All the Fancy Measuring Devices Used in Science Rely on Two Stone-Age Techniques
The article discusses how modern measuring devices in science fundamentally rely on two ancient techniques: counting and comparing. Despite advancements in technology, the essence of measurement remains unchanged since ancient times. Examples illustrate how these methods are applied in various contexts, from measuring length with rulers to time with sundials.
- ▪Humans have a long history of inventing tools to measure various aspects of the world around them.
- ▪Measurement techniques have not significantly changed, as they still rely on comparison or counting.
- ▪The article provides examples of measurement methods, including the humorous story of measuring a bridge using a person as a unit.
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Rhett AllainScienceMay 22, 2026 7:00 AMAll the Fancy Measuring Devices Used in Science Rely on Two Stone-Age TechniquesThe multifarious methods we use to gather experimental data ultimately boil down to counting or comparing.Photograph: Muhammad Labib AdilahCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyHumans are animals that measure things. Call us Homo mensura. We have a compulsion to quantify, and for millennia we’ve been inventing new ways to go about it. For anything you can think of, there’s a device to measure it—from sphygmomanometers to spectrophotofluorometers. And of course nowhere is this more true than in science. Well, science and baseball.Physicists build models to explain how the world works.
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