The List

Friday, December 10, 2010

#939 The discrepancy between the temperature and what if "feels" like

If you're not aware of this discrepancy, you should stop reading this post immediately and head over to weather.com. Once there, type in your zipcode and find the current weather. Here, you'll find two numbers. One number is the actual temperature and the other number is what it really "feels like." The discrepancy between these numbers can be pretty significant, enough that you might even reconsider your wardrobe.

This discrepancy begs an obvious question. Why is there any difference between the temperature and the real feel? This difference seems stupid. If the temperature is 43 degrees, why does it feel like 37 degrees? Does the thermometer not feel what we feel? That thermometer must be feeling just as cold or just as hot as we are. So why even say it's 37 degrees when it's really 43 degrees?

It's just slightly annoying.

1 comment:

  1. The temperature is a measure of the average energy of the particles that make up the air around you for that day. The real feel is a complex algorithm that measures the likelihood of you going to class for that day. Discrepancy solved.

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