Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants PDF Download
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Author: James Vincent
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324035862
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424
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Book 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.
Author: James Vincent
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324035862
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Get Book
Book 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.
Author: James Vincent
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780571354221
Category : Measurement
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
A revelatory and vibrant story of measurement which will make you look at the world around you anew.
Author: Roland A Boucher
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781480895362
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 108
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Book Description
The Sumerians were not the only ones to reate remarkably accurate standards of measurement in the Ancient world. Some would travel to the ends of the Earth, some would be with us still today. Roland A. Boucher, a licensed professional engineer, examines incredible achievements of the past in this book that highlights standards of measure from the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Minoans, and others. The Sumerians left two wonderful monuments which demonstrate their system of measurement. The Great Pyramid at Giza, which was built to Sumerian standards with an error of only 185 parts per million; and The Parthenon, in Athens, built 2000 years later to the same Sumerian standard. Filled with tables, formulas, and images to promote the understanding of the mathematical concepts involved, this book celebrates the achievements of the Sumerians and other ancient civilizations. Embark on a journey of discovery as the author recreates eight additional standards from the distant past.
Author: Robert P. Crease
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393082040
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
The epic story of the invention of a global network of weights, scales, and instruments for measurement. Millions of transactions each day depend on a reliable network of weights and measures. This network has been called a greater invention than the steam engine, comparable only to the development of the printing press. Robert P. Crease traces the evolution of this international system from the use of flutes to measure distance in the dynasties of ancient China and figurines to weigh gold in West Africa to the creation of the French metric and British imperial systems. The former prevailed, with the United States one of three holdout nations. Into this captivating history Crease weaves stories of colorful individuals, including Thomas Jefferson, an advocate of the metric system, and American philosopher Charles S. Peirce, the first to tie the meter to the wavelength of light. Tracing the dynamic struggle for ultimate precision, World in the Balance demonstrates that measurement is both stranger and more integral to our lives than we ever suspected.
Author: Jannie Møller Hartley
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1529228638
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216
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Book Description
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence This book addresses new challenges to the formation of publics in datafied democracies. It proposes a fresh, complex and nuanced approach to understand 'datapublics' by considering datafication and public formation in the context of audience, journalism and infrastructure studies. The tightly woven chapters shed new light on how platforms, algorithms and their data infrastructure are embedded in journalistic values, discourses and practices, opening up new conditions for publics to display agency, mobilize and achieve legitimacy. This is a seminal contribution to debates about the future of media, journalism and civic practices.
Author: Dr P S Bulson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482267446
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
Much of the infrastructure of modern society is buried below ground. Pipeline, conduits and culverts carry the services on which our economies depend and the strength and resilience of such structures is of vital importance. Larger underground construction is becoming more common in cities and towns, and in defence installations. This book brings t
Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022621169X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474
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Book Description
"Looking closely at the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, Ball vividly brings to life the age when modern science began, a time that spans the lives of Galileo and Isaac Newton. In this entertaining and illuminating account of the rise of science as we know it, Ball tells of scientists both legendary and lesser known, from Copernicus and Kepler to Robert Boyle, as well as the inventions and technologies that were inspired by curiosity itself, such as the telescope and the microscope. The so-called Scientific Revolution is often told as a story of great geniuses illuminating the world with flashes of inspiration. But Curiosity reveals a more complex story, in which the liberation--and subsequent taming--of curiosity was linked to magic, religion, literature, travel, trade, and empire. Ball also asks what has become of curiosity today: how it functions in science, how it is spun and packaged for consumption, how well it is being sustained, and how the changing shape of science influences the kinds of questions it may continue to ask"--OCLC
Author: Jessica Riddell
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228020697
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
How do we model abundance and generosity – in teaching, in learning, in leading organizations, particularly non-profits – when dealing with fiscal austerity and other forms of scarcity thinking? Hope Circuits explores this question, presenting sophisticated ideas that support democratizing higher education for everybody. Written in a conversational style that draws upon Jessica Riddell’s experience in governance, senior administration, and scholarship, the book is a how-to guide and thought leadership manifesto for developing the conceptual tools to seek solutions to higher education’s most pressing issues. Hope Circuits aims to rewire mindsets, perspectives, and behaviours to in turn rewire and renew the systems within which university stakeholders learn, live, and work. It tackles this challenging feat by suggesting ten tools to build hope circuits, a concept borrowed from neuroscience. Riddell acknowledges that changing systems and deep cultures is not for the faint of heart; indeed, the more than 250 interviews conducted with thought partners for Hope Circuits expose how individuals who navigate complex systems regularly experience discomfort and even despair. In response, she shows us how to anchor a practice of hope in higher education with focus and intention, inviting others to adopt and adapt her approach.
Author: Vladimir Antonov
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 1440488983
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
This book presents a series of lectures about the higher stages of human spiritual development. The lectures describe the methodologies of the main philosophico-religious traditions that existed in the past or exist now on the Earth. This material illustrates the fact that the methodology of spiritual de-velopment is one for all people and that in this way God leads all people to Perfection.
Author: David S. Moore
Publisher: Macmillan Higher Education
ISBN: 1464148740
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 673
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Book Description
No textbook communicates the basics of statistical analysis to liberal arts students as effectively as the bestselling Statistics: Concepts and Controversies (SCC). And no text makes it easier for these students to understand and talk about statistical claims they encounter in commercials, campaigns, the media, sports, and elsewhere in their lives. The new edition offers SCC’s signature combination of engaging cases, real-life examples and exercises, helpful pedagogy, rich full-color design, and innovative media learning tools, all significantly updated.
