Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Temperature Relativity

At -2°F, this morning ride was the coldest of this season and the first below zero (on the somewhat haphazard and much beloved to Americans Fahrenheit scale). While the Celsius may have better adoption and make more sense scientifically, there is nothing magic about it, which may be the point. The Celsius scale very sensibly defines 0 as the freezing point of water, but I think that detracts from it for those of us in northern climes. Sure 32°F is cold, but it isn't that cold. Anything below zero is cold, really cold. Negative numbers on the Fahrenheit scale actually mean something. On the Celsius scale, it may just mean it's time to put on a sweater.