2021, @02:04PM (#1177979)

      Mostly either suburbs or where the topography doesn't allow it. But, every city I've been to in the US has been roughly grid based. Then again, I haven't done that much driving in random cities, so there may be some back east that evolved more than were planned.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 15 2021, @03:49PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 15 2021, @03:49PM (#1178018) Journal

      Have you toured Philadelphia? OK, so it's not as bad as some much older cities in Europe, or probably in Asia, but Philly is a mess compared to many other US cities.