Cups, spoons, etc, are convertible to millilitres.
Most recipes call for pre-heated over at 180ºC unless states otherwise.
Cooking does not observe reproducible builds. You always, always needs to taste, poke, look. If your flour is of a different type of grain or not as fine, if you use different varieties of vegetables, or if your kitchen is a few degrees warmer or cooler, you WILL get different results.
So go ahead and use any mystical cup you want. Ingredient proportions are what matters. If you fail, write down what went wrong so you know better next time.
I've been cooking and programming for a long time now and wholeheartedly agree with everything you said except the default oven temp thing. Baking is a cargo cult of chemistry and I'd say most folks are well advised to follow those recipes exactly.
Most recipes call for pre-heated over at 180ºC unless states otherwise.
Cooking does not observe reproducible builds. You always, always needs to taste, poke, look. If your flour is of a different type of grain or not as fine, if you use different varieties of vegetables, or if your kitchen is a few degrees warmer or cooler, you WILL get different results.
So go ahead and use any mystical cup you want. Ingredient proportions are what matters. If you fail, write down what went wrong so you know better next time.