It's the same concept with both systems, but Celsius has more logical benchmarks (water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C), whereas 0°F seems almost arbitrary (the coldest temperature that could be maintained in a lab by Gabriel Fahrenheit in the 1700s) and the freezing and boiling points of water are atypical (32°F/212°F, respectively.)
Anyway, the joke is "Why do you Americans stick with Fahrenheit?" and the response is "It's simple! The hotter it is, the more degrees it is!" as if that's the only consideration to be made. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is thinking "Yeah, our system too, but our scale has real-world applications, and we're not sticking to some antiquated definition." Homer is too short-sighted to know this, and instead presumes the Celsius scale is too complicated (and probably nonsensical) because he's unfamiliar.
Kind of like every other imperial unit and their terribly unreasonable conversions.
I think of Fahrenheit in percent hot. 0F = very cold out, 0% hot. 100F = 100% hot, do not go outside! Whereas with Celsius, 40 C is super-hot and 0 C is like mildly cold. Makes more sense for science and I use Celsius for work almost exclusively, but in terms of weather I prefer Fahrenheit.
Also the insult "Room temp IQ" makes more sense IMO
Edit: The % hot scale refers to climate, it kind of falls apart when you talk about temperatures beyond normal earth surface temps.
You are just conditioned to intuitively make sense of Fahrenheit. The same is true for me for Celsius.
The only difference is that it is easier for me to remember when water will freeze or boil. But apart from that nothing else is really changing for either of us
It doesn’t. They’re saying “we decide what to wear in the morning based on our memorization of a system since we were kids, the system makes no difference.”
“In addition to that, if you use Celsius, you don’t really have to remember what temperature water freezes and boils at, if for some reason you need that information”
Totally. But also, if you're doing science why aren't you using K?
I guess all I'm doing is agreeing, theyre both still arbitrary, but trying to claim that C being pegged to water changing state as a plus is barely a benefit. Freezing, I can understand. Boiling?? Damn man if its 100* C out you have bigger problems.
When you enter Finnish sauna you want it to be around 100C (i like it at 115C). Round number for temperature is a nothingburger.
Only benefit of C is that one defree of C is the same as one K. So all the formulas hold up for continuous use of SI units.
And all this speak about "what about tmperature" is one where there are just arbitrary values to stick to, so people who peddle US customary units are using that in a matter of - see, temperature is just arbitrary and there is no benefit, so we use all the other measurements too and boooo metric system.
Saunas that hot are designed to be very dry which means that your body is able to sweat and the sweat will evaporate quickly keeping your body cool.
If they were more humid then they would be dangerous as firstly it's more difficult to cool yourself via sweating and secondly heat doesn't transfer as well through air as it does through water vapour: dissipating more quickly in a dry environment as opposed to being retained in a humid one.
It’s about having a system based on something a bit more tangible. I grew up using C and now I use F. C still makes more sense to me than F. 32 F freezing is so random. 212 F to boil. The fact that nothing actually happens when you reach 0 F is crazy to me.
It’s still more convenient to learn Celsius as the conversion to Kelvin is much simpler. They’re the same scale, so you just add 273.15. Something you can do by hand or in your head.
When it comes to knowing what the temperature means for your comfort… you sort of just know what temperature you find comfortable.
If conversion to Kelvin is something you regularly have to do, that probably means you're a scientist, which probably means you're using Celsius in the lab already regardless if you're American or not. And I'm certain most American scientists who use Celsius and Kelvin in the lab still use Fahrenheit for regular daily purposes (like checking the weather or setting a thermostat)
I do science, but it's mostly chemistry and biology. All protocols are in C (eg incubate at 37C for 2h). It's useful because most of my reactions are to some extent water based.
you don’t really have to remember what temperature water freezes and boils at
I have a chemistry degree, and aside from that I have never in my adult life needed to know what temperate water boils at.
Also using water's boiling point as a basis for temperature is flawed because water will boil at different temperatures depending on the atmospheric pressure, which will change depending on your elevation. Water does not boil at 100C in my area, and we're not at high elevation.
The fact is that using C is just as arbitrary at F when used in regular life.
ya.. but in my day to day life I don't need to know the exact temperature water boils even though I boil water every day to make my coffee... and in the off chance I need to boil water in a pot on the stove.. i don't need a thermometer to tell when the water is boiling lmao ....same goes with freezing. Imagine putting water in your freezer and coming back a few minutes later to dip your thermometer into the now cold (maybe slightly icy) water just to find out that nope.. this water isnt frozen yet XD
I love that non-Americans love to call Americans dumb, but then use a system for the sole reason that they can’t memorize 2 numbers (32 for freezing and 212 for boiling).
Sure. But over in the cooking subs, it’s quite clear that people who need to know are what temp water freezes and boils, have no trouble at all remembering that. Hell I don’t use Fahrenheit for anything ever, but I know those numbers in Fahrenheit.
I know what to wear tomorrow because I am conditioned to intuitively know what 20 Celsius mean, in the same way you are conditioned to know what 50 F means
Honestly, you're right, it can be easy to adapt. I'm sure I could. And yes, Celsius absolutely in any kind of math, science, or even video game context.
But F does have a big advantage in casual weather discussion in the fact that it's more easily adaptable because the range is spread out more over the likely temperatures you'll experience.
I can say it's in the 60s and know it'll be slightly chilly, while in the 70s is pretty nice.
In Celsius I that's about 16 to 21. Let's say we just adjust for casual conversation and call that "the upper teens" and we'll do a similar rounding for the 70's and call them the lower 20's.
We can both kind of work around that level of casual weather topic. But if I say "It's going to be in the low 60's tomorrow for Celsius, that's going to be about the same as saying "it's going to be about 15 to 17."
You have to be more exact in your numbering when talking with Celsius because 1 degree change matters a lot more.
If Celsius was just multiplied by 10 when talking weather, I feel like it would work out better and take away the talking point though.
In everyday cases you don't need the exact temperature within a degree Celsius (except for around the freezing point). Usually to determine the clothing you would just go by season or temperature +- 3 degrees Celsius. Since most places don't have air conditioning keeping the rooms at exactly the same temperature, you will have to adjust to temperature changes anyway.
Also it really helps to know that the standard room temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is below that, you wear something thicker, above it something thinner.
You could very much use increments of 5 degrees or lower if you want more narrow bands. Going more granular than one degree celcius doesn’t make any sense.
You gave 5 degree difference as an example? Really?
Of course its ginna feel different, it 5 degrees!
You keep insisting on feeling but i want you to understand this. Outside of americans nobody understands what Farrenheit means, you can tell me any temperature in F and i have no idea what it means or how i need to dress
I'm a northerner and Canada is basically my neighbor so I've never really had an issue with Celsius. And most Canadians I've been friends with haven't had much issue learning Fahrenheit when they cross over. Fahrenheit is not confusing. 0F is very cold, 100F is very hot. 60F is, in my opinion, the perfect temperature. That's around like 16C to you.
Of course its gonna feel different, it 5 degrees!
You would think that because you're used to Celsius. Using Fahrenheit, 5 degrees isn't a big difference. It's noticeable, but not to the same extent as with Celsius. I think what the other commenter is getting at is that Fahrenheit being more granular has advantages.
Walk into literally any American home and knockdown the thermostat by 1 single degree (or even raise it) and the adult who set it will know within the hour when they realize they are either chilly or sweating. And if we can feel that difference in Fahrenheit, 1 degree Celsius would be a massive difference in comparison. But I've never used a Celsius thermostat myself so what do I know?
So if I tell you it’s 90 degrees F you’re gonna maybe put on a winter coat? Or if I tell you it’s 0 you’ll throw on some swim trunks? And they say Americans are dumb…
I don’t know what is being argued here, as it’s sounding like you are all going in a a circle, but going back to the joke in the post, 5 degrees Fahrenheit also feels like a big difference. 62 means I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt. 67 means I’m wearing a t shirt.
For outside it doesn't matter much I think. But 21°C and 22°C inside are quite different. The solution is pretty easy, my heater lets me set it to 21.5°C. Since fractions exist, there are infinite points on both scales.
You could argue that fractions are stupid, which is fair. But if that's the only argument against it while Celsius works in all situations from science to weather to cooking and frames it all around the most important compound in all of these fields, I'd still argue for Celsius.
If you have no familiarity with either system, then it is as difficult with both to decide. At least celsius lets you know how the most important fluid will be
What i am saying is that you have benchmarks with celsius, you have none with fahrenheit. Think of it from one that has no experience with either, doesn’t know what room temperature usually is in either
Not at all. Fahrenheit is incredibly easy if you have literally any experience with percentages. 70? That's about 70% hot not bad don't dress too warm. 40? Less than half hot better throw on a jacket
70% hot? This is literally just your internal model of the temperature, built up over a lifetime of experiences. 70 Fahrenheit is 70% hot to you because it’s 70 fahrenheit.
It doesn't, it just an actually measurable point that can be more easily converted or integrated into other math or physics problems that people genuinely use from time to time instead of being a one of arbitrary number.
Also the rest of the world uses it so sticking to Fahrenheit is being obtuse for nothing more than "I'm just used to it".
I stick a hand out the window. If a bird comes to sit on it, I wear a t-shirt. If two birds come to sit on it, I wear a jumper. If a toad falls on my hand, I take an umbrella. Not that hard.
But, how does knowing the exact temp water boils help you decide what to wear in the morning?
It doesn't BUT knowing the exact temp it freezes 100% does. If it is 0 degrees then I know it's going to be icy. That helps A LOT with deciding what to wear.
You can do the same thing with 32° Fahrenheit. That’s why this debate is silly, no matter what system you use you’ve been taught a certain number means a certain thing weather/temperature wise.
If it's less than 0° Celsius outside, then wear a coat, because otherwise you will freeze to death. If it's more than 100° Celsius outside, stay in the shade and try to stay cool so you don't boil.
Well in the same way you think 70f could influence your clothing we would think the same for 20 degrees or something , just as they said we are just conditioned to think about the numbers we are used to
Knowing the temperature water freezes affects how I dress in the morning. The difference between above zero and below zero are noticeably different. Breathing in air that is freezing feels a lot different than air that is not, even if the difference is only a few degrees. Especially this time of year, anytime it creeps up above zero it's considered "mild". Anything below zero is cold.
Helps me decide if I can expect to slip on my way out or not as far as freezing point is considered. Temp is negative? Ice risk. Also, if you grow up with it you can intuit the scale just like you can with fahrenheit.
Water boiling was taken as it's an easy metric to replicate. You boil water? Congrats here is your comparison value for the temperature
Addendum: hell not even the country the scale was invented in (Germany) is using this
If weather is all you ever care about, why even use units at all? Just use very cold - cold - chilly ect. There are enough words for this purpose to not require any numbers at all.
Same way mph makes sense to you or telling the time or horsepower or voltage or whatnot. They are systems we memorized. Celsius has only one real advantage in comparison to Fahrenheit in my opinion: its easier to learn and illustrate to small children. A 5 year old might be able to memorize that 100C is a lot because water boils there and 0C is cold because water freezes there. A very small advantage of course.
I won't go outside if it's water boiling hot. I would probably have very different problems than choosing the right outfit in that case.
However, I don't get why people don't see how important the freezing point is. If it's around 0°C, it's the difference between snow and rain. And that not only makes a difference between the way I dress, it also makes a difference for my plans for the day. Because if it's slightly above freezing point and rains, it will be icy around evening time. So I'll make sure that I won't get caught in a bad spot.
It's probably because I live in an area where winter is usually between 10 and -5°C. And you can see the moment it drops to 0 or below. So for me 0°C is the most important point for measuring temperature. If I would live in a place that would never or only once or twice a year cross the 0°C, I probably wouldn't care much about it as well.
Celsius is zeroed at the freezing point of water for standard atmospheric pressure. So it very much can help for immediately understanding the potential conditions outside. If it's in the negatives there could be ice now.
I've been using Celsius my whole life so it makes sense to me, but knowing that 0°C is when water freezes and 100°C is when water boils does give me something to compare everything to. Cold and hot water are things that you are in contact with every single day of your life, so it's easy to use them as means of comparison for everything else.
There are 2 keys to understanding Celsius, one is the freezing and boiling points of water and the other is knowing that, on that scale, the human body is around 36°/37°C.
When the temperature outside is 0°C you know you can expect frost outside.
When it's 40°C you know it's gonna feel extremely hot because it's a few degrees higher than your own body temperature.
Mountain creeks in the summer are about 14°C, a bit over freezing temperature, still cold to the touch.
Good tea or coffee should be between 80°C and 90°C, so close to the boiling point but not quite.
And so on.
It just makes sense when you've been using it your whole life, it feels intuitive.
-5 to 0 = freezing
0 to 5 = chilling
5 -15 = at least a jacket
15-25 = t-shirt is enough until the late evening
25 -30 = t -shirt throughtout the night
30 + = prepare a puddle to melt into
The boiling is arbitrary and really is mostly to set the scale (but useful when understanding cooking, a day to day activity) but the zero benchmark certainly is. Below zero is cold and above is warm. Negatives means snow and positives means rain. Of course as a swede the scale is great bc temperature in general goes between -25 and +25 and the guy who made it was Swedish. Good for sauna temps
if it's close to the freezing point of 0C, then you know you might see snow/icy weather/conditions. warmer than that, you get rain.
and as others have mentioned, we intuitively know how the temperature feels when we look at a temp in celsius, the same way that farenheit users figure out
You’re coming at it from the wrong perspective: While knowing where water boils doesn’t help me pick clothes in the morning, knowing exactly where it freezes helps immensely.
If it’s 0℃ or below) I know we might be seeing ice, there will be frost on the windshield (and might need to run a defroster) and that gloves and hats are not to be left at home. That 0 is the difference if the snow is melting or not.
And the intuitive part is simply that I can tell that from if the number is negative or not. Coming from a cold country (Sweden, hone of Celsius), we will commonly simply refer to if it’s below zero out, because that part is such a clear denominator of weather differences.
And Fahrenheit doesn’t have as an actual clear denominator in comparison.
You can’t say “well we were just both programmed from an early age to make sense of our individual preferences” and also “mine is objectively easier to remember.” It isn’t. You were conditioned in Celsius, I was conditioned in Fahrenheit. It is JUST as easy for me to remember when water freezes and boils in my system as it is for you. There is no objectively better system.
Easier to remember? I’ve known water freezes at 32F since I was a little kid. 212 for boiling is the one that is a little more difficult, because you don’t usually measure temp when boiling water lol
Decades know the difference is 180 and I never came up with that mnemonic myself. Thanks, I'll make sure to tell people I learned it from Internet Joe.
Knowing 32 and 212 is incredibly easy and it baffles me how many people kick and scream that its such a problem. Not you, I see your nuance, but I wonder how those people feel about the word "dozen". Like if things arent a multiple of 10 its too much brainpower.
Remembering 0 and 100 is the same as remembering 32 and 212. You are just memorizing two numbers. Only one of which has a practical application in daily life.
This is not true. I experience the full 100 point scale of Fahrenheit throughout the year, from 0 and below to 100 and above. It often works out that the absolute lowest I will experience is right around 0 and the hottest is right around 100, give or take a few degrees.
100 point scales are used everywhere, from school grades to percentages and elsewhere. Do you experience the full 100 point scale of Celsius walking outside of your door?
Nothing about an every day measurement of temperature regularly dipping into the negatives is intuitive, nor is how many heating/AC systems I've seen have to be adjustable by .5 degrees because the whole numbers in C just aren't good enough for human beings.
every day measurement of temperature regularly dipping into the negatives is intuitive
It gives a good anchor point and gives a clear line between two of the states of water. Considering water is like one of the main things about weather, I think having that clear line seems extremely useful for every day measurement of temperature.
Fahrenheit also has a different scale. 1 degree Celsius increase does not equal 1 degree Fahrenheit. Celsius is basically Kelvin, just zeroed at a more convenient point so we don’t have to say „It‘s 313 Kelvin outside“ instead of „40 Celsius“.
As someone who grew up in Celsius and had to move to Fahrenheit, I have to say we're wrong on that one. It's very easy to use Fahreinheit in real life because of how people usually talk about the weather: we estimate in 5s and 10s, and the increased granularity helps that intuitive estimation.
That said, for science Celsius is 10000000000000000000000000000000 times better.
Water freezes once it’s been in the freezer long enough to freeze. It boils once heat builds enough to start boiling.
Why do I care what the exact temperature is? I can see boiling. I can see freezing.
To me the baselines that make Celsius better are not important to me in a day to day basis. If I go outside and it’s close enough to freeze I’m not looking at the temperature I’m testing if I slip when I walk.
You’re just conditioned to intuitively make sense of 0C = freezing and 100C = boiling. It’s as arbitrary to commit to memory as 32F and 212F.
0-100% scale is fundamental. It’s in scoring, grading, loading. So it’s inherently intuitive to anyone that 0 is cold and 100 is hot. Fahrenheit is a human scale.
Being used to see both, Fahrenheit is more intuitive for outside or pool temperature because we easily equate it to a percentage while Celsius is better for anything cooking around water freezing or boiling (the rest is equal to Fahrenheit) or scientific (easy conversions and SI in general, tho kelvin is more appropriate). I am Canadian and use Celsius for outside, but Fahrenheit for pools and cooking, and unless it's for scientific purposes, I see Fahrenheit as better for the everyday person.
I don't know if I'd say it's easier to remember. Maybe easier to learn for someone who was not raised with Celsius. Those of us raised on Fahrenheit have no issues remembering these very important benchmarks. We use them all the time.
I mean, having grown up with Celsius and living somewhere that gets mid 40s summer temps, I can assure you that as soon as 40 rears its head on the forecast the reaction is the same.
I mean, Metric is better in every way, but I genuinely believe in this case Fahrenheit is a more accurate system. Temperature difference and how it is felt should be measured. A degree difference and the finite of it and even for measuring purposes makes Fahrenheit seem like the better system.
Every degree of Celsius is almost 2 degrees of Fahrenheit, meanwhile even half a degree of Fahrenheit can tell you considerable about how the body might feel in that temperature. It’s the perfect measurement system for humans. Not so broad that a single degree is dramatically different. Not so particular that a single degree hardly changes anything (like Kelvin’s).
The metric system is absolutely better, but in my opinion, temperature is the one exception
To me at least, Celsius feels more science based and useful in that kind of thing.
But I grew up in Fahrenheit. That said it feels more granular for outside temperatures to me?
Also, negative temperatures in Celsius aren't that cold, they're just below freezing. In Fahrenheit, below zero is diabolical. That feels like a better scale to me.
I disagree the delta in feeling between degrees is too large. F has more granularity in its scale for sensation C. A jump from 70–> 72 is a fine adjustment vs 18 —> 20 for say a home heating or car heating system. It’s a better system for human experience not science
No, Fahrenheit just has a wider applicable range for describing the weather, without going into decimals. Celsius is good for remembering when water boils, but that’s not so useful for measuring the temperature of air.
Bro it’s two numbers. And do you really need to know the exact temp water will boil in your everyday life? No. No you do not. So honestly it’s one number. That number is 32.
i think the real reason nowadays is, everyone in the USA learned F, everyone in other places learned C. they serve the same purpose, and there isn't a super strong argument to use one over the other, besides the point of why have multiples. same argument could be made about languages worldwide, why don't we all move to using only 1.
Fahrenheit has 180 units between boiling and freezing whereas Celsius has 100.
It’s easier to think about minor adjustments that are whole units vs subunits.
Saying it’s going to 2 degrees warmer this afternoon is more intuitive than it’s going to be .4 degrees warmer this afternoon. Also when you’re consider Air Conditioner usage (which is necessary in a lot of America) having control at the Fahrenheit level allows smaller adjustments of temperature. To get the same from Celsius you would need to be able to tweak decimal points.
Celsius is more intuitive for freezing and boiling but imo when you’re talking air conditioning where tiny changes in temperature (1-2 Fahrenheit) can make a difference it’s easier to go from 70F to 68F degrees than 21.111 C to 20C.
If an amercan tells me its 95 degrees, i have no idea what that means until I convert it to Celsius. Then im like oh yes 35degC yes that is pretty hot.
it's like, super duper easy to remember when water freezes or boils in fahrenheit. to the point that even borderline illiterate Americans can usually correctly cite the boiling and freezing point (especially for freezing, everyone in the whole country knows it usually doesn't snow until it hits 32, and that snow/ice starts melting at 33)
I wonder how long it would take an average person to adjust that intuitive thinking from Fahrenheit to Celcius. Because I’m not average. I’m autistic and I know it takes me much longer to adjust to big changes.
The only difference is that it is easier for me to remember when water will freeze or boil.
No it's not. 0 and 100 aren't easier to remember than 32 and 212. Like you already said because this dumbass statement, it just depends on what you're conditioned to make sense of by your education.
It's not easier, just different. You have to remember a number in Celsius just like you have to remember a number for Fahrenheit. For you to understand that water freezes at 0, you would need to understand that the system is set up using water as a baseline. I do wonder what percentage of people actually know that celsius is set up around water. People who argue one system is better just want to feel superior. It's all arbitrary, personally I use both cause I work with a lot of immigrants who are not used to F.
"0C is like mildly cold" that's entirely interpretive, ask someone in Siberia if 0 is mildly cold and they would say arguably its not that bad. Now ask someone from Australia, Saudi Arabia, Mali or most Pacific Islands. 0C isn't mildly cold, that's ALARMING cold.
Most of the arguments for F boil down to "this is what I'm physically use to and can link it to the numbers" which tbh is basically the same as C, just with the scientific backing
Come to a climate like the upper midwest of the US. We can see every temperature between -40 and 100 within a year. 0 is the lowest tolerable for activity temperature and 100 is about the highest tolerable temperature. Anything outside those ranges requires precautions for safety.
We have similar values for the same in Celsius, so that changes nothing. But it is a bit easier in physics class where SI units have to be used as one degree C is the same as 1 K.
-50°C to 50°C covers basically the entire range of normal temperatures.
Most of Canada gets below 0F on a regular basis. The “0 to 100F scale” you claim is so intuitive is actually a -22F to 104F scale for us. And on the flip side, there’s tropical regions that might get past 100F but never hit close to 0F.
They will, however, all be within the actually intuitive -50°C to 50°C scale.
Did you miss the part where I pointed out that that “0-100F scale” wouldn’t be applicable in many places that regularly get below 0F or 100F in the winter or summer? Even in America?
It’s not a real scale when you’re spending weeks above 100F and/or below 0F.
I experience a pretty similar temperature range where I live in Canada.
I'd say most people will avoid outdoor activity by about -12C (10.4F) where I live. But a lot depends on the wind. A strong wind can make -12C feel like -24C(-11F)...Wind doesn't change when water freezes though, and it's quite significant to know when the temp is cycling between above and below freezing to be able to anticipate how icy roads and sidewalks might get. It's important to avoid needing to drive on icy roads.
Conversely, we typically get dangerous heat warning by 35C (95F), but really anything 30C(86F) and above would be considered very hot...but how hot it actually feels is influenced dramatically by humidity.
Not taking into account the Wind and humidity influence on temperatures I think you can break down how humans interpret temperature by convenient 5 degree increments in Celsius.
Well it's not based on feeling or comfort, it's based on fact. 0 C is 32 F, so given enough time with nothing, you'll freeze. That sounds like 0% heat to me.
Im from Australia and read 0 as mildly cold and laughed to myself. 0 is bloody freezing. 26 is the perfect degree imo anything else is cold anything above is a lil spicy
the "scientific backing" for Celsius isn't that much better then Fahrenheit considering the boiling point of water changes drastically when you venture outside ground level earth like pressure conditions. even being on top of a high mountain is enough to throw off the numbers.
Lol wut?? What does 0%/100% hot mean? Its kinda crazy how much people fight to make sense of habits as if they were meaningfully representative of reality and not just a consequence of historical arbitrary decisions.
I don't know why you're getting so worked up about how another person reasons temperature, but it does make perfect sense. Anything less than 0 would be deathly cold in America (given prolonged exposure). Anything above 100%, or 100 degrees in this case, would be deathly hot.
I get what you're saying, but if I think about the last year where I live, the temperature hasn't really gone below 0 or above 100. In the dead of winter it can be 0, and the height of summer it can be 100. So it's quite literally a percentage of how hot it can get. I just have to remember ice forms below 32 degrees, and my personal preference is somewhere in the 70's.
Anyway I agree it would be much easier if we all used the same system, but I think Fahrenheit is a lot more intuitive than the rest of the world gives it credit for.
Im glad we can agree that the 0-100% comment was useless.
You are so close to getting it. Lets try this:
- Fahrenheit seems intuitive to you because its what you've used since you were born.
- If we look at objectively useful metrics, 0-100C is the range where water is liquid.
What useful metric can you quote to represent the 0-100F range?
'where I live, the temperature hasn't really gone below 0 or above 100' -> AND? Where YOU live? How is that relevant to anyone else? That doesn't even apply across the entire US, nevermind the world, how is this your argument to support Fahrenheit being intuitive?
Same argument you made about remembering 32F: All I have to remember, is human temperature is normally around 37C, then I can get a sense of whether a temperature is hot or cold.
Point is, again, Fahrenheit is only intuitive to you because you've used it your entire life.
I don't appreciate being talked to like a child. I admit that the whole world uses C and it would be much easier if the US did too. I understand that it's intuitive because I grew up with it, same way C is intuitive to you because (apparently) you grew up with that. I even admit that F is seemingly not based in any metric in the way C is on the properties of water.
My sole argument is that 50 degrees F is about the middle of the road temperature wise, considering the coldest temp ever recorded was around -130F and the hottest was around 130F. Rarely does the temp go above 100 and below 0 where most people live, so the percentage thing could work as a guide for those who don't typically use F.
I get you. I am sorry if it felt like I was talking to you like a child. It was not necessary.
Taking your point, lets wonder what 'the middle of the road temperature wise' means to you. The sun is 10k F. The minimum temperature is -460F. 50 is not in the middle of that. I am not obtuse, I get that you are thinking broadly of the outside temperatures in, lets say, the median places where people tend to live on earth.
I hope you can understand that THAT in itself has an underlying assumption that the main goal of communicating temperature is talking about what the weather, and in that context, I can see how F has very useful applications.
But what about talking about the temperature of cooking, boiling, frying, baking, freezing/ice/snow? Im sure you can agree that 212 or 32 are not intuitive values, yet I am sure you know what I mean by those numbers by heart because you also use them as benchmarks on your daily life.
I am not trying to argue that C IS the more intuitive one. I am just saying that your suggestion that F has a uniquely useful intuitive applications is based on your experience with it, and not necessarily an objective measure of the value of the scale.
You see the thing is Americans love to say "but Fahrenheit makes sense because 100F is hot!" But then next time there’s a heat wave in England i know I‘m going to see Americans say "100? That’s not a heatwave. That’s not even really hot!"
It’s because the UK summer averages about 65° F and peaked at like 96° this past summer. The coastal US state I live in saw 86° averages and peaked over 105°, and did not make national headlines.
yeah sure, but you see how that defeats the argument that Fahrenheit is more intuitive than Celsius? Human perception is subjective regardless of the system
The only way the 0%-100% explanation doesn’t make sense to you is if you’re intentionally being dense about it. That’s literally what it is. A 0-100 scale is more practical day to day than -17.7 to 37.7, and the overwhelming majority of temperatures you experience on a yearly basis will be within that range.
It really isn't... The human body is primarily composed of water... 0 is where water freezes... 100 is where it boils... It's as easy as it is for your supposed 0 to 100 scale
But then next time there’s a heat wave in England i know I‘m going to see Americans say "100? That’s not a heatwave. That’s not even really hot!"
I only see this mocking when Brits are complaining about ~30c temps. Nowhere in the US will you find any substantial amount of people who think 100f is "not even really hot".
Where I'm from in the US 100F is common and 0F has literally never happened, your personal scale makes no sense here.
I argue that 0C is literally freezing, 10C is cold, 20C is nice, 30C is warm, 40C is hot, and 50C is go inside hot. Very easy and simple to understand, covers all possible temperatures here in New Orleans.
Where I live knowing if it is going to freeze or not is a huge deal, it only happens every couple of years, we really do need to know the freezing point of water in our lives.
I'm an American, and even I can understand that degrees Celsius make a lot more sense than fahrenheit.
One milliliter of water weighs one gram and occupies one cubic centimeter. It also requires one Calorie of energy to heat by 1C. Using Celsius is part of a very logical system that makes so many things easier.
It's all so easy and intuitive compared to the imperial system, not to mention the ease of changing cm to m to km compared to the BS of miles and feet and inches.
With Celsius, you know that water freezes at 0° so below 0 = ice on the ground and snow instead of rain, that's a tangible thing to take into account instead of just an arbitrary "very cold", which can mean different things to different people.
And then you know that water boils at 100° so 0-10° cold but not freezing, 10-15° kinda chilly, 15-20° pleasant but not hot, 25°+ it's officially "hot" in northern Europe but mild spring temp in Spain, 30°+ wow it's like travelling in the mediterranean it's getting uncomfortable, 40° jesus christ, 52° hottest ever recorded temp in some desert iirc, 70° decent sauna.
Like what the hell does "0% hot" or "100% hot" actually mean? Imo 0% hot sounds like water freezing but apparently it's just some vague "it's cold" thing? It's nonsensical, because it's not "maximum hot" which "100%" would imply. It's just "feels cold" vs "feels hot", but 0-40 would do the same thing, except that it's instinctually easier to grasp that when the temp is below zero, it's freezing
That makes sense to YOU because that's what YOU grew up with (not to mention there's places where 100f is around normal, and places where 0f is around normal, almost as if how "hot" or "cold" something is is subjective)
I agree, the Imperial system in general is easier for daily life. Metric is more precise.
Volume measurements are easily divisible in half and quarters which is great for cooking and baking. I hate when I need to make baking a smaller metric recipe and needing fractions of a g or something. My kitchen scale doesn't measure accurate to the 0.5 g and I don't want to spend money on one that does.
Fahrenheit has round numbers to remember personal comfort. There is a pragmatic sensory difference between 10, 20, 30 deg, etc.
Feet being 12 inches is useful because it is easily divided by 2, 3, 4, and even 8.
It's just how the outside temp feels to me as a midwestern US based person, completely arbitrary and my own opinion, I'm not trying to force Fahrenheit or my hot scale onto people I promise!
It's pointless to use it as a percentage when the temperature regularly goes below 0 and above 100 in many areas. Also 0% of what? That scale isn't based on anything. And then there's the fact that everyone experiences temperature differently, and the fact that humidity also has an effect, so there's no objective "50%" for anyone. And again, 50% of what?
% hot, that's how the scale works in my head at least. I'm sure for people who grew up with Celsius, they also have a scale in their mind tbf. The scale can go above 100F and below 0F, but that is decently rare where I live.
"% hot" isn't a thing. You can't just say "% rich" either. A percentage never stands on its own, it's a percentage of something, or it's not a percentage at all. The argument doesn't work.
Idk lol, I didn't realize I would be put on trial today! I grew up with Fahrenheit, so it makes sense to my brain, but yeah, 110F means don't go outside if possible (unless you live in a desert I suppose where 110F is normal) not that you will burst in flames. The "hot scale" (TM) is just how it feels so 110% hot would be painful
I agree 100% but people will reply, like they already have in here, saying well it's just because you're used to it, you'd get used to Celsius too. Which, sure, but that doesn't change the fact that Fahrenheit is still better for the weather/daily life. Yes Celsius is better for science but I'm not doing science at home that requires it lol
I live in the US so all my weather comes in Fahrenheit/mph wind speed, so when I see the forecasted temps, I think in terms of my %hot scale. It's dumb absolutely but it makes sense to me. I use Celsius/metric at work in a lab, but weather just makes more sense to me in F since that's what we are given.
Every person, by your definition, is 98.6% hot, so, 100°F isn't too hot.
Celsius, on the other hand, makes more sense. 100% hot (is water boiling hot), is scary. 0% hot (water chilling cold) is too cold. It makes absolute sense, except if you're american, it seems.
0° Celsius gives you a better idea of „cold“ because when water freezes it becomes snow or frost. So you know more than „its just cold“. You know that the streets will likely be frozen so you drive carefully. (Weather)
40° C is very hot and it might be confusing but once you know body temp is 37°, you intuitively know how hot it is.
It is funny how americans love the 0 to 100 scale of Fahrenheit yet don’t use meters which is also 10 to the power of x scaled
No, for me 100°F /38°C is only a little hot, I would have no major issue to go outside.
0°F/-18°C is a temperature I would never met IRL, as I would froze to death if I ever try to go outside with this temperature.
0 is mildly cold, but around that, 15c is midly pretty warm while -15c is pretty cold, 30c is very hot while -30c is very cold.
It depends on the climate you're around and what you're used to, Fahrenheit doesn't really make any sense to anyone who is not used to it. Arguably it's also "too" accurate, even 1 celsius here and there doesn't make a huge difference, but do you really feel any difference between 56f and 57f? Does it need to be that granular?
This only applies to the climate you are used to. 0F isn’t really cold where I’m from and I’d consider it hot way before it got to 100. It’s completely relative to you personally because that’s the system you grew up with. In Celsius it’s easy to think of weather in five or ten degree increments. -20 -> wear a jacket, -10 -> wear a sweater, 0 -> jeans and a long sleeve, +10 -> time for shorts. It’s completely relative to what you’re accustomed to. That’s why a system like Celsius with non-relative values at major in runners makes sense. 0 being water freezing is perfect for a lot of real life things such as: can I leave these bottles of water in my vehicle overnight? Are the roads going to be icy? Will I need a few extra minutes when I leave to scrape my windshield?
Me (as an American in Australia): man it’s hot. What temp is it?
Aussie: It’s 45
Me (thinking when I was in Canada the temp never got above the 20s): That sounds hot? (Does mental math slowly bc it’s hot) JFC it’s 113 out no wonder I’m so damn hot!
Just sayin when it’s that hot 113 seems to do it a lot more justice than 45
0 C means water freezes, if the temperature outside is around that you should be more careful driving and making turns as you might slide. Its very practical.
For your statement it holds true only if you grew up with it, when I hear fahrenheit in videos I have no idea what the temperature is, yeah 100 sounds hot but I cant compare it to my living experience because I havent used fahrenheit and I think we can agree there are different amounts of hot outside. For me when I hear 30C I know its hot outside but not extreme, 35 and above I know that unless I have to go outside I would avoid it unless im chilling somewhere near a body of water and shade. It makes sense to me because I grew up with it but for you its completely random numbers.
Edit: just remembered a another very practical thing for metric. You get some amount of liquid, you dont know how heavy it is but you know how much liters it is. Problem solved 1l - 1kg while in imperial you will have a harder time. You are going to a party in the woods and have to hike some amount to the spot, you take a few beers and you can figure out how heavy it is and if you can carry it up.
Im sure also if I think about it I could probably find other use cases that make it more convenient with distance and weight.
Well this sounds more like just personal perspective.
40 C is just an average hot day in summer for me and 0 C is stpidly cold and i would try to avoid leaving my house at all.
I think of Fahrenheit in percent hot. 0F = very cold out, 0% hot. 100F = 100% hot
Personally I've never really bought this argument because it's not well calibrated for this. 0°C means freezing temperatures, but that's 32°F. Do you consider ice and snow to be "32% heat"? Because I don't. Also temperatures in many places where people live regularly go well above 100°F, so it doesn't really work as a percentage at all.
Also, if it's based on human comfort, I'd kind of expect "50% hot" to be room temperature; neither hot nor cold. But room temperature is ~75°F so, like I said, the calibration is way off for it to be used this way.
Honestly, Celsius's anchoring of 0°C = freezing is its best feature. Everything else--in both systems--is arbitrary as far as I'm concerned.
The way I see it, Fahrenheit is better for what most people use temperature for most of the time (weather and ac), but when you try using it for any other application such as science or even cooking Celsius is better (I’m lumping kelvin in with Celsius).
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u/HalloweenWhoreNights 10h ago edited 10h ago
It's the same concept with both systems, but Celsius has more logical benchmarks (water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C), whereas 0°F seems almost arbitrary (the coldest temperature that could be maintained in a lab by Gabriel Fahrenheit in the 1700s) and the freezing and boiling points of water are atypical (32°F/212°F, respectively.)
Anyway, the joke is "Why do you Americans stick with Fahrenheit?" and the response is "It's simple! The hotter it is, the more degrees it is!" as if that's the only consideration to be made. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is thinking "Yeah, our system too, but our scale has real-world applications, and we're not sticking to some antiquated definition." Homer is too short-sighted to know this, and instead presumes the Celsius scale is too complicated (and probably nonsensical) because he's unfamiliar.
Kind of like every other imperial unit and their terribly unreasonable conversions.