In prehistoric times, not much needed to be measured. You ate what you found and lived where you could. The advent of agriculture and civilization, however, necessitated a way for people to measure ...

Weights, measures and classification systems may seem like innocuous ways of taking stock of the world around us. But the tools are anything but objective, a new exhibition suggests. Measuring ...

From pacing out distances with our feet to defining the kilogram by the Planck constant, measurement has come a long way. Across history, humans have sought consistent ways to compare, quantify, and ...

“Beyond Measure,” by James Vincent, tells the story of human civilization through its systems of measurement, showing how they have promoted knowledge, social control and ongoing conflict. By Jennifer ...

Vincent, a senior reporter at the Verge, debuts with a phenomenal exploration of measurement, the “cornerstone of cognition” that “has not only made the world we live in, it has made us too.” He ...

WE TAKE the certainty of measurements for granted, but their story is as complicated and changeable as any other part of human culture. Journalist James Vincent makes this clear in his new book, which ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover global and domestic health care and conservation. This is part two of a three-part series on the critical role quality ...