Fahrenheit to describe heat / Celsius to describe cold
Posted by Mackheath1@reddit | CrazyIdeas | View on Reddit | 143 comments
A lot people say we should just all use metric - I get that. But with temperatures, I'm proposing a mix.
The reason I say this is that I've lived around the world and Celsius is stupid when it's hot: "oh, it's 39!" And Fahrenheit is stupid when it's cold: "oh it's 39!"
So - I don't know where the switch should be: I know -40 is both, but that doesn't help me.
BobbyP27@reddit
Having only ever lived in Celsius countries, I have no idea what Fahrenheit "feels like". If someone tells me it's 60ºF out, I have no idea whether that is winter coat weather or t-shirt and shorts weather. There is nothing inherently logical or useful with Fahrenheit, it's simply and only a case of being used to it.
BaconBourbonBalista@reddit
I like farenheight to describe ambient temperature and Celsius for all others.
So its 0= fuck it's cold, 100= fuck its hot. Vs. 0C= I need a jacket, 100C=my skin is blistering and melting off.
That_Service7348@reddit
...you know it doesn't reach 100C on the vast majority of the planet's surface, right?
Aervanath@reddit
That's why they're arguing for Fahrenheit for ambient temperatures; 100°C isn't ever going to be reached, while 0°F to 100°F is a reasonable range of temperatures that humans will actually experience. 100°C is only ever applicable if you're cooking, for most people.
That_Service7348@reddit
But why does the scale need to go to 100???
Aervanath@reddit
Tbh, it doesn't. I personally have lived outside the US for a long time and I'm used to Celsius. But I can understand the reasoning of Americans who would prefer to stay with Fahrenheit.
Grand_Pie1362@reddit
Why? Celsius is better for both anyway.
PatienceandFortitude@reddit
I don’t agree with that. Fahrenheit has more… nuance
NaiveZest@reddit
Is that because of your cultural familiarity though? It sounds like you grew up in fahrenland.
PatienceandFortitude@reddit
I don’t think so. There are more degrees between 32 and 212 than 0 to 100. So you can get more micro temperatures. When I go running the difference from 32 to 33 is noticeable. Also 79 to 80 feels very different
UnsafePantomime@reddit
We have decimals. The same thing can be measured in Celsius.
That said, my American ass doesn't know how often that's done.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Nobody uses decimals unless it’s a science experiment that needs to be incredibly precise, and even if you did it would be so much more work
“It’s seventy six degrees” is much easier to say and know than it’s “it’s twenty four point four four four degrees”
BlackDope420@reddit
Normal people would just say "twenty four point five". A temperature difference of 1 F is approximately 0.5°C, so being more precise than that is unnecessary.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Again ignoring the point that yall don’t use the decimals, it’s still easier to say 76, and it gives a nice clean number too
That_Service7348@reddit
Or just say 24???
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Again it’s less precise that way
That_Service7348@reddit
So is basing your life choices on what the temperature is in one spot 7 miles away.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
You know meteorology is more complicated than just checking the thermostat right? Do you think they decide when it rains too or something?
Also why are you anti precision?
That_Service7348@reddit
I'm not. Precision is important in science, which is why they use decimals and Celsius.
You deciding if you need a jacket or not does not require "precision."
thegamerdoggo@reddit
They use decimals for precision, they do not use Celsius for precision, they use Celsius because it’s common and they want mistranslations, again Fahrenheit is objectively more precise
That_Service7348@reddit
...it's not dude.
You go ahead and die on this hill though.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Buddy that’s a really dumb statement bud
Fahrenheit is 9 degrees for every 5 degrees of Celsius, it’s 32-212 compared to 0-100, that’s 80 more degrees to work with, making it a more precise tool, that’s how this works kid, idk how you don’t know this
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
24 is a nice clean number too.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
24.4 ain’t though
Mystic_Haze@reddit
See I don't get this argument. If you're doing proper science you need decimals. And if you are not doing science then why would you ever need to use 24.4°C? A 1°C difference is already a small enough step. Are you gonna dress differently at 11.3°C vs 11.8°C or should we just call it 11 and 12 and make it easier...
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Another guy asked the same question, yeah you will, it also can mean you might act differently and do different things
Not specifically 11.3 and 11.8 but other temps where it does matter
Mystic_Haze@reddit
You're full of it.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
No I’m not, sorry that you can’t understand that sweetie
Mystic_Haze@reddit
See I've lived all my life using Celsius. And I've been dressing for the weather my whole life. So clearly I am missing something. Give me a real example then.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Over 70 is short sleeve weather under 70 is long sleeve weather for a simple easy example of a 1 degree difference
Mystic_Haze@reddit
How's that an argument? I can say the same 20°C is short sleeve under long sleeve. Like what?
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Because it’s a 1 degree difference sweetie, that’s what we’re on about, the need or desire for precision, but you go live your imprecise life
Mystic_Haze@reddit
Yup you are definitely American...
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Proud to be one too, I get that’s supposed to be an insult but it don’t work honeybuns
Mystic_Haze@reddit
No you just have a shit argument and can't come up with another because "America the best in everything so it must be good"
thegamerdoggo@reddit
I do have a good argument, it’s more precise while maintaining a clean number, but you wanna go on about using decimals which makes it less clean, this has nothing to do with it being America = it’s better, it just is better for day to day life, hell it’s better for slightly more advanced cooking too but you don’t wanna get into that since it doesn’t apply to you
Mystic_Haze@reddit
Nobody uses decimals besides in science. The human body is bad at distinguishing fluxuations of less than 0.5°C. 1°C is at a point where basically everyone will notice the difference. And even in cooking a difference of 0.5°C won't matter much.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
In cooking a difference of 0.5C can make a difference if your near the cuff, in more advanced recipes that have tight heat windows honey, and being able to watch it more accurately is a good thing
Why do you hate nice clean precision?
Mystic_Haze@reddit
So what you're saying is, you don't need to ge more precise than 0.5 and especially not for home cooking. And precision? Celsius is preferred for precision.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Celsius is not preferred for precision honey, especially not when your keeping it clean too
Idk where you go the notion that Celsius is more precise but it’s objectively a less precise method, if it was more precise that would’ve been your argument this whole time
See your saying “I’m American so everything American is better” but then you can’t handle when it is what it is and you have to be wrong because everything American is bad to you, can’t handle it
Mystic_Haze@reddit
Its a base 10 system so yes. It is. If it's less precise why do you think everyone uses it besides America. But American scientists do?
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Honey I think your mistaking precision and simplicity, a base 10 system doesn’t make it more precise it makes it simpler
They use it because you use it honey, American scientists use Celsius because you guys are used to Celsius and it keeps the data simple so you don’t need to convert, same reason we use metric, because back in the day we didn’t and somebody didn’t convert from imperial to metric so people died, has nothing to do with precision and has everything to do with not having to convert units
Freezing to boiling in Celsius is 0-100 that’s simple, it’s 32-212 in Fahrenheit, that gives you an extra 80 degrees to work with, it is objectively a more precise method, it’s 9 degrees of Fahrenheit for every 1 degree of Celsius
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
No, you won’t.
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
76.492958deg Fahrenheit ain’t clean either.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Ok your right decimals in Fahrenheit aren’t clean either, but my point is that Fahrenheit is more accurate while maintaining a nice clean number, yknow because it literally is
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
Just fucking say 24?? 24 and 24.4 are practically the same. What are you? A living digital thermometer?
thegamerdoggo@reddit
So your proving my point there, it’s less precise and more work to reach the same level of precision
That_Service7348@reddit
You don't need that "precision" in day to day life dude.
You do know that the temperature you get on your phone and TV and computer and Alexa are all read miles from your location, right? It's just whatever random place has the thermometer for your region. J guarantee you there are temperature variations of at least a few degrees across your town that you have never noticed before and won't notice now.
So no, there is no "advantage" to 76 vs 24. It's the same damn thing.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
A few degrees does make a difference and variation can be anywhere but that doesn’t stop it from being important, just because it’s not important to you doesn’t make it not important to everyone
UnsafePantomime@reddit
I feel like things like wind chill make more of an impact than a single degree here or there.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
I feel like not going outside before I put on my clothes personally, and what’s yalls problem with clean precision, oh no you can’t be too precise without making it sound horrible
That_Service7348@reddit
"precision*
So do 24.5. Poof, C is far more precise with that one simple change.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
76.5 is still an option is you want to go to the first decimal place and it’s still more precise
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
It’s not more work and the precision is not needed.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
It is more work sweetie, again 24.444 is more work to say than 76, so to maintain that precision it will be more work and that precision may not be needed for YOU but for others it is
That_Service7348@reddit
Apparently they are, they can feel the difference between 24.444444444 and 24.5 they know it's different and they need to be able to accurately express that difference.
Never mind the fact they probably get their temperature from their phone, which is reading the temp at some random place probably miles away and they really have no idea what the temperature actually is.
UnsafePantomime@reddit
My thinking with this is that I don't really differentiate between 70F and 75F too strongly.
Wind plays a bigger role than any single degree increments anyway.
I don't see the argument that Fahrenheit better predicts how I feel.
pandaSmore@reddit
That simply isn't true.
thegamerdoggo@reddit
It is true though
Dramatic_Mastodon_93@reddit
You can use decimals or minutes. Also guess what, you never need more precision in day to day life.
NaiveZest@reddit
But… were you raised on Fahrenheit?
PatienceandFortitude@reddit
Yes
Doortofreeside@reddit
Certainly familiarity is relevant, but i think Fahrenheit scales really well with the temperature range we have. 0 is about as cold as it ever gets in Boston and 100 is about as hot as it gets. If someone asks the weather and you say it's in the 50's that gives someone a solid idea. Each decile of Fahrenheit is distinct enough while in Celsius the jumps are too big for that to work
That_Service7348@reddit
"iTs gOoD bEcAuSe tHe tEmP iN mY ArEa gOeS frOm 0 tO 100!"
Congratulations, you know there's a whole ass world out there that has different temperatures right?
Grand_Pie1362@reddit
But that's because you're familiar with it.
As someone familiar with C when someone says it's 50 degrees outside I instantly think the tarmac is gonna melt.
Also if someone says it's 16 degrees c outside I think i need a coat. If someone says it's 18 then it's warm enough without.
I notice that all the people saying they prefer F for the nuance in degrees also uses jumps of 10 or more as their example, which sort of makes the point for Celsius as it scales better in round numbers.
Whats the difference between 50 and 52? Nothing. But as noted above the difference between 16 and 18 is a jacket, so most of the numebrs on the Fahrenheit scale don't get any attention anyway
That_Service7348@reddit
In what way? Add a single decimal and Celsius is significantly more precise.
Nondescript_Redditor@reddit
are a single decimal and Fahrenheit is more precise too. Your move.
Grand_Pie1362@reddit
By that rationale we should be using Kelvin instead of C or F as it has more degrees of nuance ...
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Being 273.15 degrees hotter does not add nuance, it’s the same as Celsius
Grand_Pie1362@reddit
Question -
What's the practical difference between 47f and 51f?
thegamerdoggo@reddit
Depends on the region, depends on the situation too
Like here 51+ no blankets on horses
Sub 50 blankets on some horses
Sub 45 play it ear
Sub 40 blankets on all horses and cover some plants
Nondescript_Redditor@reddit
Fahrenheit is better for both
Mackheath1@reddit (OP)
I guess the best way to explain my idea is when I'm in America and someone says it's 50 outside, I'd prefer to use 10C (it's more dramatic and meaningful to me). When I'm abroad and someone says it's 35 outside, it's more dramatic and iterative in Fahrenheit to say it's 95.
So my CrazyIdeas is to split them somewhere. And Kelvin can F right off for all I care.
counterplex@reddit
You're dismissing Kelvin when it gives you an even higher number when things are hot. When it's 35C outside it's 308K! That certainly feels hot!
Mackheath1@reddit (OP)
Oooh we could make a trifecta temperature gauge!
Salt_Ad_645@reddit
Your brain just prefers what it grew up with.
b0ardski@reddit
sounds like complete and utter confusion
-Foxer@reddit
Literally everybody on both sides of the border hates you now 😁😁😁
warm_rum@reddit
14 upvotes
134 comments
ThirdSunRising@reddit
Celsius is better, if for no other reason than, that’s what the rest of the world uses.
There’s nothing wrong with 39 being hot. Thirties in general are hot. Twenties are pleasant to warm. Teens are cool. Single digits are cold, and then below zero is freezing.
It’s really freaking simple. There is no advantage to Fahrenheit. None. It isn’t any better.
Nondescript_Redditor@reddit
The same is true of celcius. there’s no advantage. it’s not any better.
Zephyren216@reddit
Celsius and metric works way better with other physical properties which gives it significant advantages.
Heating 1 liter of water, weighting 1 kilo, by 1 degree Celsius you need exactly 1 kilocalorie of synergies for example. Fahrenheit and the US unit systems don't work together like that at all.
Phour3@reddit
Americans learn it that way in Chemistry class, I promise you. They also have a mental conception of how much a liter and a kilogram are. They just generally can’t translate from X° celsius is the high for the day to a decision about which jacket to wear
Aeon1508@reddit
The increments of Celsius are too big. When I control the temperature in my house I can tell a difference between 68, 69, and 70. associates is nearly twice as big. so for any sort of temperature control I would want to be using at least half Celsius increments.
jrad18@reddit
Yeah we usually have half increments on temp controllers
ParadiseCity77@reddit
Also for scientific reasons, it’s easier converting Celsius to kelvin. No need for a hassle.
ThirdSunRising@reddit
Yeah but how to we convert to rankine?
ParadiseCity77@reddit
We have Kelvin at home:
ThirdSunRising@reddit
What have you done with kelvin you bastards
No ransom will be paid without proof of life
RogerRabbot@reddit
Until you live somewhere that doesnt go above 0 for 4 months a year.
Freedom units are more precise, and it sounds better when describing the weather. Oh you got a weak ol 30 degree day over there? Yeah well in freedom units its 90! Woot woot! /s
CoderJoe1@reddit
If apps and TV started reporting temperature in Celsius it would only take the US a couple months to be used to it. Changing out the hardware would be the big issue.
That_Service7348@reddit
B-b-b-buf fAhrENhEiT iS baSeD oN hOw It fEeLs tO hUmAnS!!1!1 AnD ItS mOrE pRecIsE bEcaUSe iT USeS bIgGeR nUmbERs!!?2!?
Sorry, my bad, my Murican slipped out.
xRVAx@reddit
We need a third standard which is called Thirdcelcenheit (°T) which is just the Fahrenheit temperature minus 32.
Alternatively, °T is just Celsius degrees times 1.8
This would make conversions easy.
212°F --> 180°T --> 100°C
ChronicCactus@reddit
This is just living in Canada lol. I set my air conditioner to 19 Celsius and my oven to 450 Fahrenheit.
LordMegamad@reddit
Why is 39C being hot stupid?
AkkiMylo@reddit
This is only weird to you because you've lived with a 0-100 scale in your head the whole time. Something like 44 is straight out of hell for someone that's experienced a Greek summer and doesn't seem dumb or arbitrary at all. Dreadful, perhaps.
docmoonlight@reddit
I just think Fahrenheit is great for weather. Like 100 is fucking hot and 0 is fucking cold.
No-Experience5737@reddit
No lets just use Celsius all the time, it’s better
ammenz@reddit
If you truly lived around the world you should've realized that is literally only one country that uses Fahreneit. Celsius is not "stupid when it's hot". You know that water boils at 100C, if you have a 40C fever it's time to consider going to the ER and your normal temp is 36 or 37C. Your problem is (I guess) you were raised with F so you got used to it, and it's really hard to switch units of measurement once you used a certain one for your whole life.
Your idea is not crazy, it's just stupid.
That_Service7348@reddit
......the fuck are you smoking???
Why the everliving fuck would you jump between both like that??? Just use one dude it's not hard.
GiraffeWithATophat@reddit
I'm liking this idea.
How about the cutoff is the temperature in which people would decide to put on a coat while outside in sunny weather with a mild breeze.
So maybe 60F / 16C?
SerDankTheTall@reddit
You wear a jacket when it's 60(or 16) degrees out?
experimental1212@reddit
Not all citizens of Earth are overweight Americans
icantfindadangsn@reddit
You're an idiot. Plenty of fat Americans wear jackets when it's not even that cold.
mjg13X@reddit
I’m an underweight American and I rarely wear a jacket when it’s above 50
Agitated-Ad2563@reddit
I'm not American and not overweight, but I wear a T-shirt when it's 16 degrees outside.
counterplex@reddit
Well then start eating, boney!
Dietcokeisgod@reddit
I would not put a coat in 16°c. That's take off a coat weather.
Sotnos99@reddit
I live in a tropical region where a lot of people wear jacks when it drops to 24 :P
Agitated-Ad2563@reddit
Why would we need a cutoff? Just use vibes. 40C is cold for a sauna, so it uses Celsius. -1C is hot for a freezer, so it uses Fahrenheit.
i_forgot_my_sn_again@reddit
Which people? Alaskan, Canadian, Texan (which part panhandle or Laredo), Florida?
Mackheath1@reddit (OP)
I can support that with a little more semi-empirical survey data: I for one, would like to step outside and say "oof, it's 16 - I need a jacket!" and then it gets up from 16 to 61 "eh, I might take a hoodie." You're very close if not on the mark.
SurroundingAMeadow@reddit
As a Wisconsinite, 40F in the fall is a description of cold, 40F in the spring is a description of heat.
BaconBourbonBalista@reddit
And in Wisconsin, -40 is a cold day in winter, no matter the scale.
icantfindadangsn@reddit
It is here too! And over there.
nonedward666@reddit
Farenheight has better resolution. Better for every day use
DEADFLY6@reddit
Royale with Cheese.
Illustrious-Path-366@reddit
You think 39 farenheitt is cold??
ground__contro1@reddit
Celsius is great for many things.
Fahrenheit is better for talking about what the weather feels like.
therin_88@reddit
I'll be honest, I only think Celsius makes sense at extremely high temperatures. Like I understand that 90 C is hot. But 40 C can't possibly be hot.
monster2018@reddit
Fahrenheit is NOT stupid when it’s cold, Fahrenheit always makes sense for describing human scale temperatures, but especially in terms of like how it affects the human body, i.e. the weather. Fahrenheit is essentially a percentage scale of “how hot it is” from 0-100. It represents the approximate range of human survivable temperatures, so it functions perfectly as a “how hot is it” scale for weather.
Obviously the metric system is better for literally everything else. But anyone who says Fahrenheit is worse for daily temperature is either stupid, over propagandized, or bigoted against Americans. It is objectively better for that use case.
Now you could of course make the argument that it’s not worth it, since we (in the US) should be switching to the metric system for everything, so it wouldn’t be worth it to keep 1 non metric unit. And I would agree with that. I would be happy to give up Fahrenheit if I got the rest of the metric system.
But I would still be using an inferior system for describing weather temperatures.
pandaSmore@reddit
r/AmericaBad
Mackheath1@reddit (OP)
Fascinating - and well said.
I'll argue in a gentlemanly way, though, that people have been living in minus 0F and over 100F for millennia - even before climate control. So my proposal is purely for envisaging how hot or cold it is in our discourse: "Oh it's 20" sounds cold, and oh it's 68" sounds much more reasonable. And do the swap for C and F. My idea is simply a literary pleasantry.
Oh and I do know my CrazyIdeas isn't going to get any traction, it's just fun to think about.
Dietcokeisgod@reddit
'Our' discourse? Whose? Because it sounds hot to me (UK lifelong Celsius user).
BlackDope420@reddit
If you think it's objectively better then tell me what benefits I, a lifelong Celsius user, would get from switching over.
Otherwise I think neither is better or worse. Objectively the best system is the one you're most used to.
mad-i-moody@reddit
Fahrenheit is good for describing how it feels outside.
Celsius is good for math and calculations.
We shouldn’t use a mix for a single purpose though. That is stupid.
pandaSmore@reddit
I use Celsius for environment temperature. And Farnham for oven temperature.
traumahawk88@reddit
Fahrenheit to describe temps we live and experience. Celsius to describe temps of things we work with.
So Body temp, air temp, temp of water were gonna swim in... F. Everything else in C
Aniso3d@reddit
laughs in Kelvin
Rambo_sledge@reddit
Laughs even louder in rankine
AnnualAdventurous169@reddit
no
SamLooksAt@reddit
I like this idea because it's truly crazy.
I mean using Fahrenheit is crazy, but half using it is double crazy!
Yup767@reddit
I don't get why 39 for hot doesn't work
SwoodyBooty@reddit
Please keep your wonky units to your self. Sincerely, the developed word.
BFFBomb@reddit
Change the name too: Spicy Chilis for heat, Icy Drawers for cold
i_never_ever_learn@reddit
One god's heat is another god's cold
MZago1@reddit
I wish I could find the link, but there's a comedian (I wanna say he's from the UK) who did a bit about how he loves Fahrenheit because it's "the percentage hot it is." 70°F? 70% hot, not too bad. 120°F? 120% hot, that's too much!
cjt09@reddit
Fahrenheit does actually map surprisingly well to population-weighted temperature percentiles.
South_Oil_2526@reddit
I think we should all just use Rankine
Mackheath1@reddit (OP)
I'm open, but I think it being 537° where I live right now seems unpleasant. But I could consider it.
flamingloltus@reddit
Nobel prize worthy conjecture, my friend.
faebugz@reddit
100% agree
Brandoncarsonart@reddit
When describing how hot or cold something is, you're simultaneously describing how cold or hot it is.