Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
- Downloads：7339
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-01 16:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Vincent
- ISBN：B09TQ345FX
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A revelatory and vibrant story of measurement which
will make you look at the world around you anew。
We measure rainfall and radiation， the depths of space and the
emptiness of atoms， calories and steps， happiness and fear。 If
we could not measure， then we could not observe the world
around us; we could not experiment， learn and cooperate。
But why did this urge to measure flourish？ And when did
measurement become ubiquitous？
It is an incredible story that spans hunter-gatherer societies
and the ancient Egyptians， the French Revolution and the
relentless quantication of the twenty-rst-century self。 It is
a tale that tracks humanity’s search for dependable truths in a
chaotic universe。 Full of mavericks and visionaries， adventure
and breakthroughs， Beyond Measure shows that measurement
has not only made the world we live in， it has made us too。
will make you look at the world around you anew。
We measure rainfall and radiation， the depths of space and the
emptiness of atoms， calories and steps， happiness and fear。 If
we could not measure， then we could not observe the world
around us; we could not experiment， learn and cooperate。
But why did this urge to measure flourish？ And when did
measurement become ubiquitous？
It is an incredible story that spans hunter-gatherer societies
and the ancient Egyptians， the French Revolution and the
relentless quantication of the twenty-rst-century self。 It is
a tale that tracks humanity’s search for dependable truths in a
chaotic universe。 Full of mavericks and visionaries， adventure
and breakthroughs， Beyond Measure shows that measurement
has not only made the world we live in， it has made us too。
Reviews
Mary Tharp
，
My Son-in-law has read this twice and loves it。
Pablo
，
In-depth， enjoyable history of measurement， with a few flaws along the way that don't detract from the overall effect。The good: I like this kind of stuff， and other books I've read about STEM subjects that touch on their history don't include the depth covered here， nor do they include the modern extensions of it。 The author's coverage of modern use of measurement in the internet age was unexpected， and it could've been longer。The bad: The author is from the UK and tends to judge America's use o In-depth， enjoyable history of measurement， with a few flaws along the way that don't detract from the overall effect。The good: I like this kind of stuff， and other books I've read about STEM subjects that touch on their history don't include the depth covered here， nor do they include the modern extensions of it。 The author's coverage of modern use of measurement in the internet age was unexpected， and it could've been longer。The bad: The author is from the UK and tends to judge America's use of measurements to control and subjugate in a different light than his own nation's。 There is no reason for the first adjective descriibing Thomas Jefferson to be "slaveholder"， nor should the book focus on westward expansion at the expense of native Americans unless a corresponding focus is also placed on centuries of British colonization efforts。 He also makes an awkward jump from a third-person narrative of history to first-person accounts of visiting modern scientists mid-book， then jumps back again， ending up with a loss of narrative continuity。 。。。more
Brian Hanson
，
A remarkable book on an often overlooked subject - measurement。 It is entertainingly written and deeply researched， with the author wearing his knowledge lightly - ensuring the reader is not overawed。 In Chapter 8 the author let's slip some of his own political prejudices - his scorn of Brexit and somewhat dotty traditionalists - but apart from this grievous error Vincent manages for the most part to keep his opinions in check。 Highly recommended for understanding many matters， including the too A remarkable book on an often overlooked subject - measurement。 It is entertainingly written and deeply researched， with the author wearing his knowledge lightly - ensuring the reader is not overawed。 In Chapter 8 the author let's slip some of his own political prejudices - his scorn of Brexit and somewhat dotty traditionalists - but apart from this grievous error Vincent manages for the most part to keep his opinions in check。 Highly recommended for understanding many matters， including the tools used by the State to control us， and the tools we use to understand ourselves。 One curious omission， though - given the space granted to discussions of metric vs Imperial measures - is of the base 10 number system and its rivals， such as base 2。 。。。more
AltLovesBooks
，
"Measurement is a tool that reinforces what we find important in life， what awe think is worth paying attention to。 The question， then， of who gets to make those choices is of the utmost importance。"This book was a struggle for me。 At no point did I feel drawn into the history and science of measurement， and normally I'm all about taken-for-granted concept books like this。 There's clearly something here， and it's very well researched， it just felt tedious and maybe not what I was looking for in "Measurement is a tool that reinforces what we find important in life， what awe think is worth paying attention to。 The question， then， of who gets to make those choices is of the utmost importance。"This book was a struggle for me。 At no point did I feel drawn into the history and science of measurement， and normally I'm all about taken-for-granted concept books like this。 There's clearly something here， and it's very well researched， it just felt tedious and maybe not what I was looking for in my non-fiction today。Rather than a discussion of numbers， this book deep dives into the history and meaning behind why we measure things to begin with。 I really did appreciate the look at who developed measurements and why， and why we bother measuring things in the first place。 It's important to know who's doling out the food according to what measurement， because historical you might be getting screwed and don't realize it。 This exhaustive deep dive， though， was just that for me--exhausting。 Maybe this just wasn't the concept book for me， I don't know。 Props to the author for the extensive research。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ecopy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Alex Nagler
，
James Vincent really loves weights and measures。 So much so that he put together "Beyond Measure，" a hybrid history and autobiographical exploration of things like the kilogram， meter， and time itself。 Come for the French revolutionary base 10 time system， stay for the exploration of the surveyors tool which， surprise surprise， is kind of inherently racist。 James Vincent really loves weights and measures。 So much so that he put together "Beyond Measure，" a hybrid history and autobiographical exploration of things like the kilogram， meter， and time itself。 Come for the French revolutionary base 10 time system， stay for the exploration of the surveyors tool which， surprise surprise， is kind of inherently racist。 。。。more
Jacob Aron
，
It would be easy to write a very average book to be written about the science of measurement， but James Vincent hasn't written an average book。 At every opportunity， alongside the science he dives into the history， philosophy， politics and more of measurement， with a wit and care that lifts Beyond Measure into something very special。 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC。 It would be easy to write a very average book to be written about the science of measurement， but James Vincent hasn't written an average book。 At every opportunity， alongside the science he dives into the history， philosophy， politics and more of measurement， with a wit and care that lifts Beyond Measure into something very special。 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Rachael Prest
，
Fascinating， joyful and eye opening。 It made me want to step outside the daily confines of my life， dictated by algorithms and data， and reclaim my joy in the unquantifiable。
mylogicisfuzzy
，
In Beyond Measure， James Vincent has achieved something quite tricky， that is created a most enjoyable read about measuring things。 His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious as he delves deep into the history of defining and standardising various measurements， weight， length/ distance， temperature and so on， and the people （not all scientists） who did so。 He also looks at the current obsession with return to imperial units and the need to continuously measure ourselves， the Quantified Self mo In Beyond Measure， James Vincent has achieved something quite tricky， that is created a most enjoyable read about measuring things。 His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious as he delves deep into the history of defining and standardising various measurements， weight， length/ distance， temperature and so on， and the people （not all scientists） who did so。 He also looks at the current obsession with return to imperial units and the need to continuously measure ourselves， the Quantified Self movement – how we sleep， what we eat， how many steps we take daily。 It doesn’t surprise that the latter， with ’10，000 steps a day’ slogan was originally a marketing campaign with no science to back it。 Beyond Measure takes in politics， sociology， eugenics （particularly chilling） as well as science and history of metrology。 An impressive read， highly recommended。My thanks to Faber & Faber and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Beyond Measure。 。。。more
Sadie Lewis
，
Not a book I would usually read， but I enjoyed it。 Well written and informative book。 It was funny in some places。 Really made me think about history and how it has changed our way of life。
Annarella
，
A well researched and fascinating book。 Measure systems are not only numbers but also political and due to historical fact。 This book starts in the ancient world and tells a fascinating story。 The author is a good storyteller and the book was informative and enjoyable。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine
Steve
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