Measurement: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #500

by David J. Hand

Measurement is a fundamental concept that underpins almost every aspect of the modern world. It is central to the sciences, social sciences, medicine, and economics, but it affects everyday life. We measure everything - from the distance of far-off galaxies to the temperature of the air, levels of risk, political majorities, taxes, blood pressure, IQ, and weight. The history of measurement goes back to the ancient world, and its story has been one of gradual standardization. Today there are different types of measurement, levels of accuracy, and systems of units, applied in different contexts. Measurement involves notions of variability, accuracy, reliability, and error, and challenges such as the measurement of extreme values.

In this Very Short Introduction, David Hand explains the common mathematical framework underlying all measurement, the main approaches to measurement, and the challenges involved. Following a brief historical account of measurement, he discusses measurement as used in the physical sciences and engineering, the life sciences and medicine, the social and behavioural sciences, economics, business, and public policy.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Mathematics, Physics

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

David J. Hand is Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London, and Chief Scientific Advisor to Winton Capital Management. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and a recipient of the Guy Medal of the Royal Statistical Society. He has served (twice) as President of the Royal Statistical Society, and is on the Board of the UK Statistics Authority. He has published 300 scientific papers and 25 books: his next book, The Improbability Principle, is due out in February 2014. He has broad research interests in areas including classification, data mining, anomaly detection, and the foundations of statistics. His applications interests include psychology, physics, and the retail credit industry - he and his research group won the 2012 Credit Collections and Risk Award for Contributions to the Credit Industry. He was made OBE for services to research and innovation in 2013.

Reviews

[Mohit Dhanjani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel betrayed after reading this short introduction. My school years could have been so rich if only my math teacher would have introduced the very concept and need for measurement.

Such a beautiful book that made me understand a lot of things I take for granted.

It is a must read.

[John Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great overview of measurement as a concept. The historical tidbits in the early sections are particularly interesting as they illustrate how the development of universal definitions of units of length was a major technological breakthrough for previous generations. The book does a good job of emphasizing the conceptual leap from measures of length to measures of temperature and the further leaps into the pragmatic measurements in the social sciences.

The section on the failure of base 10 units for measuring time was also especially good as a reminder of how the seeming victory of the metric system is part of a broader struggle to push people away from the measurements they're familiar with.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Well-balanced structure, illuminating examples

[Napalmlolita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in engaging style about a possibly dry subject.

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me begin my review of this wonderful book in Oxford’s "Very Short Introduction" series by presenting the book’s table of contents:

1. A brief history

2. What is measurement?

3. Measurement in the physical sciences and engineering

4. Measurement in the life sciences, medicine, and health

5. Measurement in the behavioral sciences

6. Measurement in the social sciences, economics, business, and public policy

7. Measurement and understanding

The history of measurement goes as far back as human history. Early units of measurement were not precise, given that they were based on human anatomy or physical distances that assumed the Earth to be a perfect sphere. Units were different in different communities and even had different names. Herbert Arthur Klein remarked that "a given unit of length recognised in Paris, for example, was about 4 percent longer than that in Bordeaux, 2 percent longer than that in Marseilles, and 2 percent shorter than that in Lille." Writing in 1850, J. H. Alexander mentioned 110 separate values for the ell in Europe. For a long time, there was no standard unit for volume, say, with the volumes of coal, grain, and wine measured differently. Advocating for standard units of measurement, the French philosopher and mathematician Condorcet wrote: "The uniformity of weights and measures cannot displease anyone but those lawyers who fear a diminution in the number of trials, and those merchants who fear anything that renders the operations of commerce easy and simple."

A proposal for a unified system of physical measurements was made by Gabril Mouton, who, in 1670, suggested that France's many different units should be replaced by a decimal system, with increasing units being defined in multiples of ten. It took 100 years before such a system was adopted for some French units and much longer before the system was adopted more widely around the world. SI units were introduced at the 11th General Conference for Weights and Measures in 1960.
As an engineer/scientist, I am quite familiar with SI units used in physical sciences (Chapter 3), although I was unaware of the long preceding history. More interesting for me were ideas in Chapters 4-6 about measurements in life sciences (e.g., medical tests), behavioral sciences (e.g., rating intelligence), and social sciences (e.g., economic indicators). The final Chapter 7, "Measurement and understanding," introduces us to the notions of inaccuracy and bias. The former is handled by error bounds and the latter by calibration.

[Mohammadreza Seifollahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a concise and illuminating description of measurement. You never expect from a small, packet book to dig deep into a subject. In this book you will make yourself familiar with the measurement techniques, benefits and challenges in different domains such as physics, behavioral sciences, management, and social sciences, along with the historical development of the notion of measurement. The most important section of the book is the explanation of the distinctions between two different approaches to measurement: representational and pragmatic, which will have a great impact on your understanding about the theoretical and functional grounds of the subject.
I recommend this book as the first book to read in this subject.

[Venkatesh-Prasad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides a grounds up exposition about measurement -- how did we come up with existing units, how do they relate to pragmatic needs, etc. It has one of the best and intuitive expositions about various scales -- nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Of course, it isn't a deep dive but just enough to get the reader to appreciate the measurements and units he/she encounters.

[Alasdair Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book, with some interesting ideas, such as the difference between representational and pragmatic forms of measurement. Maybe I rate it three rather than four due to the intrinsic interest to me of the subject rather than the quality of the book.

[Joao Carlos Santiago Filho · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great first presentation of the subject

I enjoyed this small book a lot. Clear, concise, many historical references and a broad range of disciplines are covered. It drived me to go after on more readings on the theme.

[Bill Raynor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview at a generally accessible level. He also has written more detailed technical papers and a book on the subject.