[MUD-Dev] Metric vs. English System of Measurement in Games

[olag at ifi.uio.no]

Adam M wrote:
> olag at ifi.uio.no wrote:

> The point is that 1 foot == 1 unit in imperial. Metric only has
> 1cm or 1 metre - maybe this is a better way of putting it: in
> metric,

pm,nm,mm,cm,dm,m etc. :-)

> small finger, whereas most people want something about a foot long
> as 1 unit?

That's a very odd claim...

> 10cm seems to be the best approximation for one foot - IIRC the
> term

You mean 30cm...

> In imperial: women are all 5-something, men are 6-something.

Yeah, lacks precision. I don't see the advantage.

> is it 160, 170, 180, or even 170, 180, 190 that covers the
> majority of the population?

You do if you know your own height... 190 is tall, 200 is
unhealthy...

> Going back to your earlier point, 5 and 6 are easier numbers to
> remember

No... We group. I don't rember "1" "8" "0", I remember "180".

> - especially since if you're not sure you just compare your height
> to your foot size and quickly confirm / deny your memory...

Uhm... You are joking... :D

>   Everything under 1 metres: cm and metres

>   Everything over 1 mile: miles

>   Everything in-between: depends on the circumstances; heights
>   they prefer feet, short distances they prefer metres (all races
>   are 100m, 200m, 400m, and then people stop being able to
>   visualise it and prefer to use miles).

> Maybe this is a peculiar artifact of the last 30 years of UK
> schools, but it's very very noticeable.

Ah, in Norway it depends on context, not size.

>> quantities of countables... Then you have the Danish with their
>> own way of counting (base 20)... Etc.

> Cool! :).

Well, it only makes a difference when you talk with them, but it
makes it difficult for me to verify that I get the correct change
back!

93 = "[tre] og en [halv] [fems]" = "[three] and a [half] [five
score]" = [3] - [0.5*20] + [5*20]

Ola.
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