Going Metric

Imagine you’re reading through Twitter or Facebook, and one of your British friends comments that it’s a nice day – 24º and sunny. If you’re in the US, you’d think your British friend is freezing their ass off, but maybe they like the cold. However, everyone else is on the same page, and realize 24ºC is quite nice, because it’s equal to 75ºF.

The whole world, minus the United States, uses the Metric system. Perhaps people think that the U.S. population will freak out, if we flipped the proverbial switch to the metric system overnight. However, that shouldn’t stop you from learning it on your own. There are many units within the metric system. Most of the them are used for scientists and engineers. There are only 4 units that everyone needs to know – temperature, weight, distance, and time. The beauty of the metric system is that it’s rational. It’s based on values of 10, which we use everyday. I think what people need is an easy way to think about the metric system. The best way is to start with temperature.

Celsius, previously known as Centigrade, is a scale based on 2 values – the freezing point of water and the boiling point of water. There are 100 degrees between these two points – which is where the name Centigrade from. At the bottom of the scale, 0 C is equal to 32 F. At the top end, 100 C equals 212 F. Now that’s hot! When you think about the weather in your everyday life, it doesn’t get that hot. It only gets to up around 100 F or so. To make things simple, 40C equals 104 F. This means that on most days, in terms of Celsius, you only have to think about 0-40.

    ---- 40 C ---- 104 F ----
    ---- 30 C ----  86 F ----
    ---- 20 C ----  68 F ----
    ---- 10 C ----  50 F ----
    ----  0 C ----  32 F ----

The best way to get used to thinking in Celsius, is to limit yourself to this abbreviated chart in the beginning. It might get much colder than 0C, depending upon where you live. In some parts of the U.S. -25C isn’t unheard of. That’s only part of it. Knowledge doesn’t get integrated unless you consistently reinforce it. Start by changing your mobile devices and your computers to display temperatures in Celsius. You’ll start to relate the temperature on your displays, to what it feels like in real life. For me, 10C means a light jacket for walking around; at 20C I don’t need a jacket anymore. It’s a little weird at first, just like anything else you’ve never done before, but you’ll get used to it. This is as far I’ve taken it. For me, the next step of learning the Metric System is mastering weight, using kilograms instead of pounds. Imagine being 6 foot 2, and weighing 220 pounds. That’s basically Superman. Now think of it only 100 Kilograms. That sounds lighter already. I like the idea of my weight sounding lighter. I already can’t wait to learn thinking in kilograms.