An editor once sent me back a note that read something like, “It will be easier on your American readers if you use inches here.”
I read that feedback twice because I respect my editors; thenI firmly crossed that suggestion off.
Why?
The character speaking was not from the U.S.A.
And outside the U.S.A., who uses the Fahrenheit system? When I lived abroad, I was always translating between systems to communicate between my lived experience and my family and friends stateside. The metric system became quite comfortable to me. I might have had to translate something now and then, but after a short period of time, not that often. Helpfully, this was a system I could use as I went from country to country as well. It stayed the same everywhere I went, in every language. The U.S.A. was the only place I had to adjust for. Insert laughing emoji here.
Math with the metric system is just plain easier. Enough said.
As an author, there are other reasons I have an absolute standard around which system international characters will use in their thoughts and sometimes in their speech. First, it’s recognition and respect for my readers from other countries outside of the U.S.. They deserve to be seen and represented in the books they read when they see characters that come from their region. They do not need to be “translated” when it amounts to erasure of their own traditions. What if a U.S.A. person was reading a book and an American person speaking to another U.S. person suddenly started talking in Celsius? It would feel off, right?
Second, I get wicked satisfaction from being comfortable with both systems. It’s a layer of realism and global citizenship that takes relatively little effort to slip into the text. So why wouldn’t I bring that to the narratives?, Something authentic and unique. Like describing someone’s hair color, or the atmosphere of a room, using the metric system is one of those passing details that add up over time to paint the story with layers of texture and color.
So short hand for my U.S.A. readers: If it’s 40 degrees Celsius, it’s too hot for a casual jog outside, unless you’re training for something wild, like 104 F wild. And in Celsius, we freeze at zero degrees. So logical! In the middle, 20 degrees C is about 68 degree F. With just those three points, you can get a feel for the temperature.
Don’t even get me started on inches versus centimeters.
Ciara Darren 