What are the pros and cons of the customary system?

Answer 1

The main system of weights and measures used in the United States and a few other countries. The system is based on the yard as a unit of length, the pound as a unit of weight, the gallon as a unit of liquid volume, and the bushel as a unit of dry volume.

Answer 2

"PRO" argument:

The Customary Weights & Measurements in the United States has been in place since the Years of George Washington. The creation of this system was one of his top priorities for Our new nation. The system has its roots in the system of Imperial Measurements in Great Britain.These units evolved over time and came with the colonists to America, where they have remained to this day. There is a distinct logic to the Base-12 measurement system. Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6 all divide into the number 12, or 40% of the numbers. Meanwhile, when using the foreign system of measurements, only 30% of numbers divide into its Base-10. The large amount of numbers that divide evenly into 12 makes it the logical base for a measurement system. Another argument in favor of the Customary System is that it is easier to estimate when one is without a ruler. An inch, which is historically based off of the width of a man's thumb, can be substituted with one's thumb. Whereas a centimeter has no basis on the human body. A measurement in feet can be easily estimated in using one's own feet, given that this unit too has a traditional context on the human body. A yard can also be estimated by the length on one's arm. No foreign units allow for easy, on the spot measurements. Thus, some argue that the Customary units of Measurement should remain in use in the United States.

"CON" argument:

Metric units are a kind of "universal language" for measuring around the world. 95% of the world's population uses them, and nearly all medical and scientific work is performed in metric units even in the US. Requiring special, imperial-measured products for 5% of the world's population is an unnecessary economic imposition and a barrier to trade.

The customary US system tends to be wasteful and error-prone: calculations in metric units can often be performed simply by moving decimal points where the US system can require the use of fractions; large numbers of unrelated conversion factors have to be memorized and applied correctly; working with mixed units (e.g. 10 lbs 7 oz + 3 lbs 14 oz) is cumbersome. One analysis of the economic cost of these inefficiencies puts the loss at over $75 billion per year.

Estimation versus body parts is only a small part of how measurements are made across the economy as a whole. Prolonging the inefficiencies of the imperial system for familiarity or comfort makes little economic sense. In particular, residents of dozens of other countries who've grown up using metric units have little or no difficulty making estimates because it's what they know. There will be disruptions for some people during conversion but the gains far outweigh the comparatively few disadvantages.

Answer 3

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