PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Measurement

(see evaluation and other useful terms)

Origins

1. An ancient precursor to the term 'measure' was the idea of limits or boundaries (see Bohm, 2005)
   • The Latin word mederi (to cure) is from a root word meaning measure.
   • This also connects with words, such as moderation, modesty (see our definition of wisdom)
2. So it represented a sense of proportion that was Good, as in ethical conduct, or in balanced medical wellbeing.
3. Often, the outward display or appearance of things was seen to reflect a deeper ‘inner measure’.
4. If we include the context of measurement we might regard it holistically as evaluation.

From qualities to quantities

1. In today's terms measure usually means using numbers to define physical quantities and phenomena.
2. This approach became a fundamental part of science, engineering, construction and other fields.
3. It entails referencing using instrument/s that are calibrated in external standards or units.
4. Indeed, the reliance on units usually means that the processes become granular and atomistic.
5. As numbers are arbitrary this simpler process often overlooks the unique limits of what is measured.

Implications

1. The technocratic/bureaucratic convenience inherent in measurement made it indispensable to capitalism.
2. Managing data is less subjective than depending on human knowledge or ecological wisdom).
3. It has also had a profound effect on the way most citizens now see themselves and the world.
   • e.g. Emil Durkheim criticised the increasing tendency to see society as a collection of individuals.
   • e.g. Jean-Luc Nancy described it as a plurality of egos.
4. Whereas measurement may often be verified easily, evaluation is a more comprehensive and complex process.
5. Jan Smuts (1926) coined the term holism, defining it as:
   • "The tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution."
6. This definition limits the extent to which we can effectively measure parts of a living system.
7. According to Buckminster Fuller, this limitation may also apply to non-living systems.
   • i.e. "No property of one part considered only by itself predicts the existence of another part". R. Buckminster Fuller, Synergetics Dictionary.

FURTHER READING

1. Gano, G., 2015. Starting with Universe: Buckminster Fuller's Design Science Now. Futures, 70, pp.56-64.
2. Bohm, D., 2005. Wholeness and the implicate order. Routledge.
3. Insight into Measure, in the East and in the West,