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Editorial Review Product Description
"The truth belongs to everyone, but error is ours alone."-- The Measure of All Things
Amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, two intrepid astronomers set out in opposite directions from Paris to measure the world, one voyaging north to Dunkirk, the other south to Barcelona. Their findings would help define the meter as one ten-millionth of the distance between the pole and the equator, a standard that has since swept the planet. The Measure of All Things is the astonishing story of one of history's greatest scientific quests, a mission to measure the Earth and define the meter for all nations and for all time.
Yet when Ken Alder located the long-lost correspondence between the two men, along with their mission logbooks, he stumbled upon a two-hundred-year-old secret, and a drama worthy of the great French playwrights. The meter, it turns out, is in error. One of the two astronomers, Pierre-François-André Méchain, made contradictory measurements from Barcelona and, in a panic, covered up the discrepancy. The guilty knowledge of his misdeed drove him to the brink of madness, and ultimately to his death. Only then -- after the meter had already been publicly announced -- did his partner, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, discover the truth and face a fateful choice: what matters more, the truth or the appearance of the truth? To tell the story, Alder has not only worked in archives throughout Europe and America, but also bicycled the entire route traveled by Delambre and Méchain. Both a novelist and a prizewinning historian of science and the French Revolution, Alder summons all his skills to tell how the French Revolution mixed violent passion with the coldest sanity to produce our modern world. It was a time when scientists believed they could redefine the foundations of space and time, creating a thirty-day month, a ten-day week, and a ten-hour day. History, they declared, was to begin anew. But in the end, it was science that was forever changed. The measurements brought back by Delambre and Méchain not only made science into a global enterprise and made possible our global economy, but also revolutionized our understanding of error. Where Méchain conceived of error as a personal failure, his successors learned to tame it. This, then, is a story of two men, a secret, and a timeless human dilemma: is it permissible to perpetuate a small lie in the service of a larger truth? "Precision is a quest on which travelers, as Zeno foretold, journey halfway to their destination, and then halfway again and again and again, never reaching finality." In The Measure of All Things Ken Alder describes a quest that succeeded even as it failed. It is a story for all people, for all time. ... Read more Customer Reviews (30) 
Terrific
I was wandering around aimlessly in a book store when I happened to come upon this fascinating book.Before this book I knew nothing at all about how the metric system came about, and so I was amazed to hear this story.The author does a wonderful job in this book melding the scientific with the entertainment because this book does both jobs very well.
This book details how and who set out to truly measure the Earth.What is so fascinating about the story is when this scientific expedition occurred.France was in turmoil and the scientific (astronomical) community was in as much disarray as the rest of the nation.With all the problems the expedition faced they nevertheless set out to accomplish their mission.
What this author does very well is giving the reader the scientific and mathematical data, while at the same time not bogging the story down for those readers (such as my self) who are not so scientifically inclined.The author does this by telling the very fascinating story in a way that focuses on the many dramatic events that occurred while adding the data here and there.
This is an amazing story that is very well written.If you were ever interested in how or why we measure things the way we do then you have to read this book.It is very well written and extremely entertaining, while at the same time very enlightening and educational.This is just my kind of book; the kind that educates me without my knowing it.
Measure Up Well to the Title
For most of human history, the distance from one place to another was based on some arbitrary scale related to some authorities foot or arm; and the weight of produce or cereal would vary from town to town based again on some arbitrary basis establish at a time no one could remember.When commerce seldom traveled more than a few miles (kilometers), this didn't matter that much.But once manufacturing of cloth became a worldwide product, the seller and buyer had to have some way to agree on amounts.
During the French Revolution, along with a decimal currency and a new calendar, it was decided that 'weights and measures' should be standardized.These new standards, should also be easily divided using base ten.The 'Academy of Sciences' determined that the standard length measure would be the 'meter', equal to 1/10,000,000 of the quarter distance of the 78th meridian (that went through Paris) around the earth.
To create this distance, they sent out two of the greatest savants of France to measure from Dunkirk to Barcelona to ascertain this length.
To create this measure, they would triangulate the distance between two latitudes (that of Dunkirk and Barcelona) using a standardized ground measure for the first side of the surveying triangle.The measurement was supposed to take one year, but ended up taking seven (by which time a standardized provisional meter had already been developed).What makes this story so fascinating is the 'doggedness' of the two gentlemen who were chosen to do the survey, and the 'precision' they sought for their efforts. To discuss the actual survey and 'error' too involved with the story but it is interesting.
The sad part of the whole story is the number of people who died from disease as part of this survey and the amount of time 'wasted' in trying to create a measurement that differed little from the estimated 'provisional' meter.Since once the 'standard' was created, it wouldn't matter if it was slightly off, it would be the standard, and measure could have been used as long as everyone agreed.(Red would be red even if you called it 'der', as long as everyone agreed on what 'der' was.) A little dry in places but a fine read.
Zeb Kantrowitz
A fascinating read
What a fascinating read this turned out to be. It's a scientific history book, but it was primarily a well-executed biography that was interesting from start to finish. During the midst of the French Revolution, the citizens want to impose a standard of measurement to replace the 200,000+ units in place throughout France. The scientists of the time decide to use a standard based on the circumference of the Earth, so that it may be a measurement "for all time, for all people". The only trouble is, they must measure the height of France in order to calculate the size of the Earth. So, the Academy of Sciences commissions two men - Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre and Pierre Méchain - to head in opposite directions and measure several angles on their way across the country. Through triangulation they will gather enough information to calculate the height of France, and then by observing stars they will determine their latitude.
The heart of the book is the story of the two men. Delambre is a capable young scientist who, despite obstacles and setbacks, manages to easily cover his ground and efficiently complete his half of the mission. Méchain, however, is a member of the old regime of scientists - he does not allow his assistants any freedom, hides his errors, ties his reputation to his results, and generally wastes time. The difference between the two is astounding and is continually reiterated by the separate account of their adventures. It is discovered early on by Méchain that he has made an error in measurements, and this tortures him throughout the entire seven-year expeditions. The author has reviewed thousands of logbooks, personal correspondence, and biked across France to effectively capture the story. It's gripping, interesting, and highly accurate.
In fact, the only downside that I can see is that there is so much covered in this book that it is almost hard to find the focus. At its core, the book is a biography of the two men - contrasting their methods and ideas, comparing their mental state, and commenting on their separate journeys. But the author frequently takes a break from the characters to talk about other issues - the local resistance to an all-encompassing measuring system, for instance, or the meaning of "error" to an 18th century scientist. It's all very fascinating, and certainly is directly connected to the story of the Metric system, but often it is difficult to tell if the book is about the men, their measurements, or their country. Much of it helps to put things in context, but some of it is overly descriptive and takes away from the main study.
I highly recommend this one to anyone with an interest in the Metric system, the French revolution, biographies, or scientific history. It can be heavy reading in some points, though the author does his best to explain the principles behind the calculations. I thought it was excellent and am very interested in Alder's other books.
The Measure of All Things
"The historian owes the dead nothing but the truth." Quoting Delambre in this instance, Ken Alder makes it known that he is conscious of the ethical responsibility that historians are required to uphold.As a historian himself, I have little doubt that he has intentionally wavered from this oath, nor do I believe that he ever attempted to suppress information.He is bound by his profession to seek and give truth.However, anyone who as gifted as he is, is certainly capable of persuading his audience, especially an audience who has no intent to seek out inconsistencies.In this book, I believe that Alder may be over-dramatizing the importance of some of the information presented.I also think that the context, organization and generalization that Alder expresses can also mislead the common day reader or the critical reader for that matter.In this historical account I find myself confused by many of the messages that he is sending forth.Here I feel it is necessary to quote the following paragraph, taken from the prologue, to express several of my viewpoints:
"Together, these documents reveal a remarkable story.They reveal that Mechain-despite his extreme caution and exactitude-committed an error in the early years of the expedition, and worse, upon discovering his mistake, covered it up.Mechain was so tormented by the secret knowledge of his error that he was driven to the brink of madness.In the end, he died in an attempt to correct himself.The meter, it turns out, is in error, an error which has been perpetuated in every subsequent redefinition of its length, including our current definition of the meter in terms of the distance traveled by light in a fraction of a second."
Starting from the beginning, we first see Alder use his words to imply that his error was a mistake and by covering it up was something even worse.I would argue that Mechain did not commit an error at all.In fact, it was his keen attention to detail that produced observational inconsistencies.If he had subscribed to Delambre's methodology, he would have checked his measurements according to two stars, which would have agreed, and he would have been on his way.In fact, the first three stars were in agreement, it was a fourth star, Mizar, an obscure star located on the horizon, that put him in disagreement.If simple statistical theory existed during this time, it would deduce Mizar's observation as an outlier.Covering up this so-called error is another shadow that Alder casts at this early juncture at Mechain's expense.We know from Delambre and Mechain's dialog that Mechain consistently told his colleague of this error.We are also made aware that Delambre said the following in regards to Mechain, "if he dissimulated a few anomalous results which he feared would be blamed on his lack of care or skill, if he succumbed to the temptation to alter several series of observations...., at least he did so in such a way that the altered data never entered into the calculation of the meridian."Finally, Alder chooses to lead into a statement explicitly stating that the meter, as we know it today, is in error.If this were true and Mechain did botch the survey, how would this error get translated or `perpetuate' to the distance traveled by light in a fraction of a second?
The next paragraph continues to make shocking revelations.When Alder stated, "the meter calculated by Delambre and Mechain falls roughly .2 millimeters short", I passed over it with some caution.However, by the time I finished the book I was thoroughly perplexed by this conclusive statement.Is Alder suggesting that Delambre and Mechain are the ones who calculated the meter?As I recall in Alder's own words, "the single factor that made the greatest difference to the final determination of the meter was based on the very data they had been sent to supercede." Moreover, what is Alder implying by falling short?Do we now know the correct distance from the equator to the pole and it is an unchanging fixed measure?What is Alder's source or foundation in making a statement like this or any of these haphazard remarks?
My reaction to the prologue, as I am sure most readers might be, is that the meter being in error is a very significant discovery, and without equivocation - Mechain is to blame for this discrepancy. I can only hope that it is not written by Alder himself.Even if it is not, he is responsible for the fabric of this ballyhoo.If I had not read this portion of the book, I may have not had anything critical to say about it.I think it is an accurate historical account of what took place and I enjoyed seeing some of the incipient stages of globalization come into view.I was also intrigued by the world's perception in this time period and how the revolution marked the demise of some predominant theocentric misconceptions, which, in my mind, precipitated the end of the `savant' and gave rise to the scientist.
All things considered, I was disappointed that the book did not fulfill its promise.I think it is degrading to promote a book about science in such a way as to trick readers into thinking it's something that it's not.Some who read this book may gather that it is about a "hidden error that transformed the world", for me it was a book that did not live up to its billing, and kept me second guessing myself and the author's intent throughout.
It helps if you're a surveyor or geodesist, but good for everyone
I greatly enjoyed this book. While there have been complaints about a lack of example calculations and discussion of details of how it was done, there is enough in here for someone familiar with this type of work to figure it out. And if you don't know this material, you may not want to be faced with the math (believe me)!
The discussion on the repeating 'theodolite' was great, as were the trials and tribulations of triangulation. If you've ever measured angles on a mountain top, you'll know just what the author is getting at. A great achievement for an historian, who, we presume, may not have done this kind of work.
There are two other really good parts of this book. The first is the discussion on the search for a 'universal' system of measurement. It places the metric system in a context, not as the be-all and end-all, but as a serious effort to solve a serious set of problems. The discussion of the 'error' is fascinating. This part hasn't changed in nature, just the current details.
The second is the analysis of the personalities of the two central characters. Alder does bring them to life. Having worked in Antarctica for a year and seen people dealing with the stress of isolation, the story was very real to me: I almost knew those guys, albeit in different times and guises. And the stress was real: these guys ran the risks of close encounters with Madame Guillotine, wars, disease, politics, the works. This was quite apart from the normal risks of the job, such as falling off cliffs and towers, exposure, unhappy locals, etc. Thank heavens for GPS, a technology that is possible only because of the foundation work of geodesists like Mechain and Delambre.
Enjoy this book, as a history of measurement and geodesy, a history of a major surveying achievement, and a vivid study of personalities under real stress.
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