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Debate Info

27
13
Yes. No. Stay with Imperial System.
Debate Score:40
Arguments:25
Total Votes:46
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Argument Ratio

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 Yes. (15)
 
 No. Stay with Imperial System. (10)

Debate Creator

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Should the United States convert to the Metric System?

Feet vs Metres. Pounds vs Kilograms. U.S. vs the rest of the world (besides Myanmar and Liberia).

Yes.

Side Score: 27
VS.

No. Stay with Imperial System.

Side Score: 13
3 points

Why not, and for all of you who think we should not switch to the metric system (SI), I am going to ask you a question. If 3 inches of rain fell on 1 square foot of area, how much water would have fell in cubic inches or cubic feet? I thought so. But this one should be easier. If 5 centimeters of rain had fell in 1 square meter of area, how much rain would have fell in liters? 5 centimeters = 0.5 decimeters, 1 square meter = 100 square decimeters, and 0.5 times 100 = 50 liters. I am not finished yet. Not only the multiplications of 10s, but to me (maybe not to you, especially people who think we should switch) it is also easier to measure how long a meter or centimeter is. Now I am done.

Side: Yes.

Yes. I can't remember all the weird conversion factors.

Side: Yes.
2 points

Conversions waste time, energy, and resources which have safety and economic repercussions like loss of life, data, materials, and global reputation. Consider: the failed Mars Climate Orbiter (1), multiple tool sets required by mechanics, and aircraft forced landings (2).

(1) http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric.02/

(2) http://www.jimloy.com/math/metric.htm

More information:

http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/#usma

Side: Yes.
2 points

Yes, the metric system is much easier, and most other countries use it. There is no reason why we shouldn't change it.

Side: Yes.
2 points

First off, there are only 3 (out of 203) countries in the world still using the "Standard" System. However, the United States is the only industrialized country that has not converted to the Metric System.

The Metric System is already used for all forms of Science and many forms of Medicine around the world.

Many countries that the US trades and does business with have continually stressed that they prefer our products and service be based on metric units.

Another reason: The metric system makes sense! All metric units are based on the number 10 or fractions of 10.

For more info on why we should switch to metric, see:

http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/upload/1136a.pdf

Supporting Evidence: More Info on why We Should Switch to Metric (www.nist.gov)
Side: Yes.
2 points

I think we should because if nearly everyone else is using this system, then why not us? I mean what are we going to do if we go to Europe or anywhere else that uses the Metric System how are we going to know where or how far to go, to reach our destination.

Side: Yes.
1 point

Definitely.

Most schools (around my location) teach Metric, actually. I am from the US, and I do not see why the US couldn't just switch to Metric. There's no real reason why we couldn't, to be completely honest. It's utter laziness.

Side: Yes.
sarahmarie(1) Disputed
1 point

We should stay with the English system because the English system had been around as long as the U.S.A has. Also, most people don't know anything about the metric system. It will be over 60,000 dollars to switch because we have to change road signs, factory equpment, and most lables.

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
1 point

Metric is 10 times easier =]

wooo that was a knee slapper

I cannot stand inches to feet to miles and all that other bs it is annoying to convert anything. Metric just simplifies everything I geuss us Americans are to lazy to make life easier ?

Side: Yes.

Laziness is obviously not the case, because I (and other students) have to learn both! It would make my life much easier if the US switched to Metric, but there must be some good reason why we haven't switched, right?!?

It can't be that we're just too proud of our own unique, difficult, hilariously awkward, and incompatible system, right?!?

Side: Yes.
2 points

Very true. I would say though, that is the laziness of the ADULTS, not necessarily the students.

But agreed, I do think the US is extremely proud of this system.

Side: Yes.
Yolo12345678(4) Disputed
1 point

Even though we have learned both, it doesn't necessarily mean that we would rather use the metric.

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
1 point

Yeah. Its so much easier! I have converting things so much.

Side: Yes.

"The United States is the only industrialized country that does not use the metric system as its official system of measurement, although the metric system has been officially sanctioned for use there since 1866. Although the United Kingdom committed to officially adopting the metric system for many measurement applications, it is still not in universal use there and the customary imperial system is still in common and widespread use."

The metric system was supposed to bring uniformity in measurements throughout the different countries. However, highly developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom stick with the imperial system, complicating things and troubling people with their conversion formulas.

Thus, the United States MUST convert to the Metric system.

Side: Yes.
3 points

1) Conversion factors are easy to learn and remember.

2) The Imperial system seems, to me, to be very American, like Jazz or Baseball.

3) All American road signs that tell distance tell it in miles. In Football, distance is measured in yards. When buying an American home, the amount of floor space is given in square feet. American digital scales show people's weight in pounds. Boards are measured in inches. Sub sandwiches are measured in inches and feet. In America, the imperial system of measurement is the basis of the American way of life.

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
Kinda(1649) Disputed
2 points

You're not really giving a reason as to why it shouldn't be converted though.

If you said something about how it will cost a lot or take too much time or cause confusion, then it might be an argument (apart from no.1 which is a decent simple argument)

Rest of it is just common knowledge....

Side: Yes.
aed05(2) Disputed
2 points

If you have any conversion factors that you find "easy to learn and remember" please let me know.

Side: Yes.
2 points

Let's build our own history. The metric system uses root words like Kilo,deca,centi,milli,etc. Our Inches, Feet, Miles came out of no where. We can start our own unique history!! So maybe 100 years into the future Americans will be the replacement of the greeks and latins.(Not meaning that we'll become extinct like they did:)

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
Conro(767) Disputed
2 points

...What does your argument even mean? Are you upset that we have Latin roots? Because if you are, I'm afraid it must be terribly difficult for you to speak English or virtually any other European language. Are you arguing that we use the mile because eventually, in 2000 years, all other industrialized nations will have switched to our system and abandoned the simpler Metric System? That makes sense...

Side: Yes.
1 point

No,because most people are accustom to the English standard and it can make the cost of exporting goods higher which means the government will go bankrupt like what happen to general motors it was the first American company to switch to the metric system and then 3 months after that happened they declared that they are dropping 11 plants because of financial problems that fired 29,000 workers in one week and 10,000 of those works family filed bankruptcies and 5,000 died of starvation because they lost everything and the other 5,000 had to move in to apartments and some of those got new jobs but, some didn't.

To add to that argument many thing would change and would take years and by the time we do get things changed we would go bankrupt and we would no longer be a great Nation so the reason the government doesn't change is for us the people and I'm 20 year old either I'm 14 and I know this so why can't you trust the government

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
1 point

A pretty decent debate on this same issue just wrapped on this new website called Particibate. You guys should check out the link below and vote!

Supporting Evidence: The U.S. should switch to the metric system (particibate.com)
Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
1 point

Think of it this way

1 meter is to the distance that light travels in a vacuum 1/299,792,458 of a second

1 degree celcius is 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temp of triple water

For those who dont know, triple water s the temp in which water is all three forms, Gas, Liqiud, and Solid

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
1 point

Many people haven't been taught the metric system.Also our sports would never be the same, what about all of the football fans?? I would rather be in the only place that uses the customary system than not be able to understand my favorite sport!!!!!....

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.

Americans are accustomed to pounds, ounces, gallons, etc. I can't see placing the Metric System as the standard.

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.
0 points

no because our export cost would go up and soon enough the U.S would go bankrupt and it would take years to change everything, so soon enough the U.S would become confused and web would no longer a great nation

Side: No. Stay with Imperial System.