.... because 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths are so much easier to deal with than everything being in 10ths?
YES. Because everything (within the inch unit of measure) is half of half of half of half..... Half inch, quarter inch, eighth inch, sixteenth inch, thirty second inch, 64th inch, 128th inch (nobody actually uses 128th inch much though...). Dividing in half is natural and relatively easy. It can be figured out with 1:2 dividers.
On your precision rule, how far is it from the 17/128ths mark to the 19/32nds mark?
Vs....
How far is it from the .195 cm mark to the .205 cm mark?
If you can do the first one faster than I can do the second, I'll treat you to a root beer.
Is your dial caliper graduated in 1/1024ths of an inch? If it is graduated in 1/1000ths of an inch, it's a decimal system, rather than powers of 2.
