LogFAQs > #904444053

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Fahrenheit is a 0-100 scale keyed to human tolerances.

The 0 in fahrenheit is the freezing point of a saturated ammonium chloride solution. That's not really human anything.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Celsius, on the other hand, is less precise for human temperatures

That's not what "precise" means at all. Both scales are capable of exactly the same amount of precision, because decimal places exist. Being smaller, individual fahrenheit degrees are more precise than individual celsius degrees, but for everyday use (your "human temperatures"), you really don't need that precision. In any context where you do need that precision, you're going to a) need more precision than half-degrees can provide, and b) be using celsius/kelvin already because science.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

And a range of -18 to 38 is inelegant as f***.

So say -20 to 40 instead. For such approximations as you're talking about, you really don't need exact conversions.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Not really. Fahrenheit is still a more gradiated scale at the temperatures you're likely cooking at, since almost nothing you cook is going to require a temperature more than 300-500 or so.

I'm not sure what you're even trying to say there. "Gradiated" isn't a word. If you mean "graduated," then again, you don't need any more precision than Celsius will give you. Setting your oven to 225 C instead of 350 F isn't going to change much, even though 350 F is really 226.4 C.

I will concede that Fahrenheit is the more convenient option for candy-making, since the break points between the various stages align more neatly with multiples of 5 or 10 degrees Fahrenheit than they do for Celsius, and precision does matter there (some of those break points are only 3 or 4 degrees C apart). In practice, any given recipe will typically just give a specific temperature to aim for, and most candy thermometers have both scales on them such that you can just aim for that target and not have to think about what they are, but if you're making up such a recipe yourself, it's going to be easier to remember the ranges and their properties in Fahrenheit.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Though arguably, Celsius is almost entirely redundant considering the existence of the Kelvin scale - so if anything, if we're going to discount relative scaling,

Celsius is just Kelvin with a phase shift to have everyday temperatures be more manageable numbers (since there is a practical difference between saying "20" and saying "290"). That just makes sense.
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