Thinking in Paludal
Decided: to learn the units, people are given landmarks: round Paludal values tied to things they already know the feel of, with no conversion beside them. Exact conversions are kept to their own tables (Everyday reference, Imperial conversions and the grids in Part 2), and only the very first introduction (the five-minute guide) compares sizes with metric.
Why: people learning a new system try to convert back to the old one, and with Paludal that means two steps at once: a new base and new sizes. Converting 30 °t means reading it as decimal and then as Celsius, and most people give up partway. Metrication shows the way out: people learned Celsius from weather forecasts, knowing 30 is hot long before they could convert it. Countries that changed quickly and dropped dual labels (Australia in the 1970s) moved over faster than those that kept both for decades (the UK), where the familiar number stayed the one people read.
Advantage: each value means something on its own: 30 °t is warm, 4 p/br is a walk, 2 li is a newborn baby. Nobody has to do arithmetic to read a sign or a label.
The tables below are those landmarks. Each one is a round number, so it's easy to remember, and each step up the ladder is something you've felt or seen.
Temperature
| °t | Feels like |
|---|---|
| -20 | a home freezer |
| -10 | a hard frost |
| 0 | water freezes |
| 6 | inside the fridge |
| 10 | a cold day: coat and scarf |
| 20 | a cool day: a jumper |
| 26 | room temperature |
| 30 | a warm day: T-shirt weather |
| 40 | a hot day |
| 45 | body temperature |
| 50 | a heatwave |
| 100 | water boils |
| 1X0 | a moderate oven |
Length
| Length | Feels like |
|---|---|
| 1 di | a fingernail's width |
| 0;1 p (1 unc) | a hand's width, thumb out |
| 0;2 p (span) | a hand stretched wide, thumb to little finger |
| 0;4 p (ulna) | elbow to fingertip |
| 1 p | a long stride: two steps |
| 1;2 p | an adult's height |
| 1;5 p | a door |
| 1;8 p | a ceiling |
| 3 p | a car |
| 14 p | a tennis court |
| 30 p | a big swimming pool |
| 60 p | a sprint track, a soccer pitch |
| 200 p | one lap of a running track |
| 1 ir | a walk of 3 sl (half an hour) |
| 2 ir | a parkrun |
Mass
| Mass | Feels like |
|---|---|
| 1 t↓li | a paperclip |
| 50 t↓li | an egg |
| 100 t↓li | an apple |
| 0;3 li | a pack of mince |
| 1 li | a big bag of sugar |
| 2 li | a newborn baby |
| 11 li | a checked-in bag |
| 36 li | an adult |
| 500 li | a small car |
Volume
| Volume | Feels like |
|---|---|
| 5 t↓cu | a teaspoon |
| 180 t↓cu | a cup |
| 0;5 cu | a wine bottle |
| 1 cu | a big bottle of drink; holds 1 li of water |
| 5;6 cu | a bucket |
| 24 cu | a car's fuel tank |
| 70 cu | a bath |
Time
| Time | Feels like |
|---|---|
| 1 bt | a second, a slow heartbeat |
| 1 br | a calm breath, in and out |
| 1 mt | just under a minute |
| 1 sl | ten minutes, exactly |
| 3 sl | half an hour |
| 4;6 sl | three quarters of an hour |
| 6 sl (0;6 ch) | an hour |
| 1 ch | a film |
| 4 ch | a working day, a night's sleep |
Speed
| Speed | Feels like |
|---|---|
| 4 p/br | walking |
| 14 p/br | cycling |
| 34 p/br | driving in town |
| 74 p/br | a motorway |
| 500 p/br | an airliner |
- An iter at walking pace takes 3 spells: half an hour
- For exact values, and what today's sizes come to, see Everyday reference