Why am I passionate about this?
I’ve worked in the field of metrology for over 40 years, and I love this field of science. During these many years, I realized that instruments have become an often invisible but always present part of our lives and, if we learn to use them correctly, they can improve our lives, while, on the contrary, if we trust them more than we should, they can easily ruin our lives. For this reason, I like to explore also the philosophical implications of metrology and how it can help justice to render fair decisions and I love to share my passion with other people.
Alessandro's book list on why good measurements can change your life
Why did Alessandro love this book?
When I introduce measurements to my students, I talk about “an exciting adventure across centuries.” I love this book because it tells the long history of measurement, starting from prehistory and arriving at our days as if it were a true, fantastic adventure humankind has lived since the beginning of its existence.
This is not a technical book, nor a book of history, in a strict sense. It is written by a journalist as an adventure novel, telling the story of a fantastic journey across generations to build our present knowledge.
I read it as a novel, eager to discover the next adventure, always discovering players and facts I ignored.
2 authors picked Beyond Measure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
From the cubit to the kilogram, the humble inch to the speed of light, measurement is a powerful tool that humans invented to make sense of the world. In this revelatory work of science and social history, James Vincent dives into its hidden world, taking readers from ancient Egypt, where measuring the annual depth of the Nile was an essential task, to the intellectual origins of the metric system in the French Revolution, and from the surprisingly animated rivalry between metric and imperial, to our current age of the "quantified self." At every turn, Vincent is keenly attuned to the…