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The Long and the Short of It: How We Came to Measure Our World
We've always measured the world around us, from how big things are, to how fast they go, how much they're worth and practically everything in between. But who decided how we do it, and why?The Long and the Short of It takes us back in time to discover the origins and evolution of a huge variety of different units of measurement. On the way it answers such questions do we measure time in units of 60? How do you determine the height of a mountain when sea level keeps changing? Why did the length of a mile once depend on where you came from?What's the width of a horse's backside got to do with NASA's booster rockets? Packed with fascinating stories, this is an intriguing guide to the many systems of measurement that make sense of our daily lives, from pounds and parsecs to bushels and barricades.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryScience
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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July 28, 2023I'm not sure a non-fiction book has ever pissed me off to the DNF point this quickly.
The introduction was basically just a justification for why the author chose to skip literally every interesting unit of measure out there. (Too scientific! Too weird! Too hard to research! Too old! I'm sorry, did you think I picked up this book because I didn't know where a mile came from? Buddy, no. I picked up this book because I want to know how Hittites measured their flour and honey. I'm all set for fun facts about the mile, thanks.)
And then, early in chapter one, he has a prissy little aside about how Mount Everest SHOULD be pronounced, and I said out loud in an empty room, "First of all, common usage IS A THING and DOES CHANGE and that is VALID, and second of all, you're here saying the right pronunciation is Eve-rest? No, asshole, it's Chomolungma or Sagarmatha, if we're going to be all pedantic about it like an absolute shithead."
That was the moment when I realized I needed to return this book to the library and try to forget it ever existed, and then I actually did the first part of that. Huge personal growth for me, very proud. The book still sucks, though.
The introduction was basically just a justification for why the author chose to skip literally every interesting unit of measure out there. (Too scientific! Too weird! Too hard to research! Too old! I'm sorry, did you think I picked up this book because I didn't know where a mile came from? Buddy, no. I picked up this book because I want to know how Hittites measured their flour and honey. I'm all set for fun facts about the mile, thanks.)
And then, early in chapter one, he has a prissy little aside about how Mount Everest SHOULD be pronounced, and I said out loud in an empty room, "First of all, common usage IS A THING and DOES CHANGE and that is VALID, and second of all, you're here saying the right pronunciation is Eve-rest? No, asshole, it's Chomolungma or Sagarmatha, if we're going to be all pedantic about it like an absolute shithead."
That was the moment when I realized I needed to return this book to the library and try to forget it ever existed, and then I actually did the first part of that. Huge personal growth for me, very proud. The book still sucks, though.
February 6, 2018
Interesting
The author clearly has an excellent eye for detail. The tiny corrections were the best feature for me. Generally an interesting read.
The author clearly has an excellent eye for detail. The tiny corrections were the best feature for me. Generally an interesting read.
February 20, 2019
If you are curious as the origins and meaning of the various measurements we use (and don't use anymore), this small book is for you. With a nice sense of humor, too.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews