When I lived in °C places I had to pay attention to single-digit
differences like 24 °C versus 29 °C, wasting the first digit.
[...]
In Fahrenheit I get the basic idea with the first digit.
“It’s in the thirties” = multiple layers and coat.
“It’s in the nineties” = T shirt weather.
In the 70’s and 80’s I want a second sig-fig but I don’t even need 10
elements of precision. Just “upper 70’s” is enough. The first °F digit
gives you ballpark, and the second °F digit gives you even more
precision than you need.
I do think it’s a difference between whether my flat is heated at 20 C or 22 C.
The range between 0 and 100 might map the weather better but there’s a lot of temperature that I care about that’s not weather. If I drink tea the second digit doesn’t matter. There are water cookers that provide either 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 degrees and that maps well to real world differences.
Why?
—http://isomorphism.es/post/3767526267/fahrenheit-versus-celsius
I do think it’s a difference between whether my flat is heated at 20 C or 22 C.
The range between 0 and 100 might map the weather better but there’s a lot of temperature that I care about that’s not weather. If I drink tea the second digit doesn’t matter. There are water cookers that provide either 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 degrees and that maps well to real world differences.