Overview

Millions of transactions each day depend on a reliable network of weights and measures. But achieving such a network was anything but easy, as Robert P. Crease, physicist and philosopher, demonstrates in this endlessly fascinating, always entertaining look at just how this international system evolved. From the link between musical pitch and distance in the dynasties of ancient China and the use of figurines to measure gold in West Africa to the creation of the French metric and British imperial systems, Crease takes readers along on one of history's greatest philosophical and scientific adventures.

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9780393343540

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Reviews

...fascinating book... Arthur I. Miller, New Scientist [Crease] shows that the story of metrology...can in the right hands make for a riveting read. The Economist ...a corker for anyone with an enthusiasm for the underside of history... Tim Radford, The Guardian By any measure, this book is a delight. Natural History

Takes the seemingly mundane questions we unthinkingly ask dozens of times a day and reveals them to be thrillingly profound. --Richard Panek, author of The 4% Universe

Author Information

Robert P. Crease is the chairman of the philosophy department at Stony Brook University and the author of several books on science, including The Quantum Moment and The Great Equations. He lives in New York City.

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