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Comment by causi | Hacker News Reader

That’s not just a factor of ten out – it’s also an entirely different unit of measurement.

This is not a problem for multiple reasons. Firstly, if you work in a mechanical field you know that machines regularly combine metric and imperial parts. You may have to use a 3mm hex wrench and then sixty seconds later a 3/32 hex wrench. Right now you're using an OS that labels storage in one unit and storage devices labeled in another, gigabytes and gibibytes.

The second reason is even simpler: the display on the Nostromo's computer is in-universe and the title card for the movie isn't. The title card could label the cargo of the Nostromo as 11.7 trillion pennyweights of ore and it wouldn't matter.

Also I don't know why he thinks "old man" as slang for father is British. It was in common use in the US in the 90s.

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if you work in a mechanical field you know that machines regularly combine metric and imperial parts. You may have to use a 3mm hex wrench and then sixty seconds later a 3/32 hex wrench.

Only in America. In the rest of the world, you won't have a 3/32 hex wrench.

The only case I know of is old British cars, from before they fully transitioned to metric. Some parts on Land Rovers, prop shafts for example didn't for a long time.

Anyway, mixing is just bad engineering. Which shows us that bad engineering is a thing for space craft of the future. Just why Weyland-Yutani's logisticians would cope with this mix of units for refinement capacity and / or payload is beyond me...

The gearbox casing on my 1965 Volvo Amazon was secured with Whitworth bolts! I've forgotten what size. In 1980 it was difficult to find the right ones.

The only case I know of is old British cars

It's fairly common in the US for machines which aren't produced in large numbers. Specialized factory and scientific machinery especially. I encounter it with agricultural machinery and textile analyzers.

Just why Weyland-Yutani's logisticians would cope with this mix of units for refinement capacity and / or payload is beyond me...

...they don't. The title card is not in-universe. To the best of my knowledge there is no depiction of Weyland-Yutani themselves using imperial units.

The bolts on the handlebar stem of one of my bikes (a Surly Straggler) have metric threads and SAE hex heads. Can it get more insane?

There are several threads on bicycles that have metric diameter and TPI thread pitch. Off the top of my head, at least Italian bottom bracket and freewheel threads and French lock ring thread are like that but I'm sure there are more.

So now you need both a metric and SAE adjustable wrench?

Old Harley Davidson motorcycles used only SAE parts. Newer ones have global suppliers and have a mix of metric and SAE.

And there I am, naively believing that issues stopped being thing... Well, just buy different sets of tools.

> The only case I know of is old British cars

My mother's 2018 Shark robot vacuum cleaner uses a mixture of 2.5mm and 3/32" hex screws.

> This is not a problem for multiple reasons.

Wernher von Braun considered this a problem. He (and his team) once was frustrated when instruments came in yards and pounds.

I can believe that maybe geographic mile will be used in future but all those local standards cleary not belongs to space future.

>"I don't know why he thinks "old man" as slang for father is British. It was in common use in the US in the 90s."

And "old lady" was the "old man's" wife, but you don't call your mom my "old lady".

It was common in the US in the 70s too.

Yep, Bukowski's 1975 'My Old Man': https://genius.com/Charles-bukowski-my-old-man-annotated.

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