Reply To: Imperial or Metric?
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In case it wasn’t clear from what Larry said, if you are at the design stage and are working with proportions, the built-in divisions come in handy. As he said, 12 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6. So, if I need something 11 feet on one side and want to form a rectangle with proportions of 2 to 3 with 11 feet on the long side, then 2/3 of 11feet*12 inches/foot = 11′ * (2/3 12 inch/ft) = 11’*8 in/ft = 88 inches for the other side. I’m guaranteed to get an integral number of inches, no fractions required, if I use proportions selected from the factors 1, 2, 3, 4, 6. So, I can do 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:6, 1:12, 2:3, etc.
The metric system is built to make math easier.
The imperial system is built to avoid math in certain circumstances.
Of course, if you aren’t using proportions, none of this helps you at all.
As an aside, learning to use an architect’s scale is worth the effort. If you use imperial units and have an imperial architect scale, you can use it to draw plans without doing any math, e.g., if you have a length of 2′ 4″, you can use the scale to just mark it directly onto your page at the desired scale without doing any math.
Of course, the best thing is to not measure at all.