what is the disadvantages of using different unit of measurement?

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Didge Doo Profile
Didge Doo answered

Confusion.

If groups of people use different systems it's necessary for each group to convert any measurements back to their own system before they can be understood.

So somebody who uses only the metric system would have trouble relating to a system that used rods, poles and perches, furlongs, pints, pounds and ounces ... And both groups would scratch their heads when faced with a system that measured things in cubits.

6 People thanked the writer.
Tom  Jackson
Tom Jackson commented
One of Murphy's laws: Measurements will be expressed in the most inconvenient units possible.

For example: Velocity---furlongs per fortnight.
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
Back in my gambling days I made the mistake of betting on a few horses whose velocity could be measured in furlongs per fortnight. :(

And, in case you didn't know, Tom, O'Toole's Corollary states, "Murphy was an optimist."
Rath Keale Profile
Rath Keale answered

I'll add to DD's excellent answer.  Confusion is the big problem.  A few years ago a plane in Canada was filled with fuel using the metric system because that was what the worker was most familiar with.  But all the gauges were in Imperial.  The gauges said full.  The worker checked.  But the tank was only half full.  The plane ran out of fuel and the pilot landed on an abandoned airstrip at Gimley, Ontario.  Only people who knew the area from wartime air force activities even knew about the strip.  Everyone survived.  This near miss was a huge warning to everyone in aviation. 

thanked the writer.
Tom  Jackson
Tom Jackson commented
The "Gimli Glider."

Here's an interesting read:

http://www.damninteresting.com/the-gimli-glider/
Rath Keale
Rath Keale commented
Tom, thanks for posting a site for this incident. I see I spell Gimli wrong. I'm happy to have the correct spelling. This incident would be a great example.

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