Weights and Measures

Recently, I was asked how I was adjusting to total immersion in the metric system, and I thought this might serve as a fine opportunity for a bit of a whinge.

Temperatures have not been problematic since I am used to dealing in Celsius in the laboratory – though only with a limited number of measurements. Thus, I know that a comfortable room temperature is between 20-22 C. Since 0 C is freezing, I instinctively know that anything close to that is bloody cold. Likewise, anything approaching body temperature (37 C) or above is stinkin’ hot. However, I am thrown by forecasts of 16 C but am learning from inference that wind and humidity have a profound impact on comfort.

Long distances aren’t much of a problem, though I do find I usually convert kilometres to miles in my mind. However, I am flabbergasted by smaller measures. When someone quotes their height in centimetres or talks about millimetres of rainfall, I cannot frame a reference.

When buying meat or produce, weight is not too difficult to comprehend, but it does make the prices seem shocking. With fruit I tend to convert to pounds, but with meat I have developed instincts about serving size and have no problem asking the butcher for 500 g of beef mince, though sometimes I have problems making my mouth say the words. I have a little trouble with body weight in kilos, but I am in a frame of mind to ignore my body weight anyway…putting on a couple of kilos is deceptively forgiving. Weights under one kilo are instinctive, again from my laboratory experience and also from my entrepreneurial efforts in high school.

Volumes aren’t a problem, because I know that a 12 oz beer is about 330 millilitres, a fifth of vodka is 750 mL, and a litre of petrol is freakin’ expensive.

I am considerably confounded by the way rates are measured. For example, mileage is reported as litres per 100 kilometres. This might be useful for comparison when car shopping, but I find it difficult when it comes to calculating economy. Similarly, nutritional values are reported per 100 grams, so to know how much you are consuming in a single serving, one must employ multiplication and/or division, which might explain the extra kilos mentioned above…that and the fact that an average beer here is 375 mL (and in the pubs, pints are a better value).

Most confounding is the practice of putting the day before the month when citing the date. I tend to get very confused until after the 12th of each month. However, my biggest peeve with this system is when it comes to organizing data files, which I frequently like to name by date.

I’m not saying that any of this is insurmountable or has any drastic effects on the quality of life. These are just little examples of the moments when I must pause, frown, and think consciously about things that are normally instinctually effortless.