5.25 = five and a quarter? What?

[gastew15]

Fractions, not everyone can do them.

Did you know 4/3 people have trouble with fractions?

[Guest]

2 X 50%=thirttysexyseven

 

 

That didn't make sense, onetwothree,mindfuck.

[KaareKanin]

Generally speaking, denoting a number is much more accurate using fractions than decimals, although, sometimes harder. For 1/4, you won't notice it and it will be easier to just write 0.25, but for a number like 2/3, you can't be 100% precise with decimals (0.666666....6666667 still doesn't "really" cut it). Any number we know the exact value of can be described using fractions, the exceptions are irrational numbers, so stuff like Pi).

 

And as someone else said, whether you're using fractions or decimals has no effect on what units of measure you use. The thing about the metric system is that every jump in unit has a basis in 10. That's not to say imperial stuff can't be denoted by decimals, it's just that there's 12 inches to a foot and 14 pounds to a stone. Meaning that one inch is 0.0833333...33 foot and that one pound is 0.07142857... stone.

 

And to further the history lesson for you, ONLY the 8 inch disks were actually Floppy Disks, the 5 1/4 was called a MiniFloppy and the 3 1/2 was called a Micro Disk.  Floppy Disks were gone by time the vast majority of the people on this site were even born.  (They lost popularity around the time I was born, when I built my first computer we were on the MiniFloppy Disks or 5 1/4, along with still using some cartridges as well, by time I was gaming it was the 3 1/2 which most people my age just called floppy much to the chagrin of the older techs who thought magnetic recording was still the future of data storage just as the LaserDisk was coming out).

 

Hell, most people on this site (the 20 and younger crowd) probably never used any sort of magnetic medium, because by time you guys used computers in the late 90's we were using optical drives rather than magnetic.  So most likely not much of anyone here used anything prior to the 3 1/5 or MicroFloppy (which most of you know as a floppy disk).

 

A couple of things, I might be a little pedantic here, but...

 

#1 Aren't the disks within the case of a normal "diskette" still floppy?

#2 Aren't HDDs still based on magnetism? I know SSDs are all the rage now, but HDDs are still very much popular too 

[Charger]

i think the op needs to get a decimal inch ruler so we can all go about are business 

[IdeaStormer]

I'm a few hundred is all, I'm kind of sensitive about my age though you jerk! Pretty much all over though everywhere I've been in the US pretty much everyone still uses the Imperial system, and doesn't actually know much about the Metric. The only real reason I even use the Metric system are some computer parts, and Chemistry and Physics.

 

I love telling people I'm 9/8ths done. :lol:

 

Opps wrong quote

[Glenwing]

Generally speaking, denoting a number is much more accurate using fractions than decimals, although, sometimes harder. For 1/4, you won't notice it and it will be easier to just write 0.25, but for a number like 2/3, you can't be 100% precise with decimals (0.666666....6666667 still doesn't "really" cut it). Any number we know the exact value of can be described using fractions, the exceptions are irrational numbers, so stuff like Pi).

 

And as someone else said, whether you're using fractions or decimals has no effect on what units of measure you use. The thing about the metric system is that every jump in unit has a basis in 10. That's not to say imperial stuff can't be denoted by decimals, it's just that there's 12 inches to a foot and 14 pounds to a stone. Meaning that one inch is 0.0833333...33 foot and that one pound is 0.07142857... stone.

 

 

A couple of things, I might be a little pedantic here, but...

 

#1 Aren't the disks within the case of a normal "diskette" still floppy?

#2 Aren't HDDs still based on magnetism? I know SSDs are all the rage now, but HDDs are still very much popular too 

 

It's a shame we don't use dodecimals then we could just 0.8 for 2/3...

 

Yes, the disks inside the plastic casing on a floppy disk are floppy.

 

HDDs are based on magnetism yes.  The majority of computers in the world uses magnetic storage.

[Flynn]

A couple of things, I might be a little pedantic here, but...

 

#1 Aren't the disks within the case of a normal "diskette" still floppy?

#2 Aren't HDDs still based on magnetism? I know SSDs are all the rage now, but HDDs are still very much popular too 

 

For #1, the Floppy is still in all 3 names, you have a floppy disk which is 8 inches, a mini floppy which is 5.25 inches, and a micro floppy which is 3.5 inches.  The vast majority of people recognize 3.5 as "floppy" when it's actually the least "floppy"  lol, it's called a micro floppy disk.  A floppy is much larger than the 3.5 inch disks.

 

For #2, yes and no.  A floppy and it's variants use a magnetic tape that is in the shape of a disk, while a hard drive uses magnetic platters.  The way the two actually stores and reads information are slightly different and believe or not, important to the speed and durability of the storage.  Today, all major centers and data users still use magnetic tapes to back up data, mainly because there is little to no risk for shock damaging storage, and also factors such as weight, cost, and physical storage come into play as well.  Although the magnetic tapes used are more comparable to tape decks and cartridges because of the way it writes and stores data and the actual physical organization on the tapes itself.

 

So yes and no for both lol.

[FireFox]

Why do we say this? I mean its even referred to that on wikipedia, last time I checked 5.25 wasn't 5 1/4 (as inches go up to 12 instead of 10) Same with 3.5 (or three and a half)...

 

Imperial blows mate, but it is still 5.25, 5 iches plus a quater of an inch

[CoffeeBlack]

Seriously...you don't get this?

[rukia_kuchiki]

Oh come on guys. I already said I was tired and yes I do realize (now that I have slept and am thinking clearly) that 5.25 is five and a quarter of an inch. Hurr durr stupid OP. I get that, I posted that I get that and thats all that needs to be said.

 

Though 3.5 is most certainly not three and a half. As that would be 3.6, thats what I'm now stuck on.

 

You guys are burning the grave of a dead horse I already had buried that was cremated by other users. (assuming some people bury cremated organisms)

[gastew15]

Oh come on guys. I already said I was tired and yes I do realize (now that I have slept and am thinking clearly) that 5.25 is five and a quarter of an inch. Hurr durr stupid OP. I get that, I posted that I get that and thats all that needs to be said.

 

Though 3.5 is most certainly not three and a half. As that would be 3.6, thats what I'm now stuck on.

 

You guys are burning the grave of a dead horse I already had buried that was cremated by other users. (assuming some people bury cremated organisms)

You do know that .5 just means half right... ( .50 = 50% ) So half an inch..

[rukia_kuchiki]

You do know that .5 just means half right... ( .50 = 50% ) So half an inch..

 

But if you start doing that its gets infinitely more complicated. How would you for say determine if its 3.11 (eleven) or 3.11 (one tenth and one hundredth)

 

Its a bit pedantic and yeah I know most people don't need such precision but you get what I'm trying to say?

 

point six is half an inch not point 5

[CoffeeBlack]

point six is half an inch not point 5

no

[gastew15]

But if you start doing that its gets infinitely more complicated. How would you for say determine if its 3.11 (eleven) or 3.11 (one tenth and one hundredth)

 

Its a bit pedantic and yeah I know most people don't need such precision but you get what I'm trying to say?

 

point six is half an inch not point 5

.5 means exactly what I said... 50%  You do know that the decimal versions are just percentages... EX: 0.37 = 37%    0.05 = 5% and so on. The Imperial system's inches also aren't 12 or anything just a foot is 12 inches. Inches work in the same as binary as, so it's a 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, and so on.

[rukia_kuchiki]

.5 means exactly what I said... 50%  You do know that the decimal versions are just percentages... EX: 0.37 = 37%    0.05 = 5% and so on. The Imperial system's inches also aren't 12 or anything just a foot is 12 inches. Inches work in the same as binary as, so it's a 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, and so on.

 

Wow I'm stupid. I'm not very well versed on  imperial systems. I got confused. So thanks for the info everyone, before I embarrass myself more I am just going to shut up.

[Art Vandelay]

Because writing 21 quarter inches would look weird.

[Wulfgar]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why the US needs to move to the metric system for common usage.

[gastew15]

Wow I'm stupid. I'm not very well versed on  imperial systems. I got confused. So thanks for the info everyone, before I embarrass myself more I am just going to shut up.

It's completely fine, if anything I sounded a bit like an a*& when I replayed so sorry about that, I can't really say the Imperial systems not confusing or weird, so I wouldn't worry if you're confused on it. Since how many people if the didn't know it would be like yea, how many feet are in a mile and expect an answer to 5280ft just because well.. I SAID SO!

[CoffeeBlack]

Yeah, I really wish we would change it here. We shouldn't have measurements that can't be remeasured to ensure that they are in fact a constant.

[IdeaStormer]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why the US needs to move to the metric system for common usage.

 

The US has been trying to move to the metric system since the '70's, the decider in not is the cost of re-tooling in manufacturing for the conversion. Guess with the exportation of manufacturing abroad that excuse is gone now. I will leave it up to plain good old laziness now or being too pig headed  :lol: 

[Deleon.David]

Someone failed year 3 maths