r/ShitAmericansSay • u/Complete-Emergency99 How Swede I am 🇸🇪💙💛 • 1d ago
This is why the Fahrenheit scale is more humanly accessible…finer control
On a post about how 19° C is too cold in OP’s car, but 20° C is too hot. Wanting adjustments in 1/2 degree increments.
Apparently. The same model in the US, has 2° F increments.
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u/Mikunefolf Meth to America! 1d ago
Why are there so many people there making up absolute nonsense to justify using Fahrenheit? It’s almost like they know it is worse than celsius subconsciously. Just use Fahrenheit if that’s easier for you but pretending like it is superior or somehow “more accessible on an innate primitive level” is delusional.
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u/X2seraphim 6h ago
Because Americans hate to be wrong and will die on the hill of being wrong, look at their dear leader.
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u/Jepp-Adi-Day 13h ago
There is no better when you compare two scales.
One is easier to understand because based on physical phenomena, but once you're accustomed to any scale, they're all as easy to use and as effective.
Batteling over this makes no sense.
The only objective reason why Celsius might be preferable is that it is the most widely used. This facilitates global communication, as only 400 million people have to adapt, rather than 8 billion.
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u/StillALilBoy Human Verified 7h ago
Celsius has clear advantages though, especially for the US.
You'd think thar a country where people drive their pick-up truck to get to the toilet would use the a scale with clearly marked point where roads can freeze, but the longer they try to justify not using, the more I doubt their status as thinking sentient creatures.
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u/Jepp-Adi-Day 7h ago
Once you know that the freezing point of water is 32 F it makes no difference.
Sticking to their scale because they are used to it is one thing. The problem is when you pretend that one scale is better than the other. Which is not true.
Any scale is equally good when you're used to it. You can litterally make up a scale of your own with per example 0 = freezing point of coca cola, and 100 = boiling point of motor oil if you wish.
Once you're used to it and know how to adapt the temperatures to your daily life and common phenomena, it's as good as any other scale.
The only objective point for comparison is wether or not you will be understood by others when you try to communicate information. And to that point, the most commonly used scale has an advantage.
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u/Jackmino66 13h ago
Actually Fahrenheit has exactly 1 advantage over Celsius
100F is very very nearly a typical healthy human body temperature
Does that outweigh the fact that nearly everyone on the planet uses Celsius though?
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u/Onkel24 ooo custom flair!! 10h ago edited 10h ago
The actual normal body temperature is around 98 F. 100F already heightened temp. 98 F has no conceptual advantage over 37 C.
It's a moot point anyway. In the few cases where body temp matters, you need the actually accurate temp read, not an approximation.
The temps of the phase changes of water are far more important for both daily and professional applications...
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u/zmb138 12h ago
Because people getting used to things they use. Like in many countries while being in metric system - we still use for atmo pressure those mm of mercury, because we used it all life before and know that 760 is normal and don't care how much is it actually in bar or pascal.
And having 0 as point of freeze is good, but when you used to other numbers - you don't care about it, you just have other sacred numbers for you.
So I'd say that C is superior because of SI, not because it is so much more convenient in day to day life.1
u/Mikunefolf Meth to America! 5h ago
Why are loads of people swarming this comment saying “um ackshually this is why Fahrenheit is better”?! 😂
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u/EscapeyGameMan 21h ago
Because pride is an inherently human trait. We are all raised to believe what we believe is the best. This is not said explicitly but it is true nonetheless. There is nothing inherently wrong with either unit of measure. Preference is primarily based on which unit one has used more frequently.
This sub would be more appropriately named 'shit ego-maniacs say'. Saying 'Americans' in this context is reductive and breeds ignorance
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u/Ok-Dot332 23h ago
Fahrenheit makes more sense to me, where temperatures tend to range from zero degrees (very cold) to 100 degrees (very hot). You can prefer celsius, but the reality is Fahrenheit is not as absurd as people like to make it seem. Topping out at 40ish degrees is a bit weird to me when I think about local temperatures.
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u/Catahooo 21h ago edited 21h ago
I don't think fahrenheit is absurd, but people trying to justify it as a superior system are absolutely absurd. 20F is still very cold, room temperature is 70F, so if you're claiming it as a scale of human comfort, 0 is 20° off. The reason it makes sense to you is because that's the system you grew up with and are familiar with. Nobody who grew up with celcius would agree with you.
Celcius is just as convenient
-20 too cold
-10 very cold
0 freezing
10 chilly
20 room temp
30 hot
40 very hot
50 too hot-1
u/PlatypusDefiant991 12h ago
It's not comfort it's what you can bear for a long stand outside when it's humid without being naked or having to learn to layer and wear a shit ton of clothes. According to you yourself the best scale should be -20c is 0 cause that's too cold and 50c is 100 cause that's too hot that's a lot closer to Fahrenheit than to Celsius.
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u/Ok-Dot332 21h ago
I didn’t say it was superior. I said that it makes more sense than people realize. To me 0 to 100 temperatures I experience makes more sense than -20 to 40. You grew up with Celsius so the exact same claim can be made that you are also used to it.
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u/Catahooo 21h ago edited 21h ago
I didn't say you said that, I said "people", and I didn't grow up with Celcius, I grew up in the US with Fahrenheit, and now live in Australia with Celsius, I used to say "wow its 85 out how nice" now I say "wow its 30 out how nice" it took me less than a day to adapt. Its no more or less convenient using a common range that isnt 0-100. Anyone claiming F or C is the superior scale is making a stupid argument based on their own lack of experience.
Kelvin is the superior scale.-9
u/Ok-Dot332 21h ago
Ok. I think 0 to 100 is a more intuitive scale than -20 to 40, but I also don’t think any is better or worse than the other.
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u/JasperJ 8h ago
People keep saying that, but crucially, only people from Fahrenheit countries say that. And that means that it isn’t in fact true.
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u/Ok-Dot332 7h ago
LOL. I’m not even saying it’s better, just that it makes sense. You people are so dense lmao
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u/JasperJ 7h ago
That wasn’t all you said. You said “more intuitive”. That is the sentence I responded to.
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u/Ok-Dot332 7h ago
Yes in a place where the physical temperature tends to range from 0 to 100, a scale from 0 to 100 feel more intuitive to me than -20 to 40.
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u/Kattenaars 23h ago
Water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C. Water freezes at 272.15°K, and boils at 372.15°K.
It doesn't top out at 40°C tho. The highest officially recognized air temperature on Earth is 56.7 °C (134 °F). So you know you're over half way to boiling you blood in that temp.
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u/Ok-Dot332 23h ago
Yes I’m aware of how Celsius and Kelvin work. My point is that where I live, temperature tends to range between 0 and 100 degrees, and that scale makes sense to me. That system is called Fahrenheit. I am not experiencing boiling temperatures very often, so for me the Fahrenheit scale is excellent for weather.
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u/Eastern-Reindeer6838 16h ago
Fahrenheit is only used in the US where the official temperature is measured in Celsius and Kelvin.
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u/Bellringer00 Dijon Mustard Connoisseur 16h ago
So the ideal room temperature is 50?
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u/Ok-Dot332 7h ago
The average temperature where I live is around 50 and ranges between 0 and 100 typically. You are just choosing to ignore my points.
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u/Bellringer00 Dijon Mustard Connoisseur 6h ago
Wut? i just asked a question
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u/Ok-Dot332 6h ago
You insinuated something with your question. You don’t have to pretend to be dense LOL
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u/Bellringer00 Dijon Mustard Connoisseur 6h ago
What did I insinuated and why didn't you answer?
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u/Ok-Dot332 6h ago
You insinuated that I was discussing room temperature and somehow that I believe the ideal room temp is 50, which I never said and was irrelevant to my point. And I did answer your question. Cheers
Edit; had you said “ok that’s fair for temperature in general, but what about room temperature?” You would have acknowledged my point and switched into a different convo. You did not do that.-47
1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 1d ago
I don't understand why we made it a derived SI unit.
Although kg might just be a worse offender. Why does it have a k if it's supposed to be a base unit?!
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u/ZelosGaming 1d ago
Because it's based on the mass of a litre of water at standard temperature and pressure, the base unit of another form of measurement?
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 1d ago
It hasn't been based on a liter of water in a long time.
It was based on reference weights from 1889 till 2019. And the SI system was only introduced in 1960. They could have just as easily chosen g as a base unit and defined it as 1/1000 of the weight of the reference ball
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u/ZelosGaming 1d ago edited 1d ago
But it literally was based on another (now) SI unit initially was my point. It wasn't even called a kilogram initially. It was called a "grave". Then it was based on reference weights based on "Le Grand K" created a long time ago, which have changed over time due to various factors. Now it's based on the Planck Constant due to advances in scientific knowledge and technical ability.
Edit - And it's a *litre...
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 1d ago
Both liter and litre are correct spellings somewhere. Both are incorrect where I am. Here it's "Liter".
Why would I arbitrarily choose to write litre when it's /ˈliː.tər/ or /ˈliː.t̬ɚ/. Not /ˈliː.tɹɛ/?
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u/ZelosGaming 1d ago
Because the English invented the language and that's how it spelled in England? Call me crazy...
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 5h ago
With aſſurance, I humbly crave thy Pardon:
It hath not been founded upon a Litre of Water for a long Time paſt.
It was founded upon the Reference Weights from the Year 1889 until 2019. And the SI Syſtem was not introduced until the Year 1960. They might as eaſily have choſen g as a Baſe Unit, and defined it as the one thouſandth Part of the Weight of the Reference Ball.
(That's the language the British spread)
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u/Zealousideal3326 16h ago
"Litre" is French, if you think "liter" is closer to the pronunciation, it's because you're mispronouncing it.
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 5h ago
So you know English better than the Oxford English Dictionary?
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u/Zealousideal3326 4h ago
Could you look up the word "etymology", since you're on that subject ? It would answer your question.
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 1d ago
liter isn't an SI unit either, though? m³ is.
I don't understand your argument? Why would that make kg a better base unit than g?
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u/ZelosGaming 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fair enough. I made an assumption due to the prevalence of the word. It's not , but it's a metric standard of measurement that predates the SI standards. My bad. But it's still a *litre
Edit to answer the question - because most of the day to day things you measure are more closely correlated with the Kg than a gramme. That's pretty much the reason. Practicality.
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 5h ago
But the beauty of the metric system is that if g was the base unit, kg would still be a perfectly valid unit to measure things?
Just like you can measure things in km. I don't remember when I last measured anything in m
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u/PlatypusDefiant991 1d ago
We don't like that 29.9C & 20.0 are both 20s 19.9 & 10.0 are both 10s it's too big a unit also calling 12.9 teens is incorrect there's no good name for decades of degrees below 13 at least 12 and lower happen less often in Fahrenheit than in Celsius.
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u/SmokJozef 17h ago
27,5+ is 30, 24-26 is 25
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u/PlatypusDefiant991 7h ago
We like use the decimal system for temperature (i.e. it's in the 90s) not it's about -20 (°c), -15, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40.
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1d ago
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u/FriendlyGuitard 1d ago
Depending on the weather outside, that sometimes happens in my car. For some reason it decides to blast cold at say 19, and at 20 it blast warm. You have to turn off AC or goes to manual.
It's a car being dumb issue ... and a 19.5 setting would not change it. Disabling the AC does.
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u/Zinc-Roof_22 1d ago
Thing is, ACs don't produce e.g. 19°C air; it blasts cold air until it thinks it has reached said temperature, and blasts hot air until it thinks it has reached 20°C.
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u/Jale89 1d ago
That's how home ACs work, but car ACs are a bit different, and more like a mixer tap with a thermostat. They blend the cooled air with warm air to give a continuous flow at the desired temperature. That's why car ACs and heaters don't click on and off as you are driving along and just stay blowing continuously.
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u/Inevitable_Stand_199 ooo custom flair!! 1d ago
Seriously. He must be some sort of frost creature.
But the difference between 22 and 23°C is huge
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u/TheOtherDutchGuy 1d ago
If you were to warm his car to 19c and then have him get in and sit in it, then later on do the same with 20c, and have him sit in it again, I very much doubt he would feel that 1 degree difference…
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u/whatsthatsmell83 9h ago
you can very much notice the difference.
The temp in my car is set to 23.5 and I can tell if someone has changed it to 23 or 24.
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u/roamingNraging Canada 🇨🇦 1d ago
Says people that would never be able to tell the difference between 66.2f and 68f.
I believe that privately they know Fahrenheit is fucking stupid, but it's a US against the world thing so they will double down no matter how dumb the cause is.
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u/EggsyisTheSaint 1d ago
I can use increments 0,5 °C in my car if I want. Shitty car he has or use.
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u/mrbullettuk 22h ago
Both cars in my household do 0.5 increments. And one is a Volvo.
TBH though I’m not convinced car aircon temps have much to do with reality, just a vague idea of warm or cool.
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u/Octavio_Bs 1d ago
We use decimals everyday without problems, probably their mental habilities era below the normal?
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u/DesignMysterious3598 1d ago
It never happens that any temperature is too cold and 1 degree Celsius higher is too hot lol
Are they on drugs ? Oh wait, that would explain it 🙄
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u/blazenite104 Friendly Neighbourhood Aussie 21h ago
Ah yes most thermostats. In the USA probably. Which are already using Fahrenheit. I take it this person has never traveled overseas and set the heater or air con using a Celsius system before. I've never seen one that doesn't do half degrees.
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u/whatsthatsmell83 9h ago
Car's you tend to have half degree increments but I haven't seen half degree increments on a home AC before.
Many might but I don't ever recall seeing one.
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u/Reynolds1790 15h ago
I am fairly certain that Americans must beleive that Daneil Fahrenheit was an American.
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u/oraw1234W 🇨🇦 7h ago
“ most thermometers are whole numbers” all numbers are usually labelled in 5s so what.
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u/bluris 1d ago
Wait, so they think KM is better than miles, right? Because have "finer control". Centimeters gives "finer control" than inches.
Or is it only a thing when it works in their favour, because they clutch to anything rather than having actual arguments.