cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14841802
It’s absolutely true that a lot of modern-day problems with being tired come from bad sleep habits. What I’m talking about is a real phenomenon that isn’t being in front of a screen too close to bedtime. If anyone wants to know more, here’s a 3-minute video from AsapSCIENCE about what research shows.
Literally the first thing on wikipedia: The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.
I’m pretty sure the dude is trying to say that the measurement is not accurate. I’m not surprised that it could be accurate and standartized from one town to the next. As soon as the first dissagreement starts, it’s gonna get standartized. Otherwise it’s useless as unit.
Meter has a bonus that it doesn’t allow people to use his body parts for almost precise measurement. Actually blocks a lot of retards from saying “Nuh uh, I myself measured it, so I’m right and your ruler is wrong!”
Now when I think of it, Cubit is more or less exactly like the inch. It doesn’t match basically anyones finger, different countries had their own standard. You can and many people do use it as a measurement. Side-effect, seeing memes about Napoleon being a dwarf. XD
So you just chose to ignore all the awesome pictures on that article, showing the standard cubit bars that formed the basis of unit standardization and allowed people to start making building projects larger than two huts next to each other?
Can you explain WHY you chose to ignore that whole concept?
EDIT: Wait, you did mention the standardization of cubits, a little bit.
But it wasn’t “from one town to the next.” It was across WHOLE KINGDOMS AND EMPIRES.
Nobody collaborated on building projects with the kingdom next door until LITERALLY THE MODERN ERA. It didn’t matter that one kingdom’s cubit and/or foot standard was different from the next kingdom’s standard. People thinking Napoleon was shorter than he actually was MIGHT ACTUALLY BE THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF ANY PROBLEM EVER ARISING FROM THAT SITUATION, BEFORE THE STEAM AGE.
After the industrial revolution, sure. We absolutely did need to put the world on the same unit standard. And guess what? That’s what we did! Yes, even America. Almost all of the actual collaboration that the USA does with other nations IS done with metric units. Yeah, except for that Mars orbiter thing. That was a big fucking oof.
Look, I’m not saying we should still be using cubits. I’m saying that it BOTHERS ME when people say “pfffft, imagine being so dumb that you’d let a dead king determine how long your stuff is.”
When people say that shit, they’re taking the THING THAT IS GREAT ABOUT BOTH MODERN METRIC STANDARDIZATION AND ANCIENT CUBIT OR FOOT STANDARDIZATION AND PRETENDING THAT IT’S STUPID.
Again: it’s silly and dishonest to roast ancient cultures, because the king “forced them” to use his body parts as measurements, then turn around and praise that same standardization when it shows up as the basis of the modern SI system.
It’s silly and dishonest to cast the ancient world’s standardization methods as the primitive OPPOSITE of the modern SI system, when the modern system GREW OUT OF THE OLDER ONE.
Do you get that? Is my thesis finally becoming clear? I’m not saying “cubit good, meter bad.” I’m saying “don’t badmouth the cubit for reasons that are vastly and embarrassingly dishonest.”
Also, I don’t think anyone was ever going to keep using his actual arms and feet as measuring sticks, after the proliferation of fucking rulers. Nobody did that 4,000 years ago and nobody did that when the SI meter became standard. So there would be no danger inherent in the base unit being closer to a human-body scale.
For a Chill Dude I do love your fire! Your thesis is (was before I entered the chat) clear as day. I really don’t have much to add here. Unless this might be interesting:
There is a fun thing that arised from moving towards SI units in my country (1920). Some old information was lost from the common citizen. There was a unit Gorčius (around 4 litres). There was another unit Saikas (equals to 6 Gorčius). The funny part is that we have a saying “Gerk su saiku” which translates “Drink in moderation”. Taking it literally, it’s slightly funny knowing that the other person just suggested you to drink around 20 litres (usually alcohol is the context).
That’s HILARIOUS.
Google informs me that your language is Lithuanian. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Lithuania was one of the last holdouts in Europe, where the people preferred their pagan religions over Christianity.
Finally adopting the new “universal” religion isn’t all that different from adopting a new measurement system, when you really think about it. There were probably some funny stories about that, too. And probably some really not funny ones, too.
