it’s not just the granularity. in the modern day weather systems convert from celsius anyway, so you will never see a temperature of 69 (unfortunately). it’s about how many numbers relating to humanity happen to fit in between 0 and 100°. if i were designing a system of measurement from scratch i would set whatever baseline body temperature is at 100. call it the “go nude in the shade” temperature. the temperature at which the average person is at complete equilibrium with the room. for zero it would have to be something really cold so that “below zero” actually means something. the actual number is debatable but it definitely isn’t the point at which water freezes. fahrenheit isn’t perfect but it almost matches those those constraints and so, while certain climates might regularly fall outside the 0-99° range, i think most people in the world would agree that their definition of “temperate” falls in there, and outside that range is uncomfortable. also as a bonus the difference between freezing and boiling is 180°F, which is half 360°, which is a nice number.
below freezing is not subjective and tells you concrete things about the environment. i don’t see the advantage in having “temperate” on a 30 vs 20 degree scale, 1 degree C and 1 degree F are both imperceptible
it’s an advantage of having “below zero” actually tell you something, and to tell you something different from “below freezing”. it’s useful shorthand for “it’s fucking freezing out”
it’s not just the granularity. in the modern day weather systems convert from celsius anyway, so you will never see a temperature of 69 (unfortunately). it’s about how many numbers relating to humanity happen to fit in between 0 and 100°. if i were designing a system of measurement from scratch i would set whatever baseline body temperature is at 100. call it the “go nude in the shade” temperature. the temperature at which the average person is at complete equilibrium with the room. for zero it would have to be something really cold so that “below zero” actually means something. the actual number is debatable but it definitely isn’t the point at which water freezes. fahrenheit isn’t perfect but it almost matches those those constraints and so, while certain climates might regularly fall outside the 0-99° range, i think most people in the world would agree that their definition of “temperate” falls in there, and outside that range is uncomfortable. also as a bonus the difference between freezing and boiling is 180°F, which is half 360°, which is a nice number.
below freezing is not subjective and tells you concrete things about the environment. i don’t see the advantage in having “temperate” on a 30 vs 20 degree scale, 1 degree C and 1 degree F are both imperceptible
it’s an advantage of having “below zero” actually tell you something, and to tell you something different from “below freezing”. it’s useful shorthand for “it’s fucking freezing out”