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submitted 8 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] efstajas@lemmy.world 35 points 8 months ago

The typical range of human scale temperatures is like -10 to 40 degrees on the Celsius scale? Makes no sense.

But it makes so much sense though. Because it's anchored around the freezing and boiling points of water, which is a universal experience we can all relate to. 0°C outside? It's freezing.

Fahrenheit as "the human scale" is what makes no fucking sense. You end up with the same exact problem where your specific range of "human scale temperatures" does not line up with 0-100°F at all. But it's also not anchored to water's behavior. So it just ends up being arbitrary.

[-] imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works 7 points 8 months ago

But it makes so much sense though. Because it’s anchored around the freezing and boiling points of water, which is a universal experience we can all relate to. 0°C outside? It’s freezing.

It does make sense. But no, I cannot personally relate to being H2O and freezing into a block of ice or evaporating into the air.

As a human, I can relate to when I feel cold, and when I feel hot. And a scale where I feel hot at 30 degrees and cold at -10 is not even remotely intuitive.

You end up with the same exact problem where your specific range of “human scale temperatures” does not line up with 0-100°F at all.

Human scale temperatures do line up with 0-100 on the Fahrenheit scale. Certainly much better than 0-100 on the Celsius scale. How are you even disputing that???

[-] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 14 points 8 months ago

Of course what you grew up with makes the most sense, but everyone down voting you for saying 0–100 makes more sense in a vacuum than -20–40 always makes me laugh in these kinds of threads.

[-] imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago

The timing of this comment is really killing me. Americans were just going to bed when I posted it 😂

[-] noli@programming.dev 11 points 8 months ago

It's all learned behaviour. If you grew up with F that makes total sense and C sounds ridiculous. If you grew up with C that's totally intuitive for anyone, just as much as F, so using a scale that has no point outside of the weather sounds dumb. Neither system is more intuitive by any means. Both systems ave benefits and downsides.

Whenever I talk to americans and they use F I need to convert it because I grew up with C and that just makes more sense to me, even if I know the "0-100 F is according to human experience" thing. Like sure, 80F is hot, but how hot is it? Oh 27C that's hot but not extreme.

Arguing one or the other is superior is not only pointless but also just silly

[-] Wild_Mastic@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

wait 80f is 27c? That's not hot at all

[-] uienia@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

But no, I cannot personally relate

And there we have it. You are not used to the system, so you can't personally relate to it. Which is a perfectly acceptable opinion to hold. The problem is that you make a lot of claims about a system you are not as familiar with, most notably that it isn't useful for what it is actually being used for by the majority of humans.

[-] Nudding@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

Weird because you're made of mostly water. Like 70 something percent.

[-] GojuRyu@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

So when my neighbors mother from another climate came to visit during the summer, I was wearing shorts and t-shirts but she a winter jacket. According to whos experience did Fahrenheit match the human experience? It’s very variable and cannot be made to fit everyone. That water freezes at 0 is just as arbitrary but at least it’s an experience/observation anyone can share. If it’s 0°C outside puddles will freeze. Is it warmer or colder than when ice and snow melts is as good a reference as any, and to me having grown up with it, it feels superior because it’s what I’m used to.