this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2024
596 points (76.3% liked)

Science Memes

11437 readers
2129 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (4 children)

It's more about the number range in ordinary use than the granularity.

Ordinary daily temperatures in F run from about 0-100. Numbers outside of this range are extreme weather.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Numbers outside of this range are extreme weather.

Hot Weather: This argument might have been valid like a century ago but it clearly hasn’t been valid for billions of people around the world (including parts of the US) that regularly sees temperature crossing 38 C (100 F) in the summer. This includes Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and I’m sure more places too.

Like, it’s not extreme if it’s expected every year. And I’m not taking 39 C. Where I lived, it reached 49 C (120 F) every single summer. That is summer.

Cold Weather: And this is also true for so many people around the world who live in places where temperature, every winter, goes below -18 C (0 F). Like, that’s not a billion people, but that’s still in the millions (Canada, Russia, Scandinavia etc.) We’d have to use the - sign every winter no matter which system we use, Celsius or Fahrenheit. Just like the billion+ people I talked about above.

People used to the Celsius system, especially those living in areas where it frequently goes below freezing, are well versed with the - symbol. We know the difference between -5 and -10 like we know between 0 and 5.

Again, Americans can keep their F and their LBs and their Miles and their every other unique charm. But it’s also funny when they try to prove that it’s somehow better or more natural. Like, it’s natural and rational to you.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

People used to the Celsius system, especially those living in areas where it frequently goes below freezing, are well versed with the - symbol. We know the difference between -5 and -10 like we know between 0 and 5.

Looking at some of the literacy stats coming out of American education, I'm not surprised that some Americans think that the concept of a negative number is an undue inconvenience.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Are people even capable of accurately perceiving a difference of 1 or 2 degrees in either system? I'm putting on a jacket if it's 9 or 7 celcius outside anyway. Struggling to think of any human day to day situations where a difference of a degree or two changes the way most people act or feel.

If you need granularity, you can still get infinite granularity with decimals in either system.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

19c, might be a bit too cold to wear shorts.

21c, shorts will be fine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

+15 for shorts, or +10 if doing sports

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

19 is too cold to wear shorts?

I'll be back in an hour when i stop laughing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Now that you have had a few minutes to laugh, please read my comment again, and notice that I wrote that 19c MIGHT be too cold to wear shorts, this obviously depends on other factors as well.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

7C I wear a hat, 9C my ears are fine

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

the temperature also isn't the only thing that matters, it also matters what the weather is like, how much moisture is in the air, and how windy it is.

With no wind you can have like -5°C and it's perfectly fine if you just wear some fluffy clothing, but if the wind starts picking up it can be +5°C and you'll feel like you're going to die.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

True, though this factor applies equally to both farenheit and celcius right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

When I’m going to be I can absolutely feel 68 vs 70F

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Boiling water feels really fucking hot which is why Celsius makes more sense

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I doff my cap to those whose experiences have led to the statement "boiling water feels really fucking hot".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

0 fahrenheit is pretty much random when it comes to ordinary life. Well it's pretty random when it comes to anything.