Beyond Measure
The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
by James Vincent
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Pub Date Nov 01 2022 | Archive Date Oct 31 2022
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Description
A vibrant account of how measurement has invisibly shaped our world, from ancient civilizations to the modern day.
From the cubit to the kilogram, the humble inch to the speed of light, measurement is a powerful tool that humans invented to make sense of the world. In this revelatory work of science and social history, James Vincent dives into its hidden world, taking readers from ancient Egypt, where measuring the annual depth of the Nile was an essential task, to the intellectual origins of the metric system in the French Revolution, and from the surprisingly animated rivalry between metric and imperial, to our current age of the “quantified self.” At every turn, Vincent is keenly attuned to the political consequences of measurement, exploring how it has also been used as a tool for oppression and control.
Beyond Measure reveals how measurement is not only deeply entwined with our experience of the world, but also how its history encompasses and shapes the human quest for knowledge.
About the Author: James Vincent is a senior reporter for the Verge, the Vox Media site devoted to technology and society. He has also written for the London Review of Books, Financial Times, and Wired.
Advance Praise
"A wildly ambitious book by a formidably talented young writer." - Robert Macfarlane, bestselling author of Underland
"Beyond Measure offers, with much intellectual flair and style, a bracing new history." - Pankaj Mishra, bestselling author of From the Ruins of Empire
"The exact value of this book is hard to quantify. Weighty, precise and satisfyingly obsessive, it’s also an absolute pleasure to read." - Simon Garfield, bestselling author of The Timekeepers and Just My Type
"Vivid, epic, and full of curiosities. This is a book to delight and fascinate." - Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up
"An epic story about humankind’s relationship with the physical world. James Vincent is an erudite and perceptive guide, who with energy and skill weaves history, science and reportage into an enthralling tale." - Alex Bellos, author of Patterns of the Universe
"Delightful…One of those books that makes us look afresh at the whole of modern civilization." - Graham Farmelo, author of The Universe Speaks in Numbers
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781324035855 |
| PRICE | $32.50 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
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