Metric imperial

[Hermit the frog]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this.

I have quite a pathetic question really and know I could probably sus it out elsewhere, but I suppose it's my excuse to post for the first time.

Here goes.

Re-drafting my book I find in one chapter I'm saying "6 inches away" (6") and the next chapter 2 kilometers.

So, do we go imperial or metric. It's a man (or woman) of a certain age thing I think.

 

[allmywires]

Try and be as consistent as you can, I'd say. It's really up to you. I suppose it depends on your market as well - we Brits are quite forgiving, being in between the Americans with their feet and pounds and ounces and the Europeans and their kilometres and kilograms.

Also, welcome.

 

[Hermit the frog]

Thanks, that was quick.

Loving the vibe on this site.

 

[Dave]

It's also a national thing, but I would expect that in a science fiction future every thing is S.I. units and there would be little room for quaint primitive weights and measures except in a museum.

If you are writing fantasy, or your story is set on a low tech world, then quite frankly the more quaint and obscure the measures the better.

Having said that, I'd like to think that 500 years from now in the land that was once called England, old men were still sitting around drinking pints of beer. Also, most of the Imperial measurements have their origin and basis in the length of a particular part of the human body. When you have no equipment with you that is a huge advantage over more modern measures.

 

[Abernovo]

Try and be consistent. Most of the world uses SI measurements, especially where science is concerned. However, what Dave says is true. You might consider the old stand-ins: body parts (I'm not suggesting you have a psychopathic tape measure ). There is a hand's span, an arm's length, knee height etc. Having let the reader know that your character is of about 'average' height (which measurement changes over time anyway), you can say that the shelf is at head height.

None of these are exact measurements, but they would be instantly understandable to a reader. You can keep standard measurements for the big distances, although even they can sometimes be converted to other things - an hour's journey at full speed, for instance.

 

[Ursa major]

It's up to you, really. None of us can predict the future, particulary the one you're describing in your story. The metric system is probably the safest bet, outside of day-to-day use in the UK and USA, but if you want to change things in the future you're describing, go ahead (although expect some readers to want to know why).


By the way:

Re-drafting my book I find in one chapter I'm saying "6 inches away" (6") and the next chapter 2 kilometers.

I think your narrator/PoV character(s) has/have a problem, as six inches is 0.0001524 kilometres, not 2 kilometres.

 

[chrispenycate]

Depends what period you're writing about. It's fun writing in leagues, cubits and spans, but it does add an immediate flavour of antiquity. MKS (0r even cgs) is based on water (which is not bad, but there are isotopic differences) and a slightly off measurement of the circumference of the Earth. A space-based civilisation might want to get away from the rotation, physical dimensions and orbit of a planet that was basically of historical interest, and move onto something involving the speed of light, or the frequency and wavelength of some known standard element (like the caesium clock).

Personally I'm an adept of the furlong/fortnight/fahrenheit/hundredweight standard, with sidelines in hogsheads and ells. The "clothyard" is of course an arrow, not a measure at all, but refers to the technique tailors had of measuring their cloth by holding one end and pulling it out until, with arm at full stretch, the point was at the end of the nose, reminiscent of an archer drawing his bow (which meant that a short-armed tailor had a larger profit margin).

 

[Bowler1]

There is no such thing as a silly question if you don't have the answer.

I try and stay away from accurate measures when writing, simply because it may leave no room for the reader. A few steps away, close to hand, almost out of sight, lost in the distance - not a single measure in sight and allows the reader to fill in the blanks. This way, I don't think you're upsetting the reader. The reader can imagine what they want, which is why we read. Forget the measuring tape, and leave room for the reader.

 

[Grinnel]

I tend to use both myself, as I grew up in the old imperial system and after I was mostly educated Canada switched to metric. I still can't invision CM and have to think in inches.

Most Canadians have heard of the system because we watch US TV, but most of them couldn't tell you what an inch actually was.

 

[prizzley]

So, do we go imperial or metric. It's a man (or woman) of a certain age thing I think.

In real life, we see a mix of these all the time, sometimes at the same time. But I agree with the consistency advice, work out the system you want and live with it.

 

[thaddeus6th]

I go for imperial. Inches and feet seem natural for height, and a medieval (assuming that's roughly the feel of your story) world with kilometres is just wrong, in my view. It'd be like setting a story in the 1600s and using the French Revolutionary Calendar.

 

[Gumboot]

If your setting is contemporary you might use both. I live in a metric country and yet I'll use both metric and imperial measures on a daily basis.