An Argument for the Metric System by The Oatmeal

Jason Lewis

Jason obtained his bachelors degree in chemical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

October 05, 2011

As an engineer, are you equally comfortable with both the metric and American/Imperial systems? Comic artist, graphic designer, and blogger Matthew Inman answers the question:

How do you teach the metric system to Americans?

Click to see Full Comic by Matthew Inman You can read Matthew's full comic on How to teach Americans the Metric System or the entire series on What We Should Have Been Taught Our Senior Year of High School. The Oatmeal is a cool site filled with comics and quizzes, including:

Hammer Pants vs. Hipsters
The Primary Difference between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip
How Many Germs Live on Your Cell Phone?
How Long Could You Survive Chained to a Bunk Bed with a Velociraptor?

So back to the question:

As an engineer, are you equally comfortable with both the metric and American/Imperial systems?

Comments

That strip always has amazing insights. Units are kind of funny. I got out of school being comfortable working in both English and metric but without any real world experience so I didn't have a good "feel" for either. The last few years I have been working outside the US, so have gotten a really good feel for metric units. Now I am working in the US, I get asked questions and I have the answer ready, but have to stop to convert to English in my head and do a quick check to see if it makes sense. We also are working with an Australian contractor who continuously laments about the "bloody English system". I am amazed with the resilience of the English system. Even with the company that I am working with now - a company with extensive multinational presence - English units rule.